Let us not forget that successful candidates were nominated by others.

I’d like to know who selected whom and what terms of reference did the 'secret selectors' use?

This Summit will be still born. The fall out from it will echo right through to the next election and I suspect this is exactly its true intention.

We will find ourselves debating ideas that never got up, and trying to work out how the so called "best and brightest" got things horribly wrong.

One need only examine the questions put to participants in the Indigenous forum. Cleverly crafted to guide discussion - not toward innovation or reform - but consensus and or dissent on existing policy and practice. No real movement forward, just careful and incremental steps sideways down the same blind alleys.

The ideological parameters have been set, herd in the sheep, throw in a wolf or two just for fun - and make sure the Murdoch press have lots of free and unimpeded access.

Hey presto, lots of rich compost! Bonapetite!

Kevin Rudd went to the Australian people with "a plan for the future" which is proving ever so evasive to materialize.
Instead we are given circuses such as Commissions, inquiries, seminars, summits and other wimdfests that stargaze ten, twenty and even fifty years ahead that are bound to keep journalists and lawyers happily employed today.
But come the NEXT federal election the Australian people will hopefully ask the question that Peter asked of Tomlinson "... give answer - what ha' ye done?"
Neither The PM nor his treasurer have handed down a national budget and we have one due in a matter of weeks.
And what do they do?
They take an extended overseas gallavant then come home and organize a hot air gab fest at which the barber's cats can strut their stuff.
It is all one hell of an extravagant diversion from the mundane every day issues of the cost of rent, housing, petrol and groceries which KevinR and WayneS belted the Howard government over the head with.
Oh! by the way KevinR, what about one more inquiry?
How about an inquiry into the legality or illegality of Wayne Goss' cabinet shredding the Hiner inquiry documents while YOU were his Chief of Staff?

I'm glad to see someone else knows about "Shredgate" the scandal that never happenned because the evidence got shredded.

Amazing how many people who were implicated in this re-invented themselves as upstanding citizens and public servants.

The phrase 'social justice' rolls off their lips so natually its disgusting,.

Well now its over.
I watched as much as possible on ABC2 and two or three Foxtel channels.

I personally have come to the conclusion that the whole exercise has
been a colossal waste of time and money to give a group of people
a loverly warm feeling.

Geraldine Douge out did herself in a fawning praise of Kevin Rudd.
She absolutely gushed.

However the really significant thing was the stage management of the show
that completely ignored the elephant in the corner of every groups
room. I speak of course of the complete ignoring of the effect on
their proposals energy depletion will have between now and 2020.
Every single proposal will one way or another will be very adversely
affected by the energy decent that we are facing.
One of the few suggestion that was peak oil compatible was to put
more emphases onto public transport. There was nothing about the
long distance transport of food that I heard on the sustainability
group. Fuel was just not a problem to them, they were all keen to cut
down on fossil fuels, but did not realise they would be faced with
a cut down anyway with a timing not of their own planning.

Yes, the majoirty of them would have been mesmerised with their own selection and presence at the Summit.

I heard Rudd say something like 'you can't expect to solve anything in two days' - which for me is code for - Lets cherry pick whatever is politically worthwhile and dump the rest.