Local experts, global issues 

 
 

Water wars and threats to Asian security are being played out at the Museum and Art Gallery of the NT this month.

Territorians can access the latest in global knowledge from local experts at the Charles Darwin University (CDU) Public Lecture Series every Tuesday in May.

The free lectures, which started last week, address topics of vital importance to the Territory and Australia.

The series features CDU lecturers and special guest Associate Professor Simon Tay from the Singapore Institute of International Affairs.

CDU lecturer Eric Valentine will speak on tomorrow (9 May) about the most important element on earth - water - and how much we will need it in the future.

Professor Valentine’s lecture, ‘Water, water, everywhere - so what’s the problem?’, will get everyone thinking about their own water use and how we waste this precious resource.

Professor Valentine said Territorians could expect conflict and controversy with his talk.

“Water wars have been going on for 6000 years and they are only going to get worse. It’s a political problem and one the world needs to work together on,” Professor Valentine said.

Associate Professor Tay, a world expert in the field of international relations, will talk about the tensions and security threats in the Asian region on 16 May in a special lunchtime lecture.

His lecture, ‘Asian perceptions of security and perceptions of threat’, examines the role of the US and growing power of China in Asian relations and how they will affect future policy.

CDU professor Brian Andrew will examine why our current tax system is turning well-meaning citizens into criminals and confusing everyone who deals with it. His lecture, ‘Tax reform, tax holidays and economic development’, will be held on 23 May.

To round out the series the head of CDU’s School for Environmental Research, Professor David Bowman will talk about how science needs to overcome the damage humans have caused to the environment in his lecture ‘Science, survival and global environmental change’ on 30 May.

CDU’s public lecture series has been created to give Territorians access to some of the finest academics in their fields to discuss issues affecting the NT.

CDU Public Lecture Series May 2006

Lectures take place every Tuesday in May at 6pm at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Fannie Bay.

9 May - Water, water every where. So what’s the problem?
Eric Valentine, Professor of Civil Engineering, CDU

16 May - Asian conceptions of security and perceptions of threat
Dr Simon Tay, Singapore Institute International Affairs (Special lunchtime lecture 12pm to 1pm)

23 May - Tax reform, tax holidays and economic development
Professor Brian Andrew, School of Law and Business, CDU

30 May - Science, survival and global environmental change
Professor David Bowman, School for Environmental Research, CDU