23. I'm not keen to name ten most influential Oz thinkers because there are thinkers in fields that I know nothing of, and on the other hand, in my area, the ten most influential thinkers are likely to be unknown, and of little interest, to people in other areas. And there may not be ten of them. And in literature, writers may not be easily thought of as thinkers. What happens is that someone like Robert Manne ends up heading the list (this happened recently). Or Peter Craven. So I'd rather pass, if that is okay.

24. The usual assumption is that all the talent leaves Australia . . . Still, the brains, and my list is very biased and narrow, would be (in no particular order): Prof. John Braithwaite; Thomas Keneally; Tim Costello; Noel Pearson; Ann Curthoys & John Docker (can I nominate them together?); Paul Kelly; David Williamson; Keith Windschuttle; Bill Leak (the cartoonist, because to be able to make such insightful comments on current events with a picture smacks of real intellectual talent). I assume you mean alive? Not being au fait with science I have undoubtedly left people off the list who should be on it.

25. Best minds? Here are some names, not in any rank order. The reasons I designate them influential are (a) they have some national public recognition that goes beyond their own state (most of our intellectual leaders are seen as heroes in their hometown, e.g. G Turner in Brisbane, or B Attwood in Melbourne, but have no name recognition beyond it); and (b) because most of them (except Manne and Macintyre ) are heeded in policy circles and hence have impact on decisions that affect all of us: Fiona Stanley (youth and youth affairs); Stuart Macintyre (perhaps the only historian approaching Blainey or Clark in public recognition); Bob O'Neill (yes, retired fro some time, but still immensely important as an adviser to governments on strategic issues and nuclear proliferation); Ross Homel (criminology); Peter Saunders (UNSW, not the one at CIS!) (welfare); Barbara Pocock (work & family policy); Simon Marginson (education); Judy Brett (Liberalism and the Liberal Paerty):

Bruce Chapman (HECS & income contingent loans); John Quiggin (economics); Robert Manne (commentator); John Braithwaite (regulatory regimes).

26. It would be more fun to sit down with a few friends over a glass of wine and work this one out! - but I can’t run to ten off hand. I would name Robert Manne - committed, NOT afraid of copping he flak, and out there. There are lots of other people whom I respect (of course!) but not all of them are 'out there' in the same way. I have always admired Michael Roe as a fine intellectual historian but would not class him as a 'public intellectual' nor do I consider him influential or 'important' in way you mean. Influential - Laki Jayasuriya always has a lot to say and has a great gift of organising people to get things into the public arena. Ditto Philip Adams - his position gives him the capacity to open up and contribute to debates so would label him a person of influence. Henry Reynolds and Stuart MacIntyre in public history circles. Are the best minds in the country the same as the ten most influential and/or important thinkers? Wouldn't think so. Lotta blokes! That will have to be my hasty two bobs worth, sans vino

27. Interesting idea. Obvious question - do you mean influence among the informed public, or at more reified levels? To give you an example - Mike Evans is more influential within areas of Defence, but Dibb has a much higher public profile and reach into the parliamentary ALP. Anyway, let me know what broad rules of engagement you want applied, and I'll give it some thought over the weekend.

28. This sounds very interesting. I put forward the following: Cassandra Pybus; George Williams; Jocelynne Scutt; Bob Brown; Gough Whitlam; Michael Kirby; Carmen Lawrence; Henry Reynolds; Glenn Murcutt; Inga Clendinnen. If we can include off-shore Australians I would say Germaine Greer and John Keane. I have chosen those whose work and thinking extends beyond their impact in their immediate fields (there would be many more in that category alone) but that also encompasses broader questions about the sort of society they believe Australia could and should be.

29. You'll have to excuse me, I feel rather numb at the moment because of Israel 's brutality and cruelty towards Gaza and Lebanon and the West's acceptance of such deliberate mass killing of Arab and Muslim civilians. What the Israelis are flagrantly doing - down to the use of cluster bombs and attacking ambulances - is a test of where the West stands, and the verdict is clear and will have momentous consequences for the world. (Of course attacking a UN post and killing a Chinese soldier and three European soldiers is another matter.) I've also lost interest in Australia , which I regard as a perpetrator society in relation to refugees, the Iraq War, and so on. The only intellectuals I can think of in relation to your question are Larissa Behrendt and Frances Peters Little (Indigenous perspectives), Ghassan Hage and Antony Loewenstein (Israel and the Middle East), and Dirk Moses (genocide studies).

