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The new millennium has witnessed a resurgence of interest and research about ethical considerations in government, business and international relations.
This unique conference will bring together an international mix of philosophers, political scientists, legal theorists, economists, religious scholars and public policy practitioners to explore the ethical foundations of public policy.
Over two days there will be more than 50 presentations of the latest research and insights on a range of important topics such as:
- what are the ethical constraints on those involved in different aspects of the policy process?
- how should ethical considerations be incorporated into policy advice and decisions?
- what decision rules should we apply when confronted with policy trade-offs and conflicting ethical imperatives?
- what obligations do we have to people in other countries and to future generations?
- how should we measure societal progress?
- how should we protect the global commons for future generations?
- what is the nature of the good society?
Day 1
Session 1 Ethics in Government Plenary chaired by Professor Jonathan Boston
8.45 am Welcome: Professor Jonathan Boston, Institute for Governance and Policy Studies, Victoria University of
Wellington
8.50 am Opening Address: Hon Bill English, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
9.15 am Meg Munn MP, Former Foreign Office Minister, Former Minister for Women and Equality, United Kingdom Ethics in government
9.50 am Professor John Uhr, Crawford School of Economics and Government, Australian National University Ethics in government: Be careful what you wish for.
10.40 am Morning tea
Session 2 Justice and Public Policy Plenary chaired by Professor Jonathan Boston
11.10 am Professor William Galston, Brookings Institution, Washington DC; the Ezra K. Zikha Chair in Governance Studies Real-world justice (by video conference)
12.00 noon Professor Tom Campbell, Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics, Charles Sturt University, Canberra: Justice, humanity and prudence
12.50-1.30 pm Lunch
Session 3 Simultaneous Streams
1.30-3.00 pm Stream i Speaking truth to power (I) Chair Dr Chris Eichbaum
Associate Professor Michael Mintrom, Auckland University: Doing ethical policy analysis
Dr David Bromell, Ministry of Social Development: The public servant as analyst, advisor and advocate
Dr John Angus, Childrens Commissioner: If the Minister is the client, where's the public?
Stream ii Justice and equality Chair Professor Don Locke
Professor Andrew Bradstock, University of Otago: Tackling economic inequality
Dr Karen Baehler, Victoria University: New Zealand justice as collective capability
Dr Christoph Henning, University of St Gallen: Welfare, perfectionism, and equality
Stream iii Decision making (I) Chair Professor Terry Stokes
Associate Professor Martin Wilkinson, University of Auckland: The ethics of not-very-targeted interventions
Vanessa Scholes, The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand: Serving a purpose: Should the ethical conception of society bound the ethical focus of policy decision-making?
Stream iv Ethics and economics Chair Gerald Minnee
Professor Morris Altman, Victoria University: Behavioral economics, ethics, and public policy:
The road to serfdom or freedom?
Dr Simon Smelt, Australian National University: Regulation of financial markets: Panics, moral hazard and the long-term good
Dr David Rea, Victoria University: Would New Zealand's economic performance improve if we were more ethical?
Stream v Measuring progress Chair Professor Sharleen Forbes
Professor Paul Dalziel and Professor Caroline Saunders, Lincoln University: Equity and sustainable development
Rachael Milicich, Statistics New Zealand: Measuring New Zealand's progress using a sustainable development approach
Dr Robert Howell and Dr Wayne Cartwright, Council for Socially Responsible Investment:
The ethics of a sustainable economy: Implications for public policy
3.00-3.25 pm Afternoon tea
Session 4 Simultaneous Streams
3:30-5:30 pm Stream i Speaking truth to power (II) Chair Dr Chris Eichbaum
Roundtable on Speaking Truth to Power
Stream ii Ethics and health Chair Dr Jackie Cumming
Professor Wendy Rogers, Macquarie University, and Dr Angela Ballantyne: Setting the medical research agenda: Vulnerability, autonomy and justice
Dr Elizabeth Fenton, Harvard University: Making fair funding decisions for high cost health care
Hilary Stace, Victoria University and Dr Martin Sullivan, Massey University: Can policy be ethical without consumer input?
