The scale and seriousness of Australia's social and environmental problems are no longer in doubt. We are consuming the opportunities of future Australian generations by our lifestyle choices. And at the global level, human activities are altering the very systems on which our species depends. Doing nothing about such problems as climate change is not an option. It is possible to move to a sustainable future but it will require fundamental changes to our values and national social institutions. We must recognise that we share a common future with the entire human family and the other species with which we share the planet. It is not just our humanitarian duty to improve the lot of the poorest people of the world. It is also enlightened self-interest because a world of increasing inequality will be a world of increasingly destructive tension.