30. Mine is a subjective list, and for me 'important' is inseparable from 'influential' - for me, a thinker has to DO to be both. If one perceives oneself as an activist, as I do, then the importance/influence is highly subjective. I have no interest in thinkers who solely contribute to say, loyalty to nation, or support nationalistic agendas (which I emphatically oppose). I also see thinkers who benefit socio-political causes as being of primary importance, and as a vegan anarchist pacifist my band of what is vitally relevant will be different and 'limited' by this. Having said this, I list some thinkers below I profoundly disagree with in certain ethical contexts, but greatly admire because of the clarity of their thinking in their specialist areas, or for opening areas of thought in some way. Nonetheless, the relevance still comes into play as useful thinking is thinking that can be adapted and adjusted to one's own purposes and needs (or the 'group's' needs/purposes). in other words, I might profoundly disagree but see an interactive picture emerging - one in which these different thinkers give something to a process I perceive as being politically, culturally, and interactively relevant. Most have opened my eyes to something, and continue to do so. Many I know personally, and those interactions have been personally enriching for me. Some are known in the broader community, others not: Veronica brady - academic, activist, spiritual guide; Ouyang Yu - writer and poet, cultural commentator; Ken Wark - cultural commentator; Helen Caldicott - anti-nuclear activist; Mar Bucknell – anarchist; Elizabeth Grosz – philosopher; Lionel Fogarty - Murri poet and activist; Karl Wiebke – artist; Graham Nerlich – philosopher; Julian Burnside - QC, activist for human rights

31: Here is my list in no particular order: Robert Manne; Noel Pearson; George Pell; Hilary Charlesworth; Keith Windschuttle; Clive Hamilton; Denis Altman; Paul Kelly journalist; Michael Kirby; Peter Singer (if Singer is ruled out as not strictly in Australia I’d substitute Senator Bob Brown). I’m sorry there is only one woman on my list but that’s how it turned out. My bias is towards current influence/importance and by and large substantial direct connection with Australia so I haven’t included people such as Germaine Greer. Residence in Australia is important for me. For me the influence of thinkers on the Howard government is a crucial factor that can’t be overlooked after going on eleven years, so I include a number of conservative thinkers. I also have a bias towards individuals who have created their own institutions such as Clive Hamilton (Australia Institute) and Noel Pearson (Cape York Foundation). I haven’t taken too much account of international importance in some objective, academic ranking sense.

32. What an interesting exercise - I just wish I had more time to give to it. Anyway here is my list, influenced no doubt by my baby boomer/academic/humanities worldview: i. Meaghan Morris * a sophisticated thinker at the cutting edge of post colonial and cultural studies, and one of the most satisfying Australian thinkers/ writers I have read. While I understand that her international influence is great, she is less recognised in Australia although held in high esteem by other thinkers. Although I have no research data to back up my claim, I would say that she is a ‘thinker’s thinker’, a catalytic type of thinker * she generates and stimulates ideas. She thickens the ideas stew; ii. David Malouf * an elegant writer who brings a soulful dimension to his work about the Australian condition. He is not as influential as others, but he has made a steady thoughtful and important contribution that cannot be ignored; iii. Don Watson * for his ‘bleeding heart’ and for the Redfern Speech. Influential and important by virtue of the prime ministerial platform he harnessed to tell the national story. An intellectual with his sleeves rolled up; iv.Marcia Langton * for unflinching analysis and for trying to talk some sense into Australians about race relations in this country. Authority, longevity, and versatility are hallmarks of Langton’s career(s) as one of the foremost (most important) Aboriginal intellectuals in Australia; v. Ian Lowe * a scientist with a strong voice. He speaks informed sense in a number of public fora * he is important if not as influential as he should be; vi. Peter Singer * for thinking about areas we try to ignore. An important thinker, if not so much influential. Singer is a foundational thinker; vii. Rolfe de Heer * for always challenging us, for thoughtfulness and respect, and for Ten Canoes. Thinking in images rather than words makes de Heer very powerful and influential and important; viii. Ross Gibson * his work never fails to excite and illuminate. Thinking in words about images and in images about ideas, Gibson is in a class of his own. Important and influential: ix Robert (Bob) Connell for consistently making the running in his research - and for his work on masculinities. Very very Influential and important; x. Anne Summers * for articulating a new version of the Australian past that found a wide audience. She is an enormously influential and important Australian feminist.

33. I may be a little late in my contribution - my apologies. I don't know about the word 'greatest' - never a word I like to use. Here are some Australian writers/thinkers who I personally always listen to/read when their voices are heard in the public domain and whose thoughts I generally respect: Amanda Lohrey; Malcolm Knox; Eva Sallis; Phillip Adams; Peter Garrett; Mark Davis; Kim Scott; Tim Flannery; Anne Summers. I would also add the religious leader Ajahn Brahmavamso, holder of the John Curtin Medal. Whether they are our best thinkers, I don't know, and I suspect not (without being disrespectful to this distinguished list). I suspect our most outstanding thinkers are less likely to be at the coalface of public debate and are probably quietly going about making their outstanding contributions to science, creativity, medicine, politics and the environment, despite and/or regardless of public debate.

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