Honest Opinion on Media and Public Affairs

The Hon COL Dr Mike Kelly AM (retd) (BA LLB, PhD)

Mike Kelly served in the Australian Army from 1987, with deployments to Somalia, Bosnia, Timor Leste, Iraq, and Kenya. He earned the Chief of the General Staff Commendation in 1993 and became a Member of the Order of Australia (Military Division) in 1994. In 2001-2002, he received a UN Force Commander’s Commendation in Timor Leste and retired as a Colonel, having managed responses to crises, including in Timor-Leste and Lebanon.

An expert in peace and stabilisation operations, post-conflict reconstruction, and counter-insurgency, Mike is a regular speaker and has published scholarly works, including two books. He served as the Member for Eden-Monaro in the Australian Federal Parliament from 2007 to 2013 and 2016 to 2020, acting as Assistant Minister for Defence and responsible for transitioning operations in Afghanistan. He also contributed to the establishment of the Australian Civil-Military Centre.

After leaving Parliament in April 2020, Mike became President of Palantir Technologies Australia and will retire from full-time work on December 31, 2024. He remains active as an opinion editorial contributor, lecturer, and podcast host, focusing on history, geopolitics, and military affairs. Recently, he was appointed as an Adjunct Professor at the National Security Institute at the University of Canberra. 

For more from Mike, visit Frontlines & Faultlines at www.youtube.com/@Dr.MikeKellyJoined.

Christopher has a wealth of experience in engaging and influencing people, politics and culture across two continents. Anchored in the clarity of Western philosophical tradition, he cuts through today’s tangled demands with persuasive insight. Originally from Manchester, Christopher began his professional career by serving for ten years as a policeman in Oxford and London before becoming a clergyman serving diverse communities in Australia and England, including chaplaincy in military and police environments.

Since 2016, Christopher has worked in policy and communications with Federal Senators, medical professionals, and most recently as a member of the senior staff of Independent MP Dai Le, leading to her successful re-election in Fowler. Known for his confident, approachable style, he turns ideas into influence with ease and communicates complex ideas in a simple, engaging way for a general audience. His knack for crafting speeches, opinion pieces, and in-depth writing makes him a vital ally for anyone aiming to transform thought into action.

Christopher is a graduate in theology and philosophy and finds inspiration in Austrian School economics, the social policy analysis of Thomas Sowell, and condensing high philosophy into practical solutions. Whilst Christopher has written legislation, his libertarian leaning sees him prefer to find solutions that don’t require state intervention.

Originally from Queensland, Anthony is a commentator on Aboriginal affairs and mental health and an honorary researcher at the Institute for Positive Psychology and Education at the Australian Catholic University in Sydney. He is proud of both his Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal ancestry.

As an active social commentator on Aboriginal issues, he has, for more than two decades, been challenging the dominant view that Aboriginal people are fundamentally different from non-Aboriginal people and are endless victims of colonisation and racism. As an active social commentator on mental health, he seeks to give messages that empower people and go against the dominant narrative of medicalising and pathologising everyday problems.

He has had several thought-provoking articles published in The Australian, The Conversation, The Daily Telegraph, The Herald Sun, and on The ABC Drum online. 

His writings can also be found at www.anthonydillon.com.au

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