24 January 2007
Members of the Monash University community are available in the lead-up to Australia Day for expert comment on a variety of issues:
Australian Tourism and Marketing
How well have we sold ourselves overseas? Have the marketing campaigns 'put another shrimp on the barbie' and 'where the bloody hell are you' been a success? Is it time we began to market Australia differently?
Maureen Griffiths is a lecturer in the Department of Marketing and can help answer these questions as well as providing a general overview of how Australia is seen in the eyes of the world.
Contact:
Maureen Griffiths
Lecturer
Department of Marketing
Phone: +61 3 990 47142
Maureen is also available on mobile. Please contact the media office for details.
Aboriginal Heritage
Does Australia Day adequately recognise the importance of our Aboriginal Heritage? Just how far have we come in creating a lasting place in our cultural heritage for the history of Indigenous Australians?
Contact:
Professor Lynette Russell
Director
Centre for Australian Indigenous Studies
Phone: +61 3 990 54200
Lynnette is also available on mobile. Please contact the media office for details.
Australian Politics
Dr Dennis Woodward is an expert in Australian politics and can provide an overview of the direction for Australian politics in the coming year.
The Howard Government faces a range of issues in the coming year, but on Australia Day, what should be the Prime Minister's focus?
Contact:
Dr Dennis Woodward
Senior Lecturer - Politics
Phone: +61 3 950 98641
+61 3 9905 2408
Dennis is also available his home number. Please contact the media office for details.
Australia - Our History
Dr Anna Clark is the grand-daughter of Professor Manning-Clark and an Australian Postdoctoral Fellow who specialises in Australian History and Education.
How important is Australian history in our schools and do school children value the history of Education?
Contact:
Dr Anna Clark
Faculty of Education, Gippsland, Faculty of Education
Anna is also available on mobile. Please contact the media office for details.
Australia Day: A celebration for ALL Australian states?
Does Australia day incorporate all of Australia? Or does the day's history -- with the first landing of Arthur Phillip and the foundation of the Colony of New South Wales -- lend itself more to being a state-based event rather than one with national significance?
Contact:
Dr David Dunstan
Director
National Centre for Australian Studies.
Phone: +61 3 990 26960
+61 3 990 34037
Canberra: Our National Capital, still struggling to find an identity?
Professor Graeme Davison will be presenting a paper at the National Capitals Conference in Canberra from the 23 -- 25th of January.
Professor Davison's paper will explore Canberra's historical and current challenges to create a lasting, national identity for itself.
Contact:
Professor Davison
Faculty of Arts
Graeme is also available on mobile. Please contact the media office for details.
Additional/continuing news issues:
Bushfires
Bushfires have already had a dramatic impact on Victoria this summer, but as summer winds up what kind of conditions can we expect for the rest of the season?
Dr Michael Reeder can provide expert knowledge on how bushfires behave under different conditions, including variable topographical and meteorological factors such as strong winds and high temperatures.
Contact:
Dr Michael Reeder
Director
School of Mathematical Sciences, Faculty of Science
Phone: +61 3 990 54464
Bushfires
Dr Francesca Collins will be available for comment on the enormous toll the bushfires have taken on the well-being, stress-levels and emotions of communities and fire fighters.
Contact:
Dr Francesca Collins
MAPS Acting Head - Behavioural Studies
Undergraduate Co-ordinator - School of Political and Social Inquiry
Phone: +61 3 990 32541
Drought
In the midst of one of Australia's biggest droughts, Dr Barry Hart has a thorough knowledge of the complexities of Australia's aquatic systems as well as working towards achieving a greater management of Australia's water quality.
Contact:
Professor Barry Hart
School of Chemistry, Faculty of Science
Phone: +61 3 990 55532
Barry is also available on mobile. Please contact the media office for details.
Water Issues
Just how effective is the new water plan being rolled out by the Federal Opposition?
Is it a sustainable option -- what other options could be investigated by our Federal and State governments?
Professor Christopher Cocklin is an expert in water and environmental issues and is also on the board of the Victoria Catchment Authority.
Contact:
Professor Christopher Cocklin
School of Geography and Environmental Science
Faculty of Arts.
Phone: +61 3 990 52926
Also available for comment on water issues:
Professor Nigel Tapper
School of Geography and Environmental Science
Faculty of Arts
Phone +61 3 990 52931
For more information please contact Ms Samantha Blair, Media and Communications Monash University. Media Office: +61 3 9905 9315 or mobile: 0448 816 046.
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