About this site
Since this site was established the public policy challenges with which it intended to engage have only worsened, and new problems for policy-makers have emerged. The enormity and complexity of the issues facing governments have proven to be intimidating, and it is to governments and public policy makers that this site is addressed.
The prospects for future generations are becoming increasingly bleak. Not in the year 2100, but in the 2030s and 40s. That is within the timeframes that the actions taken by, or lack of action by, contemporary political leaders will have a determinative impact.
The risks to the welfare, wellbeing, security, and prosperity, of future generations arise from global warming, environmental degradation, conflict, technology, and from political reaction, nationalism, and growing intolerance, among other things.
The policies and actions required to address these issues cry out for greater cooperation and stronger leadership. They demand new bold ideas and their contestation.
The publications on this site do not profess to be solutions to these momentous challenges. But they are hopefully prods and provocations that add to the numerous similar contributions to the public conversation from others seeking to catalyse greater courage, ambition, vision, and imagination, from our political leaders.
About Mike Scrafton
Mike is a former Australian public servant, ministerial adviser and consultant.
In recent years, Mike has combined travelling in Europe, research and writing. His main interests are strategic policy, defence and national security, intelligence, public policy on climate change, and ethics and leadership in government and public service.
Mike’s career spanned three decades and included holding senior executive positions in government at the state and federal level.
For an eventful period in the early 2000s, often remembered for the “Children Overboard Affair“, Mike was Chief of Staff and Ministerial Advisor to successive Australian Ministers for Defence.
In recognition of Mike’s contribution to public administration in Australia, he is a Victorian Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration Australia.
Mike has degrees in History, Economics and Ethics, and studied policy and leadership at Harvard and Oxford.