Hollywood star misses Oscar, gets government chair (AFP)

SYDNEY (AFP) - Hollywood star Cate Blanchett missed out on an Oscar but has won the position of chairwoman at an Australian government summit meeting to chart the countrys future.

Blanchett will chair the "Creative Australia" discussions at Prime Minister Kevin Rudds 2020 Summit in parliaments Great Hall in Canberra on April 19-20, the government said Tuesday.

The chisel-cheekboned actress joins 10 other prominent Australians on an independent steering committee for the summit, billed as a meeting of 1,000 of the nations best and brightest minds.

Blanchett, who won an Oscar as best supporting actress in 2005 for her portrayal of Katharine Hepburn in "The Aviator," was nominated for two of the golden statuettes this year but was passed over.

The 38-year-old star had been in the running for best actress for "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" and best supporting actress for her gender-bending performance as a young Bob Dylan in "Im Not There".

The summit responsibilities for Blanchett, who is joint artistic director of the Sydney Theatre Company, include helping to select up to 100 participants and leading the discussion in her field of expertise.

She is due to give birth to her third child two weeks before the high-profile conference but has assured the prime minister she will attend.

"Shell be there," a spokeswoman for Rudd said.

Blanchett joins the likes of former deputy prime minister Tim Fischer, World Vision Australia head Tim Costello and Aboriginal surgeon Kelvin Kong as the only woman on the steering committee.

Rudd said the 1,000 participants would be drawn from business, academia, community and industrial organisations, and media, and include a number of eminent Australians.

"The Rudd governments interest is in harnessing and harvesting ideas from the community that are capable of being shaped into concrete policy actions," a government statement said.

The government will consider the options produced by each of the 10 groups and will respond publicly to them by the end of the year.