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Actress' newborn steals limelight at Aussie summit

Actress Cate Blanchett’s six-day-old son stole the limelight from more than 1,000 of Australia’s top citizens yesterday at a summit aimed at generating fresh policy ideas for the future.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd called the 2020 summit of what he termed the country’s “best and brightest” in Canberra to encourage innovative ideas after his election last November ended almost 12 years of conservative rule.

The theme of the meeting is “thinking big” but it was Blanchett’s tiny son Ignatius Martin Upton, born last Sunday, who was the focus of attention ahead of the opening ceremony in Parliament House.

The 38-year-old Oscar-winner beamed as she posed with her newborn, who displayed his mother’s knack for a scene stealing performance.

Blanchett’s fellow Hollywood star Hugh Jackman, another summit attendee, praised the actress for her determination to take part in the event, where she will coordinate debate on creative arts, so soon after childbirth.

“Cate Blanchett is superwoman ... she is amazing on every level, I think she is flawless as a person and I am thrilled that she is leading our stream,” Jackman said.

Rudd visited Blanchett in a hospital in Sydney on Tuesday to check if she still felt up to attending the summit but said she was adamant she would be there.

At yesterday’s launch, the Rudd said the government wanted “big ideas” to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

“We’re trying to do something new,” Rudd said. “Today we’re throwing open the windows of our democracy to let a bit of fresh air in. Rather than pretending that we the politicians of Australia have all the answers, and the truth is we don’t, we are turning now to you the people of Australia.”

He asked the summit’s 10 discussion groups to each submit a proposal and three concrete policy ideas, pledging that the government would respond to the suggestions by the end of the year.
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