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Brendan Nelson, ‘You have to give people incentives’ A journey to liberalism

Brendan Nelson, ‘You have to give people incentives’ A journey to liberalism

Since the record-breaking run of Robert Menzies, there have been 14 leaders of the Liberal Party of Australia. Each of them has been influenced in various ways by the party’s founder, as they try to take up the essential task of upholding the principles of Australian liberalism (which indeed is a political tradition which long predates Menzies himself). In this special series of the Afternoon Light podcast, we intend to speak to each of the surviving leaders of the party about their connection to Menzies, philosophical beliefs, and time spent heading the centre-right of Australian politics.

In this week’s episode of the Afternoon Light podcast, Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer talks to Dr Brendan Nelson AO, Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia between 2007-8, about his beliefs and experiences in the role.

Dr Brendan Nelson AO served as Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia and Leader of the Opposition between 2007-8. A medical doctor by profession, he rose to prominence as President of the Australian Medical Association before being elected as the Member for Bradfield in 1996. He was promoted by Prime Minister John Howard, becoming Minister for Education, Science and Training (2001-6) and Minister for Defence (2006-7). After retiring from politics he was appointed Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg, the European Union and NATO (2009-12) and Director of the Australian War Memorial (2012-19). His memoir, Of Life and Leadership was published by Connor Court in 2022.