Past Events

Melbourne Forum offers members an unrivalled program of speaker events each year. Peruse the past years' program below. 

For all upcoming events, please click here.

How Melbourne became a global leader in biomedical research, and where to from here? Prof Sharon Lewin & Prof Ken Smith.

Dangerous Dinner - Authenticity or Adaptation? Who Gets to Be Themselves at Work?

The 2025 Rapid Child Safety Review - Observations, learnings and next steps. Pam White PSM.

Bringing off difficult reform. Prof Graeme Samuel AC.

The China Straddle – How to shape Australia’s most important trade & geopolitical relationship. Philipp Ivanov.

What is the point of a public service? Prof Glyn Davis AC.

Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future by Dan Wang

Connections

Inside Melbourne's Hidden Jewel: An Exclusive Evening at Villa Alba

What difference would an Australian Human Rights Act make? Hugh de Kretser.

Rethinking the Victorian public sector – the urgent need for change. Jeff Floyd AM.

New Models of Apartment Living - A Special Tour of East Brunswick Village

An Accidental Activist. Dennis Altman AM.

Dangerous Dinner - Who or what is to blame for the collapse of Adelaide Writers’ Week

The Future is a Collective Project Worth Fighting For. Eliza Chaney.

The Changing World Order: Geopolitics and the Economy. Alan Kohler.

The Seven Rules of Trust

The Day After ... Building shared trust between Palestinian and Jewish clinicians. Mikaela Stafrace.

Canada and Australia: Evolving Alliances in an Uncertain World. Her Excellency Dr Julie Sunday.

Dangerous Dinner – Campaign finance is merely legalised corruption

How Global Uncertainty is Reshaping Australia's Strategic Future. Prof Bec Strating FAIIA.

AI: The Practice, the Promise and the Pitfalls - Balancing capability and human judgement. Prof Sally Cripps.

Dangerous Dinner - Can Multiculturalism and Social Cohesion Coexist?

How the National Office of Cyber Security is building Australia’s Cyber Resilience. LTGEN Michelle McGuinness.

Melbourne Forum 2026 Alumni Dinner | Wed 17 June

D'Lan Contemporary - Private Viewing of SIGNIFICANT

The Loom Of Time

Building an innovation ecosystem in Victoria and why it matters. Dr Kate Cornick.

Dangerous Dinner - Merit, Money, or Meaning: What Should Drive Arts Funding

How are publishers addressing Knowledge Theft through AI and who is winning? Lisa Watts.

Building a mandate for reform in an age of policrastination. Clare Beaton-Wells.

Connections

What would Victoria be without the Education State: Challenges and Opportunities. Tony Bates

Open Door Series - A return to WEHI 

 

Transforming the Housing Sector: Building for a Better Future - Cath Evans & Dr Jonathan Spear

Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bergman

The Promise of Fusion Energy - Dr Edward C Morse

Connections

Dangerous Dinner - The 4B Movement: Challenging Traditional Gender Norms

POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying To Keep Him Alive

Growing The Conversation: How our evidence-based journalism is read by the world - Lisa Watts & Misha Ketchell

Sustaining one of Australia's Great Newspapers - Patrick Elligett

Planes, trains & automobiles - the intersection of transport, competition & investment incentives - Peter Harris AO

An Evening with the ABC Chair - Kim Williams AM

Surviving & Prospering in the (Cyber) World: An Update on Geopolitics & the Cyber Threat Environment - Dr Derek Bopping

The Elements of Marie Curie: How the Glow of Radium Lit a Path for Women in Science by Dava Sobel

2025 Federal Election - What Can We Expect? - Emeritus Professor Paul Strangio

Dangerous Dinner - Ministers Stegall, Spender, Ryan and Daniel?

Where next for health care in Victoria? - Dr Stephen Duckett AM & Michael Gorton

D'Lan Contemporary - Private Viewing of SIGNIFICANT with D'Lan Davidson

Australia’s National Science Agency - Dr Doug Hilton AO

Australia's First Lunar Rover Space Mission to the Moon - The Roo-ver Mission - Ben Sorensen & Prof Adrian Neild

Great Game On: The Contest For Central Asia and Global Supremacy by Geoff Raby

43 Years Answering Melburnians' Legal Questions - David Whiting

Dr Geoff Raby AO in Conversation - Great Game On: The Contest for Central Asia & Global Supremacy

Dangerous Dinner - Labor in power: Ambition or predictability?

What is Driving Trump's Turn to Putin? And What Does it Mean for the World? - Associate Professor William Partlett

Dangerous Dinner - The Elusive Perfect Goodbye - Death, Dying, and What We Control

Seeking a better Melbourne - John Denton & The Hon Ted Baillieu AO

Mapping Social Cohesion in a World in Turmoil - Anthea Hancocks

Customer-First AI: Beyond the Tech Hype - Pearl Tang

The Bracks Timor-Leste Governance Project - The Hon Steve Bracks AC

Dangerous Dinner - Strategic Drift or Strategic Choice? Australia at the Crossroads.

Unsettled: A Journey Through Time and Place by Kate Grenville

How do we improve Australia’s productivity? - Danielle Wood

Human Rights in a Time of Outrage and Overwhelm - Marlo Baragwanath

Forging a brave new world: How universities are transforming Australia's economic and social future - Professor Theo Farrell

Separating the Signal from the Noise: US Foreign Policy & Implications for Australia

Martin Grant: Melbourne to Paris, and Back

We Should be So Lucky: Why the Australian Way Works - Andrew Low

The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed The World by William Dalrymple

Keeping the Lights on in the Energy Transition - Paula Conboy & Alistair Parker

Signature Dinner with The Honourable Linda Dessau AC CVO

Connections

Celestial Conversations: Stargazing with Dr Rebecca Allen

Dangerous Dinner - Climate Action: How Far Are You Willing to Go?

Generational Welfare: How we can learn from progressive Indigenous Australians - Anthony Cavanagh

Our National Crisis: Violence against Women and Children - Prof Kate Fitz-Gibbon

Dangerous Dinner - Are Our Universities Built for Australia’s Future?

Melbourne at the Crossroads: Harnessing Urban Planning to Relieve Housing Stress & Inequality - Dr Marcus Spiller & Peter Seamer AM

65,000 Years: A Short History of Australian Art - Private tour with Senior Curator Judith Ryan AM & Associate Curator Shanysa McConville

How can Australia position itself to thrive amid profound economic and social structural shifts? - Luci Ellis

The Art of being Responsibly Fashionable - Lisa Barron OAM & Todd Anthony

An Evening with Hon Jacinta Allan MP, Premier of Victoria

AI in Medicine: Benefits and Challenges - Prof Meng Law

The Longevity Imperative: Building a Better Society for Healthier, Longer Lives by economist Andrew J. Scott

Social Cohesion vs. Artistic Freedom - Dr Leslie Cannold

2025 Annual General Meeting & Closing Event