the Hon. Dr Brendan Nelson AO delivers 2020 John Monash Oration presented by the Commonwealth Bank

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to the General Sir John Monash 2020 Oration. Firstly, I'd like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land, wherever you might be, but in my case the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, and pay my respects to their elders past, present and emerging. I'm Jillian Siegel, the Chairman of the John Monash Foundation. Today I'm joined by our orator and John Monash scholar who will speak in reply. We are joined by many CBA clients and John Monash supporters and scholars. It's not as fun as seeing you all in person, but I do hope you enjoy this virtual oration and still find it stimulating and worthwhile. We're hosted today by the Commonwealth Bank, which has been a supporter of the John Monash Foundation for over 10 years, in fact since 2004. They've had 10 scholarships to date, so they have been absolutely wonderful partners. Our actual host is going to be speaking shortly, Andrew Hinchliffe. So let me introduce Andrew. Andrew is the Group Executive Institutional Banking and Markets. After a career at Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs before CBA, he is now a very important person at CBA, keeping the wheels of commerce turning, which in this period we're in is absolutely critical. Our orator this year is the Honourable Dr Brendan Nelson AO, whose CV you have. In addition to his past government and ambassadorial roles and his current role as Chairman of Boeing Australia, he was also the Director of the Australian War Memorial from 2012 to 2019. It's really during that time that I got to know Brendan very well, because I had the privilege of being on the War Memorial board. I can speak to the profound influence that Brendan had on the War Memorial, not only cementing it as a repository of amazing Australian stories but of Australian values. He is personally inspiring and very committed to Australia, so it's extremely fitting that Brendan will speak to us today about leadership, faith, and trust in times of adversity, and the power of Australian stories. Brendan will speak for about 25 minutes. Then I will introduce the 2013 BHP Germany scholar, Jillian Kilby, to reply, and Andrew Hinchliff will field questions at the conclusion of Julian Kilby's response. So please feel free to send them in virtually. Now I'm going to hand over to Brendan. Welcome to the microphone.

Well, thank you so much, Brendan, for what I can only describe as a tour de force, quite an amazing rendition of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But I think so wonderfully put in the context of General Monash, the purpose for the foundation and the work we do with our scholars. The values you spoke of, particularly those written in relation to the War Memorial, are what we look for in our scholars. Your statement that the future belongs to them and we are looking to them, we feel very proud that we have at this point 202 scholars, all of whom we think exhibit those values. They are all people of character who are trying to serve others. There is no more perfect example than the person I'm about to introduce, someone with a very similar name: Jillian Kilby. She is a 2013 scholar who the foundation sponsored to study a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Public Policy at Stanford University. She had a Bachelor of Civil Engineering with first-class honors and was the Australian Young Professional Engineer of the Year and Sydney University's Young Alumni of the Year. She established her own boutique infrastructure advisory business focused on regional Australia. In 2018, as the New South Wales Rural Woman of the Year, she purchased a 133-year-old heritage post office in Dubbo and became the founder and CEO of The Exchange, a co-working space built to empower the brave. Exactly where Brendan focused is where Jillian's life's work is still ahead of her. Can I invite her to come and reply on behalf of the scholars?

Thank you so much, Jillian. It's a delight to a curious mind to have the opportunity to sit here and listen to Brendan in person. It takes courage to stand up here after him. I'm focusing on two of Brendan's values: courage and curiosity. The topic is that the threshold to trust is rising. Brendan dedicated his speech to our nurses, a group we wholly trust. However, the threshold within Australia to trust is rising. I walked off a farm near Walgett in northwest New South Wales and onto the campus of Stanford University. Back when I was growing up, the bush wasn't a place for unusual changes in your life trajectory. I was giving up an established infrastructure advisory business, regional clients, lifestyle, partner, two black Labradors. This level of change wasn't normal. Leadership is about curiosity and courage to break new ground, to trust in oneself, one's ideas, and those around you. I was embracing the unknown, described as the opportunity to contribute to the infrastructure debate at the most senior level. I was currently the boots on the ground in the regions for infrastructure. It's not a clear linear step to shut a small business to study business to re-emerge. When Brendan spoke about having an open mind and being courageous, I was faced with commentary that I was giving up what everyone else wanted to achieve. Brendan has had three distinct and incredible careers where he's

