John Cain Lunch (October): Political Skills and the Art of Influence with Dr Wesa Chau

IN-PERSON TICKET SALES CLOSE FRIDAY OCTOBER 10 AT 12PM AEDT.

Political skills are the skills to build trust, influence, and persuade others to support a decision within a political context. These abilities underpin effective political leadership, advocacy, and decision-making, yet they are often invisible and difficult to define. This is especially true for people from minority backgrounds who may not be as familiar with Australian cultural and political norms.

As the Executive Director of Per Capita, one of Australia’s leading progressive think tanks, Dr Chau brings both academic depth and lived experience to this topic. Her personal journey has required her to learn and refine these skills intentionally — from grassroots advocacy and community organising, to serving on ministerial advisory councils, and now shaping national debates on equity and inclusion. Along the way, she has navigated the challenges of cultural identity and leadership in spaces where diverse voices are often underrepresented.

Join us at the October 2025 John Cain Lunch as Dr Chau explores how political skills are developed and applied, particularly in environments where power and representation are contested.

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A respected leader with over two decades of experience across not-for-profit, government and university sectors, Dr Wesa Chau has dedicated her career to advancing progressive policy and system-level reform grounded in fairness, shared prosperity, inclusion and social justice. Her previous work has spanned policy areas including gender, multicultural, climate, disability, education, social innovation and aged care.

Wesa holds a PhD in Political Science, a Master of Business Management, and Bachelor degrees in both Software Engineering and Commerce. She has advised governments, corporations, and community organisations on inclusive policy and governance, with a particular focus on building pathways for people with intersectional diversity.

Her leadership and impact have been recognised through numerous honours, including induction into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women and the Victorian Multicultural Honour Roll. She has also been named one of the 40 under 40 Most Influential Asian-Australians and honoured as Young Victorian of the Year.

Dr Chau joined Per Capita as its Executive Director in late August, 2025.

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Attend our in-person lunch and discussion at 12:30pm or watch the live stream remotely.

The live stream will commence at:

1:00pm AEDT (NSW, ACT, VIC, TAS)
12:00pm AEST (QLD)
12:30pm ACDT (SA)
11:30am ACST (NT)
10:00am AWST (WA)

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Register here to reserve a seat at our Graduate House event. Your ticket includes lunch from 12:30pm followed by a discussion from 1pm.

If you purchase a live stream ticket, you will receive the live stream link by email.

Per Capita is committed to keeping its events accessible to those who may not be able to purchase a ticket. For this reason we are making a number of Concession Tickets available for unwaged/student/full age pension concessions. These tickets cover the cost of lunch plus a free ticket to the discussion.

Free tickets are available to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in recognition of the fact that this event is being held on stolen land. Please email info@percapita.org.au to request a free ticket.

If you are able to and would like to help us increase the number of Concession Tickets available, please consider a donation on top of your ticket purchase.