Agora Think Tank Lunch

Thursday 8 February 2007

The Agora Think Tank today hosted a lunch for 60 leaders in the government, not for profit and business communities at 15 Restaurant in Melbourne.

Anne Turley, Chief Executive Officer Melbourne Citymission, outlined the development of the Agora Think Tank and spoke of the need to provide secure access and opportunities for all Victorians, not just those benefiting from the current economic climate.

Peter Batchelor, Minister for Victorian Communities affirmed the departments commitment to finding new ways of addressing the needs of people living with disadvantage and made clear that government cannot achieve this goal alone.  He encouraged senior business representatives to join the Agora Think Tank in order to further explore the opportunities.

Simon McKeon, Executive Chairman (Melbourne) of Macquarie Bank spoke of the important role corporate social responsibility now plays in the economic development of business.  Simon pointed out that companies appropriately leading in the field of corporate social responsibility are leading others in their economic performance and staff retention.

The lunch today marks the first step in the build up to the Agora Conference on 14 June 2007.  The conference will be an opportunity for members of the business sector to join government and not for profits to discuss innovative models of partnership and the evolving role of corporate social responsibility.