Please join us for this year's Renate Kamener Oration, our annual fundraiser for the Renate Kamener Indigenous Scholarship. Each year, the scholarship supports an Indigenous student to achieve their tertiary education ambitions and call Ormond College home while studying at the University of Melbourne.

We are excited to announce The Honorable Dr. Kevin Rudd AC as our guest Orator for 2026.

The Honorable Dr. Kevin Rudd AC is a leading international authority on China. He currently serves as Global President and CEO of Asia Society. Asia Society was established in New York in 1956 and now operates across 16 centers with more than 250 staff around the world. Dr. Rudd is also Founding President of the Asia Society Policy Institute, a “think-and-do tank” focused on U.S.-Asia relations, and the Founding Chair of its Center for China Analysis. Dr. Rudd returned to lead Asia Society in March 2026 following three years as Australia’s Ambassador to the United States under the Trump and Biden Administrations. He previously served as Australia's 26th Prime Minister from 2007 to 2010 and as Foreign Minister from 2010 to 2012, before returning as Prime Minister in 2013. He has published two books on U.S.-China relations, On Xi Jinping (2024) and The Avoidable War (2022), which have been translated into more than seven languages. Dr. Rudd is professionally proficient in Mandarin Chinese. In 2022 he was awarded his DPhil from Oxford University for his dissertation on Chinese President Xi Jinping’s ideological worldview. Over the years, he has been extensively cited on China relations, appearing frequently on U.S. network television, in print media including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and the Financial Times, and across the major outlets in India, Japan and across Europe.

Time: 3:30pm - 5:30pm
Date: Sunday 23rd August 2026
Location: Ormond College
Price: $40 General Admission, $20 for Students
Dress code: Smart/Business Casual

Donations made beyond the ticket price are tax-deductible, with all proceeds from tickets and donations going towards the Renate Kamener Indigenous Scholarship.

Contact the host of 2026 Renate Kamener Oration with the Hon. Dr. Kevin Rudd AC