John Brumby AO chancellor of La Trobe University and honorary professor in economics at the University of Melbourne, has extensive experience in public policy and public life, serving as Premier of Victoria (2007–10) and Victorian Treasurer (2000–07), among other roles. Since leaving politics he has worked in the not-for-profit and for-profit sectors, and was awarded an Order of Australia in 2017.

Scott Hamilton is adjunct associate professor at Monash University, senior advisor to the Smart Energy Council and an expert in renewable energy, green hydrogen, energy transition, natural resource management and climate change. He writes regularly for The Mandarin and other publications. His first book, Sold Down the River, co-authored with Stuart Kells, was one of the top 10 Australian political books of the year in 2022.

Stuart Kells has written on a wide range of subjects including libraries, publishing, professional services and diamond mining. His shorter works have been published around the world including in Smithsonian, The Paris Review, The Guardian and LitHub. A University of Melbourne alumnus, he delivered the 2018 Jean Whyte Lecture and the 2022 Murray Talk. His history of Penguin Books, Penguin and the Lane Brothers, won the Ashurst Business Literature Prize in…