Asia Society Australia will host our exclusive Asia Agenda dinner in Melbourne on Thursday, 6 February 2025.

Each year, we ask our members to identify key issues in Australia’s relations with Asia that deserve more attention. These insights shape our programs, policy work, and a public campaign, and contribute to the national conversation on Asia.

At this private dinner, Mimi Zou, Premesha Saha and Anthony Bubalo will offer their perspectives on the year’s critical strategic and economic issues. We will then open the floor to you, our members, and ask you to share your views and tell us which issues you think we should be putting on the national agenda. 

Date: Thursday, 6 February, 2025

Time: 6:00pm to 8:30pm

Location: Melbourne CBD

The dinner is invitation-only, held under Chatham House Rule, and places are limited. Please contact [email protected] with any enquiries. 

This event is hosted by King & Wood Mallesons.

About our Speakers

Anthony Bubalo, Chief Executive Officer, Asia Society Australia

Anthony Bubalo has over a decade of experience as a senior executive leading research, not-for-profit and consulting organisations.

He has also worked as an Australian diplomat, intelligence analyst, speechwriter, and think-tank researcher.

Prior to joining Asia Society, Anthony was the Chief Operating Officer of the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas. Before that he was a Principal at the international management consultancy, Nous Group. In 2004 he joined the Lowy Institute as one of its founding researchers and established its West Asia Program. Between 2012 and 2018 he was the Lowy Institute’s Research Director and Deputy Director.

While at the Lowy Institute Anthony published research on Islamist, energy security and geostrategic connections between the Middle East and Asia, and on Australian sports diplomacy in Asia. He is the author of Remaking the Middle East, published by Penguin Random House Australia. He has written for Australian and international publications including The Australian, the Australian Financial Review, the Financial Times, Asahi Shimbun, Foreign Policy, The National Interest, and The New Republic.

Between 1991 and 2003, Anthony worked in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He served as an Australian diplomat in Saudi Arabia and Israel. From 1997 to 1998 he was seconded to the Office of National Assessments, where he was the senior Middle East analyst. He was a departmental speechwriter twice, in 1999 and 2003.

Prof. Mimi Zou, Head of School – Law & Justice, University of New South Wales (UNSW) 

Professor Mimi Zou is a leading global expert in law and innovation, currently based at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) with a Visiting Fellowship at the University of Oxford Martin School. She is internationally renowned for her work in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI) governance, financial, regulatory and legal technology, and technology policy and diplomacy. She received a Global Australian Award in 2024 for her significant research and policy contributions to these fields, including as an expert advisor to the G7, World Economic Forum and the UK Government's responsible technology adoption body.

Prior to joining UNSW, Professor Zou held various senior academic positions at top institutions worldwide, including the University of Oxford, where she was appointed to the first post in Chinese law and founded Oxford's first lawtech innovation lab and a regtech spinout.

Professor Zou actively collaborates with industry, government bodies, and civil society organizations to advance responsible AI practices and enhance ethical standards in technology use. Her insights are regularly sought by global media, and she frequently speaks at prestigious conferences around the world. A committed educator, Professor Zou actively mentors the next generation of legal innovators, fostering critical thinking and interdisciplinary knowledge in her students.

Dr. Premesha Saha, Maitri Fellow, Centre for Australia-India Relations (CAIR)

Premesha Saha is a Fellow with ORF’s Strategic Studies Programme. Her research focuses on Southeast Asia, East Asia, Oceania and the emerging dynamics of the Indo-Pacific region. Premesha’s other research interests include: Indonesia’s maritime strategy, India and Southeast Asia, India’s Act East Policy, Asia-Pacific multilateralism.

Previously she has been an Associate Fellow at the National Maritime Foundation; Indo-Pacific Security Studies (FIPPS) Fellow sponsored by the US State Department at Daniel K. Inouye Asia Pacific Centre for Security Studies (DKI APCSS), Honululu, Hawaii; Visiting Fellow at Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Jakarta; Visiting Fellow at Lemabaga Ilmu Pengetahuan (LIPI) Jakarta; and Darmasiswa Scholar sponsored by the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture at Universitas Katolik Indonesia Atma Jaya, Jakarta.

Premesha has completed her PhD from the Centre of Indo-Pacific Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. Her PhD thesis is titled, ‘Indonesia’s Maritime strategy in the Indian Ocean.’ She has published extensively in peer reviewed journals like Maritime Affairs, The Indonesia Quarterly, The Defence Security Brief, Journal of the Indian Ocean Region, The Washington Quarterly and newspapers and magazines like The Jakarta Post, The Hindu, The Foreign Policy, Australian Financial Review, The Economic Times, The Hindustan Times, Firstpost.