Reached the peak each time in as little as 62 years. John Monash. Every Monash scholar, and including myself, we enjoy distinct changes in our lives as a result of a Monash scholarship. For me, the characteristics of leadership that are most important, the ability that gives us the ability to embrace change, is this: curiosity, courage, joy, integrity, and the trust of those people around us. Interestingly, in a study of people in their final days of life, talked about these characteristics often as being regrets: not being courageous enough, not being curious enough, not seeking out more joy, not trusting and loving this small group of people around us. In times of adversity, and when adversity becomes this new norm that we're in today, the thresholds to trust rise, and the ability for everyone to come along on the journey with you is so powerful. And this is what John Monash was able to do so well. He was known for bringing people along on the journey. At this time of my life, the Monash selection panel said to me, 'What do you see as leadership?' And I told the story of a post-war John Monash returning to lead the State Electricity Commission in Victoria, and the premier of the day had denied Monash a million pounds to roll out a consistent network of power across Victoria. Upon denial of the money, Monash walked into the premier's office unannounced, and the whole room stood to greet him. Leadership is not an appointment to the highest position of authority. And Brendan spoke about this, that leadership is not your position, it's your principles. And Monash had both. Leadership is seen as the wave of people who rise to meet you along your way. And as thresholds to trust rise in adversity, I want to know how you and how our scholars, how their stories and their presence will rise to influence others in their leadership. Leadership is about curiosity, it's about courage to break new ground, and it's about the pursuit of ethical goals through your influence. I went to Stanford to chase a goal to become a trusted professional, so maybe one day I would be walking in behind closed doors to define Australia's infrastructure. And today I do it from Zoom, and I do it through cloud-based software that helps organizations know when their projects are shovel-ready and advocate for funding across Australia. This is not something I had before I became a Monash scholar. This is something I learned as a result of my degree and my time in Silicon Valley. Leadership is about curiosity and courage to break new ground, to trust in one's ideas that change the way things have always been done. There's this fantastic quote stenciled into the concrete as you walk onto the Stanford University campus, and it says, 'There comes a time in every life when the past recedes and the future opens. Some will walk into the unknown, and some will go back to where they came. I cannot tell you which way is right, but I can tell you which way is more fun.' And leadership is about the joy we create along the way. And walking out of my MBA and public policy masters, I chose the fun unknown of starting a business in America. And it's hard to believe that a girl from the bush could walk in and advise the California High-Speed Rail Authority. It's not a surprise, and it's not hard to believe that after a couple of years, that girl returned to Australia, and no sooner had the plane hit the tarmac than I asked for the pilot to take me over the other side of the Blue Mountains. Leadership is curiosity and courage to break new ground, even if you're returning to old territory. Two of the most exciting moments for the Monash Foundation is when they award the scholarships and when those scholars return home. For me, it's not enough to return to Australia and continue delivering infrastructure advice. How do you pay forward the most incredible opportunity of your life? There was this sticky problem I'd been wanting to solve for some time. It's how do you lead a movement of change to bring confidence to people who want to start and scale their businesses? And believe it or not, confidence was my greatest challenge. Courage was my challenge running a small business in the regions. And it simply disappeared one day for me. And Monash gave me the opportunity, while low in confidence, high in ambition, to go to Silicon Valley to learn to be the best, bravest version of myself. And when I came back to Australia, it was surprising to find an abandoned heritage building in the main street of Dubbo, a 133-year-old post office, and to see the paint peeling away as buyer after buyer was unable to purchase. I left the fear behind that this project was too hard. I wrote a letter to the CEO of Telstra and purchased the building with the intention to convert it into Australia's best co-working space. But as the threshold to trust continues to rise, I had to demonstrate that I would lead a social movement from that building. And it was my story of leaving regional Australia with confidence low, ambition high, to solve this problem that I once faced, was what won the day with that organization. Leadership is courage to break new