October 14th, 2024Leadership and truth: ABC boss to deliver Menzies Oration in Ballarat

The Intersection of Leadership and Truth will be the focus when ABC chair Kim Williams delivers this year’s Menzies Oration at Federation University’s SMB (School of Mines Ballarat) Campus on October 30.

Williams’ topic is expected to explore the importance of clarity, transparency, accountability and trust in leadership.

The topic is widely recognised as being especially critical in an era where truth is too often obscured by misinformation, propaganda and sensationalism.

Mr Williams has had a lengthy involvement in the entertainment and media industries both nationally and overseas.

He was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia in June 2006 for his services to the arts and public policy formulation in the film and television industries.

In October 2009 he was awarded a Doctorate of Letters (Honoris Causa) by Macquarie University for his contribution to the arts and entertainment industry in Australia and internationally.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese appointed Williams as the 20th chair of the ABC in January this year.

He has held various executive leadership positions since the late 1970s including as chief executive at News Corp Australia, FOXTEL, Fox Studios Australia, the Australian Film Commission, Southern Star Entertainment and Music Viva Australia, and also as a senior executive at the ABC.

The upcoming 2024 Menzies Oration will be held from 6pm to 7.15pm at the IBM Emerging Technologies Hub, Building T, at Ballarat’s Lydiard Street South campus.

People can participate either in person or online but registrations must be submitted by 23 October via Eventbrite.

The annual Menzies Oration is part of a lecture program organised and run by the Menzies Foundation, a philanthropic trust established in 1979 with funding from a public appeal and supplemented by government investment, to commemorate the life and achievements of Sir Robert Menzies, who was Australia’s longest serving prime minister.

It is a non-political, not-for-profit organisation that relies on donations and bequests to supplement its investment income.