2023 Annual Bannerman Competition Lecture

Ross is an Emeritus Professor in Economics at The Australian National University and an Emeritus Professor in Business and Economics at the University of Melbourne. Over the past fifty years, he has had many senior roles in business and as a policy advisor and diplomat. Ross was the senior economic policy official in Papua New Guinea’s Department of Finance in the years straddling Independence in 1975, principal economic adviser to Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke from 1983 to1985, and Australian Ambassador to China from 1985 to 1988. He was awarded a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in 2017 for work on climate change and energy, and an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 1993 for services to education and international relations.

He is the author of numerous publications in scholarly journals on international economics, public finance and economic development, particularly in relation to East Asia and the Southwest Pacific. His recent books include Superpower Transformation: Making Australia’s zero-carbon future, Black Inc (2022), Superpower: Australia’s low carbon opportunity, Black Inc. (2019) and RESET: Restoring Australia after the Pandemic Recession (2021).

Ross is a Distinguished Fellow of the Australian Economic Society, Distinguished Life Member of the Australian Agricultural and Resources Economics Society, Fellow of the Australia Academy of Social Sciences and Honorary Professor of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Ross is Director at ZEN Energy and Director at Renergi.