Issue 581 (March 2009) - Office of Marketing and Communications

UQNEWS, MARCH 2009 ➔ 16All smiles: (from left) Malcolm Binks, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Rupert Murdoch and Carissa Klein at the AAA dinnerBUILDING BIODIVERSITYReceiving an award from the PrimeMinister and one of the world’smost prominent businessmen isn’tan everyday occurence, and it’s anexperience UQ postgraduate CarissaKlein is unlikely to forget.Ms Klein received the Sir Keith MurdochFellowship at a benefit dinner for the AmericanAustralian Association (AAA) in Sydney lastmonth, and met many dignitaries includingPrime Minister Kevin Rudd and NewsCorporation chairman Rupert Murdoch.The AAA is a non-profit organisation devotedto encouraging stronger ties between the twocountries, particularly in the private sector.Currently completing her PhD at UQunder the supervision of renowned ecologistProfessor Hugh Possingham, Ms Klein’sresearch is unique in its exploration ofbiodiversity planning with socio-economicconsiderations in mind.“The key is to find solutions that addresssocioeconomic issues without compromisingbiodiversity conservation objectives,” she said.Ms Klein completed her Master’s thesis atthe University of California, where she developedways to protect marine ecosystems whilstminimising impact to the fishing communities.She plans to continue her explorationof this and other projects while working atUQ with Professor Possingham, UQ lecturerKerrie Wilson and Ecotrust, a US based nongovernmentorganisation.Socially responsible banking from mecuMake your moneyethical, sustainableand profitable.MECC0090LISA HOGBEN PHOTOGRAPHYSenatewatchCollaborative research involvingscholars from the United States,Canada, the United Kingdom andAustralia suggests a vibrant upperhouse improves accountability ofgovernments.Dr Nicholas Aroney, from UQ’s TCBeirne School of Law, worked with DrScott Prasser of the University of theSunshine Coast and J.R. Nethercote ofThe Menzies Research Institute to publishtheir findings in a book titled RestrainingElective Dictatorship: The Upper HouseSolution?Developed from a major nationalconference held in Brisbane in 2006which examined the need for an upperhouse in Queensland, the researchproposes that modern democraciesare dominated by tight party disciplineand an increasingly politicised publicservice, resulting in a kind of “electivedictatorship”.The research argues that a potentialsolution is the operation of a vibrantupper house as a means of improvingaccountability and acting as a break onexecutive government dominance.The book contains chapters on theupper houses in the United Kingdom,USA and Canada, as well as those inseveral Australian states. The book alsodiscusses the need for an upper house inQueensland.Restraining Elective Dictatorship: TheUpper House Solution? is published byUniversity of Western Australia Press.Dr Aroney has a further book, TheConstitution of a Federal Commonwealth:The Making and Meaning of theAustralian Constitution, due to bereleased by Cambridge University Pressin May.Call 132 888 or visit mecu.com.auSt Lucia Campus, Staff House Road, St LuciaGatton Campus, Morrison Hall, GattonSTEWART GOULD