Bold. Inclusive. Urgent

Reimagining a Civil Australia

Why Civility Matters Now 

Communities across Australia are grappling with rising racism, tribalism, and distrust. We’re becoming more alienated and less able to bridge deepening social divides, and our social fabric is unravelling. Many institutions are caught between opposing forces or unsure how to respond, while citizens can act in ways institutions cannot, by building personal relationships across divides and creating momentum and space for structural responses. 

Key to this is civility: our appetite and ability to engage constructively across fundamental differences in common cause. Yet a contemporary culture and capacity for civil engagement is missing in many communities. Old-fashioned politeness is inadequate in the face of grievance, and imposing one group’s definition of civility can exacerbate tensions and so, we need to reimagine civility and build mechanisms to cultivate it at scale across Australia.

The Civility Initiative

Philanthropy brings high-risk capital and independence, connecting community heart with system-level nous to drive innovation and tackle contemporary racism and tribalism. The Menzies Leadership Foundation fosters outstanding leadership for the greater good; as a philanthropic foundation and system entrepreneur, we amplify a leadership movement and catalyse partnerships to build leadership at scale. One of our priority cohorts, our “leadership sandbox”, is citizens seeking to strengthen their communities’ resilience.

Through the Reimagining Civility Initiative, the Menzies Leadership Foundation, has convened a coalition to make sense of the challenges and opportunities around civility, unearth new insights, and co-develop an inclusive response. 

Our goal is bold: to reimagine a more civil Australia with a unifying narrative about race and diversity and a national platform for action that helps all Australians engage constructively across differences and strengthen their communities’ resilience

National Coalition

Support community pilots and make collective sense of insights.

Co-design a scalable, national approach with communities across Australia.

The Community Pilots

Ballarat Civility Exchange

Ballarat (population 114,000) has long been central to Australia’s story of justice, representation, and multiculturalism.  The 1850s gold rush and multicultural hub sparked demands for justice, fair representation and the Eureka Rebellion.  170 years on, Ballarat continues to wrestle with deep social challenges. In response, local government, industry, funders and community organisations are stepping forward together to tackle these issues in new and more connected ways.  

The Ballarat Foundation has launched the Ballarat Civility Exchange, a gathering of leaders across nonprofit, public, and private sectors with key activities to include: 

  • A learning circle where participants share insights and test micro-experiments. 
  • A Schools “Design Out Racism” Challenge, with $20,000 in prize funding to bring student ideas to life. 
  • Additional community-led campaigns under consideration. 

Tasmania Community Resilience Initiative

Tasmania (population 580,000) has many strengths as a connected island state. It also grapples with growing inequality and the continuing impacts of colonisation on Palawa community. From state politics to community, there is a call to ‘do leadership differently’ so that our differences do not divide but become a strength for Tasmanians to ‘pursue the quietly extraordinary’ together. 

Collaboration for Impact is embedding work on civility in the Tasmania Community Resilience Initiative with key activities to include: 

  • Three Futures Learning Circles to surface desired and competing futures. 
  • Consultations with community leaders and public focus groups. 
  • Developmental evaluation to capture lessons that inform national work.

Together, these pilots, one rooted in a regional city, the other spanning local, regional and state-level systems, will provide important contrasts as we shape a national approach. 

Insights So Far

Through early work, several key lessons are emerging: 

Narrative & language matter.

Terms like “racism” and “civility” resonate differently across communities. A working definition that has gained traction is: “our appetite and ability to engage constructively with each other across our fundamental differences in common cause.”

Exploration over prescription.

Local communities often lack capacity for exploratory approaches. Yet tackling racism and civility requires sense-making, trial, and iteration rather than fixed plans.

Common ground is emerging.

Across Ballarat and Tasmania, elements such as kindness, respect, inclusion, and calling in rather than calling out are surfacing as shared dimensions of civility.

Get Involved

We’re keen to engage with others in this work. Please get in touch with us if you’re interested in partnering to Reimagine a civil Australia.

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Natasha Eskinja

Digital Communications Coordinator

Natasha is driven by a profound passion for both creativity and analytics, a synergy that fosters authentic storytelling in the digital realm with both innovation and integrity. 

Throughout her career, she has consistently integrated the overarching marketing and communications narrative with the emotional connections of audiences. She is currently pursuing a Certificate in Society and the Individual from Flinders University, furthering her exploration of human behaviour and the critical importance of connectedness between organisations, individuals, and communities.

LinkedIn | natasha.eskinja@menziesfoundation.org.au

Sarah Jenkins

Strategic Communications Manager

Sarah has more than 18 years’ experience in communications and marketing leadership across a range of sectors.