ground, but the story is the most powerful tool you carry along your way. Serendipitously, we come full circle here at the Commonwealth Bank today. This is the organization that stepped in six weeks before settlement as my trusted financial partner. They trusted my intentions, and I had the courage to borrow the money to make this dream a reality. And as the scaffolding came down and the grand renovation of Dubbo's most important heritage icon was complete, The Exchange opened. It was at that time that I got a hot pink card in the mail from a young girl, eight years old, following our journey on Instagram. We've never met, but for her, she was watching something transform in the regions that she couldn't see in the city. The card said she had begun to think there were very few things that are indeed really impossible. When the Deputy Prime Minister visited The Exchange last month, he asked how we knew, how we predicted the future that thousands of people would move to the region and take up co-working as the new normal. And my reply was to remind him that I am a John Monash scholar. I've been afforded an education with the purpose of leading Australia to new places, even if those new places are simply borrowed from other countries. In closing, there are three reasons I am here today: curiosity, courage, and trust. On curiosity, I'm here because the Monash Foundation were curious enough to find out about me and trust me with the opportunity to go to California, carrying the same suitcase that took me from boarding school to the bush and back again. Education is so important to my farming family, and I'm so grateful to join a second family in the Monash Foundation. Courage, I'm also here today because John Russell Gratton, my great-grandfather, served at the Battle of Messines. Jack, as they called him, fought in the 33rd Battalion of the 9th Brigade in the 3rd Division of the 1st AIF, and fortunately he was only wounded in action at Hill 60 on the 7th of June 1917, which is a hundred years before that woman, that nurse, our Australian nurse, Kirsty Bowden, ran onto that bridge in London. Selfless, caring, and brave were Brendan's words. My great-grandfather fought under the leadership of John Monash as a 3rd Division commander, and being shot meant he took the Runic ship back to Australia and a soldier's settlement block over the Great Dividing Range in Urala. And thirdly, trust. I'm here as an emergent leader in of regional Australia, paying forward the education I have been grateful to receive. And while I break new ground with my work, I would like to ensure there are more scholars coming behind me. As we approach the 20-year anniversary of the Monash Foundation, giving to scholars for 20 years, it's my turn to rise to their leadership. And I make my commitment through a financial donation today, one of many commitments that will be made by scholars to a Scholars Circle to ensure new scholars have opportunities. This is scholars rising to meet scholars. I will be one of many scholars that rise to celebrate 20 years of giving in this way. The threshold of trust is rising, and it's time to put trust in the next generation through the Australian John Monash Foundation. Leadership is not an appointment to the highest position of authority. Leadership is seeing the rise and the wave of people who come to meet you along the way. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Jillian. What an exceptional response and what an exceptional example of the output of the John Monash Foundation. And to Brendan Nelson, thank you for such a, I think probably the best leadership speech I have seen, and certainly without a written note. It was really quite extraordinary. And what I've taken away from both of those addresses is that leadership comes in many forms. You know, the values are critical to leadership in the first instance, but whether it be the Kirsty Bowden, whether it be the nurses on the beach, the two exceptional leaders here in Brendan and Jillian, or the extraordinary life of Sir John Monash, you know, Australia certainly has a rich history in leadership. And I think you know through the John Monash Foundation, we will be well set up to empower our young leaders into the future. So now my job is to facilitate Q&A. You know, the Commonwealth Bank has been a very proud partner of the John Monash Foundation since 2004. We've been associated with eight Commonwealth Bank John Monash Foundation since 2015. We believe in the development of young leaders for the health of the country that are going to be internationally connected and carry the values that are critical to this country that Brendan so eloquently touched on. And so we're very proud and thank you for Jillian for the involvement and the work with the Commonwealth Bank through the recent years. So let me go to Q&A. I know Jillian Siegel already has a question, so I'm going to throw it to Jillian for the first question. I do have an iPad here with streaming questions coming through from the audience, so please send them through and I'll try and get through them in the remaining time that we have. Okay, thank you.

