MC – Past president Philip Endersbee
Reflection: Past President Adrian Nelson
President: Carol Bond (absent due to a work clash) was represented by President Elect Branko Panich.
The focus of this meeting was Award of the 2026 Monash Medal, and distinguished members the Spirit of Australia Foundation, Representatives of Engineers Australia, past recipients of the Award and the current and immediate past District 9800 Governors were present. A full list of visitors and guest is included later in this bulletin.
President’s Notices: President Elect Branco invited Jim Orchard from the Community Welfare Committee to launch the 2026 Smith Family Fundraising Learning for Life Program. The key fundraising activities include:
Monash Medal 2026 Presentation: Before commencing the presentation ceremony, 0808 Committee Chair, Stephen Lake reminded everyone of the Commemorative Service at the Shrine of Remembrance on 8 August at 10:30 am
He then invited Michael Bennett, great-grandson of General Sir John Monash, from the Spirit of Australia Foundation to join him for the presentation of the 2026 Monash Medal to Lara Olsen. The Award citation is published later in this bulletin.
Lara Olsen – 2026 Monash Medal Awardee Address in Response: In accepting the 2026 Monash Medal, Lara Olsen reflected on the qualities of General Sir John Monash that have most influenced her own life and career: leadership, service and integrity, expressed particularly through education, inclusivity and innovation.
Lara described Monash as a voracious learner who valued education not only for himself but as a means of enabling others. She also highlighted his inclusive leadership style, noting his willingness to seek the views of those around him and his respect for people regardless of background. His career as an engineer and military leader also demonstrated a willingness to innovate, accept risk and learn from mistakes.
These themes resonated strongly with Lara’s own experience. She spoke warmly of the profound impact of becoming a Rotary Exchange Student to Japan as a teenager. For a naturally introverted student with a love of mathematics, the experience gave her confidence and opened her understanding of the world. Living in a small Japanese community where she was clearly different, yet welcomed as an equal, taught her both what it meant to be in a minority and the power of genuine inclusion.
A second transformative opportunity came through the General Sir John Monash Foundation, which enabled her to undertake an MBA at INSEAD in France. The experience deepened her understanding of economics, markets, innovation and entrepreneurship and gave her greater confidence that Australian ideas could compete and contribute internationally.
Lara traced these influences through a career spanning renewable energy, water and major infrastructure. At the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, she helped develop the Commercial Readiness Index, subsequently adopted internationally as a way of assessing when emerging technologies are becoming commercially viable. She later worked on an energy-efficiency project with the World Bank and the Mexican Government that distributed one million efficient lights to disadvantaged households.
At Tesla, Lara was part of the team responsible for delivering South Australia’s Hornsdale Power Reserve. Completed in just 57 days, it was then vastly larger than any comparable battery in the world and, for Lara, demonstrated Australia’s capacity to lead rather than follow in technological innovation. She subsequently led South East Water, gaining a deeper appreciation of the complexity and importance of delivering essential water and wastewater services.
Her central message was that Australia should have greater confidence in its own capacity for innovation. She pointed to the extraordinary global influence of solar technology developed at the University of New South Wales and to the emerging generation of Australian clean-energy businesses.
During questions, Lara emphasised the importance of economics and evidence in energy policy. She noted the rapid growth of grid-scale and household batteries, the potential for virtual power plants, and the challenges created by the power and water demands of AI data centres. On renewable energy adoption, she argued that environmental appeals alone are unlikely to achieve mass uptake: technologies succeed when they are also cheaper, better and more attractive to consumers.
Lara concluded that education expands what people believe is possible, inclusivity produces stronger ideas and communities, and innovation provides solutions to seemingly intractable challenges. These principles, she said, remain as relevant today as they were in the life of Sir John Monash.
After thanking Lara for her outstanding presentation, Chair Stephen Lake thanked visitors and guests for attending, the lunch and reception teams, Adrian Nelson for his reflection and MC Philip Endersbee.
Stephen reminded members there would be no lunch meeting on 12 August 26, as well as the Lunch meeting the following week (Wednesday 10 August, where the guest speaker will be Tony Aloisio, CEO of Australian Flexible Pavements Association, speaking on Challenges Facing our Roads. Keep an eye on the Bulletin for bookings and further details.
The video of the full meeting proceedings can be accessed here.
To view just Lara Olden’s address in response, click here.
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