Last weekend I attended the annual Hayman Island Retreat organised by the Australian Davos Connection. It is a prestigious gathering of senior figures from the worlds of business and government, together with eminent academics and thinkers to provoke discussion on long term trends.
This year’s theme was .”On the Edge – confidence in the face of fragility”. We heard how the Asian boom, led by China, and the resulting surge in demand for resources, is creating both opportunities and challenges for Australia. There was recognition that both the American and European economies needed serious action to address their current economic difficulties and that this required strong political leadership.
Overall I took away a mood of cautious optimism: some were more cautious, but a majority were more optimistic. Everyone recognised that we are going through a challenging period, but on balance participants thought that we were capable of coming up with the right responses, even though these would inevitably necessitate some short term pain.
One of the things that left me feeling most upbeat was a scientist’s presentation on the potential opportunities flowing from current research in Quantum Mechanics. It was the sort of lecture that you feel you’re following as long as they’re speaking, but would find it hard to explain to others afterwards. But it was a reminder of the huge role that technological advances can play in promoting human wellbeing. That is why the UK’s powerful research base (with 4 of the world’s top 10 universities) is such a source of long term strength for our economy. This was exactly what we had been discussing in Canberra earlier in the week when I hosted a lunch for the visiting Director of the UK’s Royal Society and the President of the Australian Academy of Science.