Um, and can I just endorse your words about the two speakers that we've just heard from? Really fantastic, eloquent and erudite statements and reflections on leadership. So my question is really about leadership in today's difficult environment of COVID. And I know we could have said well we'll have an entire ration and not mention COVID, but I think that would have not been a realistic situation. So let me ask you each what you think the current situation has done in one sense. Jillian, you already referenced that trust has a higher kind of requirement, but I would like to ask you both about that. Has the requirements for trust in this time of COVID increased or indeed has the opposite in one way happened? Have we come together and is that something that's necessary to come together? And corporate leadership is being looked at certainly by the government, and there is indeed a predisposition to look to some of our corporate leaders for that trust that is needed to carry the country forward. So when I ask you, Jillian first and then Brendan please. I'm reminded of a quote from one of my mentors who's watching today, and he says 'Walk, don't run, it panics the troops.' And today he has 40 years in the military. And today, are we walking, are we running? And as a business owner, I'm sprinting. I am trying to keep up, but to care for a team, to care for the people around me, I'm walking and I'm keeping them as involved as possible. But brand and trust and consistency over time cannot start in March when we go into lockdown. That's earned over time, and that is achieved through the characteristics of that person. So we walk, but internally a lot of leaders right now are sprinting.

So yeah, what it's worth, maybe it may be a follow-on question there, Brendan. You know, and from the audience, how does a politician reconcile leadership and maintaining one's value and character whilst trying to stay elected by a mistrustful electorate? So are those two things inconsistent?

Excellent. Maybe a question for Jillian. In your view, how do you think the pandemic will change the world for the better? What's the positive legacy of the pandemic? And maybe you can phrase your question around leadership.

Yeah, well, I mean, everyone's moving to the bush. I think it's going to change the way we think about gatherings. There's a fabulous book I've been indulging in during COVID called 'The Art of Gathering', and it's all about what is the purpose of getting together. What was the purpose of those conferences, those meetings, those family gatherings, those 200-person weddings? What was the purpose? So if you wind back to what the true purpose is and you design around that, you end up with a very different opportunity to bring people together. So one of the debates I watch right now is, you know, should people return to the big country show movement because it is a yardstick for agriculture, or should we be breaking those down into smaller, more meaningful, more premium events? And this is where the opportunity exists, especially for young people, to have businesses that serve and cater for a new appetite that meets the requirements of COVID.

So very good. Just there's a question here around education. I think probably worth asking just in light of, you know, while we're here for John Monash, you know, being core to education of Australians, it's hard not to feel despair with respect to the state of tertiary education in Australia. How can we convince our current Australian political leaders to increase investment in it? Brendan, do you have a view on that?

One of the things he spoke to in your speech was the democratic values and the importance of democracy to Australia and always questioning and having the ability to question. This question aligns with that, especially at this point in time. So how can we as a community maintain democratic values when growing parts of Australian society believe that the crisis requires authoritarian solutions? Yeah, and then maybe Jillian, you may have a view after Brendan.

And can I just add a comment which sort of goes back to the government and their values as exhibited today. But we at the Foundation have been privileged to receive two new scholarships in the last year from the government, and they are in honor of two great men, namely Tim Fischer and Bob Hawke. And so we'll be awarding a Tim Fischer and a Bob Hawke John Monash Scholarship this year. And I think they reflect two men in particular who were very focused on understanding the community, upholding democracy, thinking about values, giving of themselves, and being authentic. And I think that's a wonderful reflection both of the government and we've enjoyed bipartisan support, and indeed those particular men being remembered through the Foundation.

Very good. We are literally almost out of time. So I want to firstly thank our guests, Julian and Brendan, for I think two extraordinary addresses. You know, we're very, very lucky to have such leaders in this country, and certainly from the Commonwealth Bank and John Monash to have you come and talk to our audience, so greatly appreciated. Thank you to Jillian, the John Monash Foundation, Anne Marie Rolls for all the work that you do with this really critical foundation for the country and for our young leaders. I'd like to thank everybody, you know, our clients from the Commonwealth Bank, the John Monash guests, and the scholars who have joined in and listened to today. And thank you for all the leadership that you are showing out there in the community. And with that, I'd like to end today's session and we look forward to seeing you all soon. Thank you. Thank you.