Communications strategy and organisational growth is a continuing theme in Sarah’s career. Most recently, she leads the development of a Leadership Movement, evaluated by Menzies Viral Co-efficient Model; a contribution to the NFP. 

Sarah’s early career centred around best practice in marketing and communications which later culminated into the establishment of her very own agency. This work extensively spanned across PR, traditional media, event management, strategy, digital marketing, graphic design and business development consultancy. 

In 2019, Sarah joined the lean and robust team at the Menzies Foundation. She has since crafted the Foundation’s narrative and communication strategy. The development of this strategic communications platform is essential for ‘movement building’ and requires a strong strategic, management and communication skills set. Sarah has brought so much to this important work, which sits at the forefront of communication practice. 

Sarah continues to contribute to the NFP sector through her commitment to Purpose; as she reflects on her own leadership, builds her own leadership capability and contributes to the greater good. 

LinkedIn | sarah.jenkins@menziesfoundation.org.au | 0401 880 071

Rohan Martyres

Director, Strategy and Partnerships

Rohan has 15 years’ experience in facilitating cross-sector collaborations to address complex social and health challenges.  He has worked with the World Economic Forum in Australia, led an international conflict resolution field team in Nepal, and directed a 10-year £40m initiative to reduce health inequity in London.

Most recently, Rohan was Major Grants Development Manager at the Ian Potter Foundation.  He refined the foundation’s major grants strategy, and co-developed a series of large scale initiatives, including joint philanthropic-government funding for a new national organization to support place-based approaches across Australia.

Rohan has held several non-executive roles, including with an international NGO and with London Funders, the peak body of independent foundations in London.  He holds several qualifications including a graduate degree in innovation and strategy from the Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.

When Rohan isn’t exploring Melbourne’s creeks with his partner and 6yo daughter, he’s working on his currently weak Australian accent (after 15 years in the UK).

LinkedIn | rohan.martyres@menziesfoundation.org.au | 0404 505 954

Trudy Morrison

Operations Manager

A marketing and communications specialist with over 20 years experience in government, corporate and consumer marketing, Trudy brings her adaptive and organisational project management skills to the Menzies Foundation team. 

With a BA degree in Public Relations, Trudy began her career with the City of Melbourne and in magazine publishing, before moving into marketing communications consulting. She has worked in strategic marketing leadership roles with retail brands and enjoys juggling many projects and tasks simultaneously. Her skills were further enhanced when managing her own communications business representing industries across private education, financial services, aviation, government and the health industry. 

Trudy is passionate about leadership and all people being encouraged to reach their full potential through research and educational initiatives and opportunities throughout Australia. A skilled and accomplished writer and editor Trudy is enthusiastic about bringing her variety of skills to the Menzies Foundation team. 

LinkedIn | trudy.morrison@menziesfoundation.org.au | 0402 361 878

Liz Gillies

Chief Executive Officer

Liz Gillies has had over 25 years experience in a range of fields focused on initiatives for social impact. She has held roles in multiple sectors and academia.

In 2018, Liz was appointed CEO of the Menzies Foundation which aspires to build a leadership movement that supports Australians to pivot to purpose, build their leadership capability and contribute to the ‘greater good’.

Liz joined the Melbourne Business School in 2009 and was instrumental in establishing the Asia Pacific Social Impact Centre (APSIC) and The Centre for Ethical Leadership. In November 2011 she was appointed as research fellow to lead a partnership focused on strategic philanthropy which culminated in the release of the reports: Philanthropy: Towards a Better Practice Model (2018) and the Philanthropy: The Continued Journey to Real Impact and better Practice (2021).

Liz has extensive governance experience, having served on the Board of the Publish Galleries Association of Victoria, Social Firms Australia, Uniting Care Community Options, United Way Australia and the Development Committee of the Towards a Just Society Foundation. She is currently on the Philanthropy Reference Group of Barmal Bijiril and a Director of Philanthropy Australia.

LinkedIn | liz.gillies@menziesfoundation.org.au | 0416 112 703

Natasha Eskinja

Digital Communications Coordinator

Natasha is driven by a profound passion for both creativity and analytics, a synergy that fosters authentic storytelling in the digital realm with both innovation and integrity. 

Throughout her career, she has consistently integrated the overarching marketing and communications narrative with the emotional connections of audiences. She is currently pursuing a Certificate in Society and the Individual from Flinders University, furthering her exploration of human behaviour and the critical importance of connectedness between organisations, individuals, and communities.

natasha.eskinja@menziesfoundation.org.au