natasha eskinja

In a media landscape increasingly shaped by algorithmic feeds, misinformation, and declining trust, the role of independent, community-rooted journalism has never been more vital. That’s why the Menzies Leadership Foundation is proud to support the Local and Independent News Association (LINA) through a matched funding contribution to their 2025 national fundraising initiative. LINA represents a […]

The Menzies Leadership Foundation warmly congratulates our Board Director Tony Surtees AM on his appointment as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2025 King’s Birthday Honours List, recognised for “significant service to the support and advocacy of technological and charitable entrepreneurialism.” Tony is a visionary leader whose career bridges technology, entrepreneurship, public

By Dr. Aiden M.A. Thornton “The leadership we need will not happen by chance. There needs to be ever-stronger purposeful support and development.”  This quote from Leading in Complexity: An Initial Enquiry in Tasmania highlights a concern familiar to many leadership scholars and practitioners:  effective leadership does not simply emerge from good intentions or coincidence

Episode 1, A Purposeful Edge: Leading in Uncertainty When old certainties collapse, leadership must become something more than operational, it must become deeply transformational. In this first episode of the A Purposeful Edge: Leading in Uncertainty podcast series, Dr Peter Collins is joined by Professor Rufus Black, Vice Chancellor of the University of Tasmania, to

Exploring new governance models through participatory grantmaking.  At the Menzies Leadership Foundation, we believe leadership must evolve to meet the complexity of the challenges we face—climate uncertainty, social disconnection, and growing mistrust in our institutions. This evolution calls for bold, experimental models that shift power, foster civic agency, and invest in local capability.  As part

By Dr. Aiden M.A. Thornton “Generational changes are always a challenge… there are many older leaders at sea to understand how to approach leadership with the younger generations.” This quote from Leading in Complexity: An Initial Enquiry in Tasmania vividly illustrates a tension that many leaders are feeling: how to lead across difference in a

The Menzies Leadership Foundation, in partnership with Global Voices, is proud to announce the inaugural cohort of the Sir Ninian Stephen Law Delegation Fellows. These three emerging legal leaders—Samar Batool Athar, Tiarna Williams, and Nashita Pasha—have been selected to represent Australia at the United Nations General Assembly Sixth Committee (Legal) in October 2025. This prestigious

By Dr. Aiden M.A. Thornton  “My complexities as a leader relate to organisational culture and introducing and managing change…”.  This quote from Leading in Complexity: An Initial Enquiry in Tasmania captures a reality that many leaders feel acutely: the pressure to manage change at the pace it is unfolding. It’s where good intentions collide with

Overview Over four years, from 2020 to 2023, the MedTech Actuator, in partnership with the Menzies Leadership Foundation, delivered two national science entrepreneurship programmes. These initiatives were designed to bridge the gap between scientific research and commercialisation by equipping researchers with essential entrepreneurial skills. The programmes offered robust and practical training, one-on-one mentorship, and facilitated

By Dr. Aiden M.A. Thornton  “System complexity is an ever-increasing challenge for leaders… I feel like the level of overwhelm being experienced by leaders is increasing.”    This powerful quote from Leading in Complexity: An Initial Enquiry in Tasmania expresses something many leaders are feeling but perhaps struggling to articulate: the creeping weight of complexity, and