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The Menzies Leadership Foundation is proud to announce that Her Excellency the Honourable Ms Sam Mostyn AC, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, has accepted an invitation to serve as the Foundation’s official Patron.  This esteemed patronage represents a significant milestone in the Foundation’s enduring commitment to cultivating outstanding leadership for the greater good. Her […]

Unlocking science for the greater good requires more than innovation. It demands leadership, trust, and systems-level thinking.  When we first came together in 2020 to launch the MedTech Actuator Menzies Fellowship and Scholarship programs, the question wasn’t simply how to help scientists commercialise their research. It was broader and deeper: how can we prepare a

Episode 2, A Purposeful Edge: Leading in Uncertainty When heritage is treated as expendable and inclusion is seen as optional, leadership must stand for something more enduring.  In this episode of A Purposeful Edge: Leading in Uncertainty, Dr Peter Collins is joined by Dr Terri Janke, a Wuthathi, Yadhaigana and Meriam woman, lawyer and global

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