Sambell 0ration 2023 - ‘Hard Heads and Warm Hearts’

On 11 July, Australia’s Treasurer the Hon Dr Jim Chalmers MP delivered an inspiring Sambell Oration to a crowd of over 330 BSL supporters.

In his speech – ‘Hard Heads and Warm Hearts’ - the Treasurer shared his vision for aligning responsible economic management and compassion, saying that they should be seen as complementary, not at odds with each other. He also outlined the work going into preparing for Australia’s first national wellbeing framework, which was then launched the following week. It was great to hear how many of the Treasurer’s ideas are in sync with the goals in BSL’s vision to end poverty in Australia.

Our two MCs for the night were BSL youth advisors, Gabrielle, and Nathan, who stole the show with their quick wit and heartfelt stories of how BSL had helped them with their employment and education journeys. Our Executive Director, Travers McLeod, had an in-depth conversation with the Treasurer about how BSL and others could help contribute to a better Australia, and then delivered a formal speech in response. You can read the speeches in detail on our website or watch a video of the 2023 Sambell Oration (85 mins).

As well as attracting an A-list crowd of supporters from the business and government sectors, volunteers, program partners and participants, the evening provided a wonderful opportunity for us all to reconnect after COVID-19. Following the event, the Treasurer's oration and BSL received national and local media attention including the Australian Financial Review (front page), The Australian (front page and editorial), and ABC Radio. It was also mentioned in an August feature essay in The Monthly.

A big thanks to our primary sponsors ANZ, as well as Blue Apache and HESTA, for making this special event possible and to all those across the organisation who contributed to its success.

Excerpts from Treasurer’s address:

…the core of our economic plan is about building healthier, more secure, and cohesive communities and a more sustainable and prosperous economy. But ultimately if we want to be confident of our progress here, then we’ve got to measure it better...

In ‘Measuring What Matters’, Australia’s first national, wellbeing framework, we will outline 50 indicators of wellbeing to help track our journey towards a healthier, more sustainable, cohesive, secure, and prosperous society that gives every person ample opportunity to build lives of meaning and purpose.

Excerpts from Trav McLeod’s response:

Elevating poverty reduction to one of the four points of our economic compass (alongside traditional measures such as employment, inflation, and growth) would shine a light on how decisions everyday help to shape an Australia in which everyone can live the life they aspire to.

One of the ways we can do this is to introduce legislated measures for economic inclusion and poverty reduction – with responsibility for setting targets and reporting on their achievement to sit with the Treasurer.