Geoscience Australia Board 2

15 May 2002

The Hon Ian Macfarlane MP

Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources

Parliament House

Canberra, ACT 2600

Dear Minister,

Progam Advisory Board for Geoscience Australia

I would like to thank you for your letter of 2 May 2002, regarding the issue of a Program Advisory Board for Geoscience Australia. We appreciate your considered response to our proposals, but feel that there may have been a misunderstanding on the model we are proposing.

We are aware of the differences between Statutory Authorities and Prescribed Agencies, and in our letter explicitly stated that the models for Statutory Authorities are not appropriate for Geoscience Australia. Essentially we are proposing a body similar to the Advisory Council on Intellectual Property (ACIP), which operates successfully in IPAustralia within your Department.

Whether such a body is called a Program Advisory Board, Advisory Council or an Advisory Committee is not so important. Our main concern is that there should be a body, representing GA’s main clients and stakeholders, which can provide advice on the core strategic programs.

We believe that this would be beneficial to GA, its clients and stakeholders, and through them the nation as a whole. Consequently, you may wish to reconsider this issue if our proposals were not sufficiently clear in our earlier letter.

Yours sincerely

David Denham

President

28-Dec-2002