THE HON. JULIA GILLARD, PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA

“Eidos is an institute that is doing so much collaborative and innovative work in public policy in this country.”

THE HON. MICHAEL KIRBY, AC CMG, FORMER JUSTICE OF THE HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

“We need rescuing from the spin and control by the symbiotic relationship of politicians and the media of our think pieces.  We need to recapture our minds and Eidos has role to play, an important role to play in that”.

MR MICK GOODA, ABORIGINAL & TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER SOCIAL JUSTICE COMMISSIONER

“As an independent think tank, an alliance of Universities with some of the greatest minds in our country, Eidos are in a perfect position to contribute to this important debate.  But more importantly to educate our Australian brothers and sisters about this rare opportunity that we are presented with” (On amending the Australian Constitution to include Indigenous recognition).

TERRY MORAN, FORMER SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

“Eidos Institute is making a huge contribution to public debate and public policy formation both in Queensland and across Australia.  I think, for example, of the Institute’s external evaluation of the Queensland Government’s trials of its new preparatory year for pre-school children – work that was warmly commended by Premier Anna Bligh. I think also of the Institute’s work on training, pre-school education, and human capital development. I think of its commitment to evidence-based policy-making and to working with the private sector, with state and federal public sector agencies and with governments, in order to produce outstanding and highly relevant research. In fact, looking at the Institute’s broad research portfolio, what strikes me is how much its concerns intersect with some of the central priorities of the Australian Government.”

THE HONOURABLE ANNA BLIGH MP, PREMIER OF QUEENSLAND

“I was very pleased when Eidos was able to advise government after extensive evaluation that we were on the right track and that children are being prepared for school after participating in the prep year.  It is an internationally recognised evaluation and what it did was add legitimacy to the idea of the prep and, along with a range of feedback that had been gathered internally within the department from the trials schools themselves, it gave us, the government, the confidence to make the investment, the very substantial investment of public funds into the program and make it universal and that will happen from 2007. I want to acknowledge the Institute’s role in that and it was a very important reminder to me of the value of rigorous interdisciplinary research and the need for more of it”.

RIGHT HONOURABLE ALAN MILBURN, UK MEMBER FOR DARLINGTON

“Its great to spend this time with Eidos Institute who I have admired from afar and the work that they are doing in pushing the boundaries of public policy. I think that the interaction that they are trying to achieve, between universities, the private and public sector is very important.”

PROFESSOR GLYN DAVIS, VICE-CHANCELLOR, THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

“...I suspect it’s that underlying pressure to say what is our long-term future? It’s the question that keeps hitting us. What happens when the boom ends?...What happens next? And that’s what’s driving the debate. That’s why people are focusing on this with a clarity that they haven’t.  We’ve talked about it for a very long time and yet now we are seeing think tanks emerge, we’re seeing reports, we’re seeing a rising sense of concern that we’re doing fine but there’s not much evidence that we’re buiding the capacities we need. And that’s where people are getting jumpy. That’s why this is an important agenda worth pursuing. And why I’m really delighted that Eidos is here to do so.“

THE HONOURABLE TIM FISCHER, 11TH DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA
“Communities are starting to search out the best way forward, and its not necessarily the materialistic, as climate change and other debates come to the foreground but also social community fabric, perhaps the Eidos place in the sun is about to arise”