Stream iii Protecting the commons (I) Chair Judy Lawrence
Dr Andy Reisinger, Victoria University and Dr Howard Larsen, Ministry for the Environment:
Does the fundamental role of ethics in climate change policy require more explicit recognition to facilitate a constructive debate?
Dr Ramon Das, Dr David Eng and Dan Turton, Victoria University: Sharing the responsibilty of dealing with climate change: Interpreting the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities
Dr Russell Harding, Victoria University: Tangaroa's children: Maori approaches to
protecting resoures
Cath Wallace, Victoria University: Valuing natural capital
Stream iv Ethical conduct and policy Chair Dr. Karen Baehler
Professor Rex Ahdar, University of Otago: Legislating immorality?
Kim Workman, Rethinking Crime and Punishment: The moral performance of New Zealand prisons
Fleur Matthews, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry: The ethical dilemmas within animal welfare policy
Stream v Ethics and evidence Chair Professor Terry Stokes
Dr Amanda Wolf, Victoria University: An experimental mindset for evidence-based policy decision making
Dr Karlheinz Knickel, Justine Daw, Janine Smith and Todd Krieble, Ministry for the Environment: Supporting an evidence-based policy culture: From environmental reporting to strategic analysis and decision-making
Professor Sharleen Forbes, Statistics New Zealand and Victoria University, Vince Galvin, Andrew Hunter, Paul Maxwell and Whetu Wereta, Statistics New Zealand: Recent challenges to the ethics underlying official statistics in New Zealand
Dr Carol Mutch, Education Review Office: The ethics of external evaluation: The case of the Education Review Office
6.30 pm Conference Dinner hosted by Hon Dr Nick Smith in The Grand Hall, Parliament Buildings.
Day 2
Session 5 The Contribution of Philosophy to Addressing Global Issues
Plenary chaired by Professor Jonathan Boston
8.45 am Welcome: Professor Jonathan Boston
8.50 am Professor John Broome, Whites Professor of Moral Philosophy, Oxford University: The ethics of climate change (by video conference)
9.45 am Professor Jonathan Wolff, Department of Philosophy, University College London:
What can philosophers contribute to public policy? (by video conference)
10.40 am Morning tea
Session 6 Measuring Progress Plenary chaired by Dr David Rea
11.10 am Dr Simon Chapple, OECD: Measuring global progress (pre-recorded video)
11.55 am Professor Thomas Pogge, Leitner Professor of Philosophy and International Affairs, Yale University and Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics, Australian National University: Developing better indices of poverty and gender equity
12.50-1.30 pm Lunch
Session 7 Simultaneous Streams
1.30-300 pm Stream i Decision making (II) Chair Dr David Eng
Hon Professor Margaret Bedggood, University of Waikato: Who then is my neighbour? Ethical decision making around our international obligations: The contribution of human rights theory and practice
Associate Professor Chris Marshall, Victoria University: Go and do likewise? The parable of the Good Samaritan and the challenge of public ethics
Dr Clair Mills, University of Auckland: Ethical decision-making in humanitarian aid: Lessons for public policy?
Stream ii Measuring progress (II) Chair Dr Karen Baehler
Yuefeng Guo, University of Auckland, Professor Brenda Vale and Dr Robert Vale, Victoria University: Comparison of social progress between China and New Zealand
Aaron Packard and Associate Professor Ralph Chapman, Victoria University: Genuine progress for the Wellington Region?
Conal Smith, Statistics New Zealand: The relationship between the economic cycle and social indicators - lessons from New Zealand
Stream iii Protecting the commons Chair Dr Russell Harding
Stan Crothers and Carolyn Risk Protecting the global commons: Effective governance of the commons - an ethical imperative
Dr Karlheinz Knickel, Ministry for the Environment, Guy Salmon, Ecologic Foundation and Susanne von Muenchhausen, University of Frankfurt: Cooperative environmental management and ecosystem services: Taking care of New Zealand's unique natural resources in more effective ways
Dr Xavier Marquez, Victoria University: Virtue and the tragedy of the commons: Towards a theory of conditionally virtuous actions
3.00-3.30 pm Afternoon tea
Final Session
3.30 pm Professor Don Locke Looking for morals: a conference retrospect
4.00 pm Tony Hartevelt, State Services Commission Closing remarks