1. Sir Ian Kennedy now broadcast online.
The Inglis Clark Centre for Civil Society recently hosted a successful visit to Australia by Professor Sir Ian Kennedy, Chair of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority in the UK and Emeritus Professor of Health Law, Ethics and Policy at University College London. Sir Ian visited Canberra, Hobart and Launceston, where he participated in a range of public events and private briefing sessions with senior public servants, health care professionals, educators, State parliamentarians and their staff. In Tasmania, the keynote event was the first Denison Debate for 2012 – ‘Frank, Fearless or Forgotten? The Role of Public Service Today’ – in which Sir Ian was joined by Mr Rhys Edwards, Secretary of Tasmania’s Department of Premier and Cabinet, and Professor David Adams, Tasmania’s inaugural Social Inclusion Commissioner.

The event can now be viewed online at the UTAS website: http://www.utas.edu.au/channel-utas/

Listen to Sir Ian Kennedy and Inglis Clark Centre Director Natasha Cica in conversation with Leon Compton on ABC radio’s Statewide Mornings: http://blogs.abc.net.au/tasmania/2012/03/the-future-of-our-public-service.html?site=hobart&program=hobart_mornings

For more information about Sir Ian Kennedy, see: http://www.events.utas.edu.au/2012/march/denison-debate/sir-ian-kennedy

This Inglis Clark Centre initiative received core funding from the University of Tasmania’s Visiting Fellows Programme and the HC Coombs Policy Forum in the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University, and was also supported by the Office of the Provost, the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Arts at UTAS.

2. Laura Sykes wins first Sandy Duncanson Social Justice Bursary.
Launched in 2011 by the Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG, the Sandy Duncanson Social Justice Fund has awarded its first bursary to Laura Sykes to assist her with her vision to achieve Fairtrade Accreditation for the University of Tasmania. Laura is studying a Bachelor of Arts, International Relations at UTAS. She is the president of Go Fair Inc., a Tasmanian organisation that was formed to assist the Launceston City Council to achieve Fairtrade Accreditation, and engage schools, businesses and community groups with Fairtrade and ethical consumerism. The award of $2,000 will assist Laura with her goals to educate the university community about issues of ethical purchasing, and also engage with local businesses and community groups. Laura’s vision is for UTAS to become Fairtrade accredited in the next few years, and to grow the movement for Fairtrade on campus with students and staff.

Tasmanian lawyer Alexander (Sandy) Duncanson died in June 2010 at the age of 37, after surviving cancer for sixteen years. Sandy’s family and friends have worked with the UTAS Faculty of Law and the Inglis Clark Centre for Civil Society to establish a fund in his name through the University of Tasmania Foundation. The aim of the bursary is to provide a University of Tasmania student assistance to advance a social justice initiative, encouraging more of our graduates to pursue their careers with integrity. Over $100,000 has been raised to date for the fund. The initial target was $60,000 to award one bursary each year in perpetuity; the new target is $120,000 to award two bursaries each year. Donations can still be made here: www.utas.edu.au/foundation/donate (click on General Donation, under ‘Gift Purpose’, choose Sandy Duncanson Social Justice Bursary).

3. Inglis Clark Centre for Civil Society on Q&A.
The Director of the Inglis Clark Centre for Civil Society, Natasha Cica, will appear on tonight’s Q&A programme on ABCTV. The episode will be recorded in Hobart. The other panelists are Brian Ritchie (Director, MONA Festival of Music and Art), Julie Collins (Federal Minister for Community Services, Indigenous Employment and Economic Development, and Status of Women), Eric Abetz (Liberal Senate Leader and Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations),Terry Edwards (CEO, Forest Industries Association of Tasmania) and Andrew Wilkie (Independent Federal Member for Denison). See: http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/
Associate Professor Natasha Cica Director, Inglis Clark Centre for Civil Society