SCIENCE MEETS PARLIAMENT Australian researchers visit Parliament

Australia has a problem when it comes to the relationship between science and members of Parliament. Few Parliamentarians understand the possibilities of science. They do not understand the limitations of science, or the long time scales it can take to develop an idea into something that will benefit the community. Nor do our scientists understand the work of members of Parliament. They do not have a clear idea of the political processes. They do not appreciate the pressures or the time scales Parliamentarians work to. Both sides, the scientists and the Parliamentarians recognise the importance of each other. But there is no natural dialogue between the two sides, because they come from different worlds. This paper describes three ways to build a new dialogue between scientists and MPs