2017 Selection Panel

Winners of The McKinnon Prize in Political Leadership are decided by a selection panel formed from a diverse group of distinguished Australians.

The panellists for the 2017 inaugural prize were:

Hon Julia Gillard AC

Hon Julia Gillard AC Hon Julia Gillard AC, the 27th Prime Minister of Australia, is the first woman to ever serve as Australia’s Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister. Ms Gillard is now chair of the Global Partnership for Education, a leading...

Hon John Howard OM AC

Hon John Winston Howard OM AC John Winston Howard, born 26 July 1939, served as Australia’s Prime Minister between March 1996 and November 2007. He is the nation’s second longest serving Prime Minister, was a Member of Parliament for 33 years, and was...

Professor Glyn Davis AC

Professor Glyn Davis AC (Chair) Professor Glyn Davis has been Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Melbourne since January 2005, and is Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Arts. Professor Davis holds first class honours from...

Professor Megan Davis

Professor Megan Davis Professor Megan Davis is Pro Vice Chancellor Indigenous and Professor of Law, UNSW. Professor Davis is an expert member of the United Nations Human Rights Council's Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Professor...

Mr Adam Gilchrist AC

Mr Adam Gilchrist AC Adam Gilchrist is a former Australian cricketer and captain of all formats, with an international playing career spanning almost two decades. He is widely considered the greatest wicket-keeper-batsman in the history of the game....

Mr Andrew Mackenzie

Mr Andrew Mackenzie Andrew was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of BHP Billiton effective from 10 May 2013. He joined in 2008 as Chief Executive Non-Ferrous with responsibility for over half of BHP Billiton's 100,000 strong workforce across four...

Mr Dennis Richardson AO

Mr Dennis Richardson AO Dennis Richardson AO is one of Australia’s most respected and experienced public servants. For the last five years, Richardson served as Secretary of the Department of Defence, stepping down from that role in May 2017. Prior to...

Mr Grant Rule

Mr Grant Rule Grant Rule is the co-Founder and Executive Director of MessageMedia, Australia’s largest cloud based, business SMS solution provider and a leading player in the global market. The financial success of MessageMedia led to the creation of...

Mr David Speers

Mr David Speers David Speers is Political Editor at SKY NEWS and anchor of agenda-setting political programs SPEERS and SPEERS on Sunday (premiering January 28, 2018) on SKY NEWS LIVE. David is one of Australia's most respected political journalists and...

Ms Fleur Studd

Ms Fleur Studd Fleur Studd is Co-founder and Director of Market Lane Coffee and Melbourne Coffee Merchants – two of Australia's leading businesses in speciality coffee. In 2015 she was awarded Trailblazer Award by the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival,...

Dr Helen Szoke AO

Dr Helen Szoke AO Dr Helen Szoke AO is Chief Executive of Oxfam Australia and a strong advocate for foreign aid and international development, human rights, gender and race equity. Helen joined Oxfam in 2013. Prior to this appointment, she served as...

Ms Laura Tingle

Ms Laura Tingle Journalist, Essayist and Author Laura Tingle has spent most of her 35 year career reporting on Australian federal politics, and the country’s major policy debate. She is the Australian Financial Review's political editor, and has written...

Mr Kee Wong

Mr Kee Wong Kee Wong is an entrepreneur, investor, advisor and board director with over 30 years of business experience across Australia, Asia Pacific countries and the US. Kee has a background and qualifications in Engineering, Information Technology...