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Our economic future: the Prime Minister and Reserve Bank Governor address CEDA on the challenges ahead.

The Committee for Economic Development of Australia provided the platform this week for top-level briefings on the state of the economy, with Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens both speaking to CEDA functions on the economic challenges facing Australia in 2011.

On Monday, November 29, the Prime Minister held a breakfast briefing for CEDA members and guests at Sydney's Shangri-La Hotel. She nominated 2011 as the year for "decision and delivery" on critical policy challenges, including setting a price on carbon ( Read more here).

That same evening, in Melbourne, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia delivered the keynote address at CEDA's 50th anniversary dinner. In his speech, Mr Stevens called on Canberra to consider establishing a "stabilisation fund" to bank some of the proceeds of the boom in mining exports. He also urged the federal Government to stick to its schedule for returning the federal Budget to surplus ( Read more here).

Appointed to the governorship on 18 September 2006, Mr Stevens has been at the helm of Australia's central bank during the recent upheaval in the global financial system. While making the point that Australia had come through the crisis relatively unscathed, Mr Stevens said the big test for policy-makers was to manage prosperity well, ensuring Australia did not squander the benefits of a "once or twice in a century" spike in our terms of trade.

CEDA was delighted to again welcome Mr Stevens to address our annual dinner, which followed our Annual General Meeting. It is a particularly auspicious event, given this year marks CEDA's 50th anniversary as an advocate of informed and enlightened economic decision-making in Australia.

In 1960, after a distinguished career in public and academic service, Sir Douglas Copland recognised the need for an independent body with a focus on Australia's longer-term economic development.

He believed Australian business leaders should be in dialogue with their counterparts in academia and government. To ensure these exchanges were enlightened rather than sectional, they should focus on shared longer-term values and interests. Rather than rely on political parties and pressure groups for policy reform, his idea was to create a voice for well-researched, independent expertise.

CEDA's national chairman Geoff Allen says, "Fifty years on, while CEDA's approach has evolved, the fundamentals established by Copland remain the same. CEDA continues to be an independent 'bridge' between the public and private sectors; a broker of ideas through its research and policy work; and a forum for enlightened, non-partisan discussion and debate on matters of national importance." 

To mark the anniversary, this year's dinner include presentation of the CEDA Prize for Excellence in Economics and Public Policy to Bethany Cooper, a PhD student and associate lecturer at LaTrobe University's Business School, for her essay on urban water restrictions.