The President, David Craddock, and his wife, Jan, attended the annual dinner of the Australian Academy of Sciences on 3 May, held in the Members’ Dining Room, Old Parliament House, on behalf of the Society. The highlight of the evening was the address by Professor Peter Doherty. The Nobel Laureate (medicine) and Australian of the Year thoroughly entertained the 285 guests with a mixture of history, the future and marketing. Professor Doherty mentioned that he had been honoured by one of two monuments to famous people at Memphis. It was of little surprise to hear that the other monument was for Elvis. One of the key points of the address was for scientists to network with other disciplines. Another important issue was the need to gain support from government and increase public interest in the sciences. The media must be better utilised as a means to increase public awareness and understanding of science. Professor Doherty stressed the importance of restricting comments to a single issue when dealing with the media. He gave examples of ‘off-the-cuff’ comments to reporters, which appeared in another perspective when published.

Professor Brian Anderson, President of the AAS, and Professor David Craig expressed very strong support for the Royal Society of New South Wales. They suggested the possibility of holding some combined activities between the two organizations.​