Australia and India are both countries of influence globally, as well as in Asia. Both share democratic values, deep social and cultural ties and significant bilateral trade and investment relationships.
With a changing world order in play, how does the Australia – India relationship stand up, where is it an asset and where is it vulnerable?
AIIA VIC partnered with distinguished speakers Professor Amitabh Mattoo and The Hon. Lisa Singh for a discussion on one of the most important bilateral relationships in the Indo-Pacific region.
In 2025 The Hon Lisa Singh was made a Fellow of the AIIA to recognise her contribution to strengthening Australia’s engagement and knowledge on India. She will be presented with the Fellow’s Award at this event.
Meet the panel:
Professor Amitabh Mattoo
Professor Amitabh Mattoo is the Dean of the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and Chair of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Centre for Security Studies. He also serves as Honorary Professorial Fellow at the Faculty of Arts, University of Melbourne, and as Deputy Chair of the Academic Advisory Board of the German Institute for Global and Area Studies. He has been a member of the Indian National Security Council’s Advisory Board and Vice Chancellor of the University of Jammu. He was awarded the Padma Shri, one of India’s highest civilian awards, for his contribution to public life. He has a D.Phil in International Relations from St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford. Professor Mattoo was the founding Director/CEO of the Australia India Institute and served on the Institute’s Advisory Board until 2024 and is currently a Distinguished Fellow.
The Hon. Lisa Singh FAIIA
The Hon. Lisa Singh FAIIA is a former Australian Senator and was the first woman of South Asian heritage to be elected to the Australian Parliament. She is also a former Tasmanian Member of Parliament and Minister in the Tasmanian Government. As the current CEO of the Australia India Institute at the University of Melbourne, she leads a team on advancing Australia-India relations and IndoPacific engagement across key themes including education, sustainability, gender equality, foreign affairs and culture. She has previously served as Deputy Chair on the Australian Government’s Australia-India Council and on the advisory board of Asialink at the University of Melbourne. She is also a Board director of Beyond Blue, Australia’s well-known mental health organisation, and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of International Affairs. In 2014 she was awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman by the President of India for building friendly Australia-India relations, the highest civilian honour for a person of Indian origin.
Dr Michael Moignard (Moderator)
Dr Michael Moignard spent 35 years as an Australian public servant, working in trade and resources policy and trade promotion. Michael spent close to 7 years in India as Senior Trade Commissioner for South Asia with the Australian High Commission. He also served with the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) in New York, Santiago de Chile, Manila, and Singapore. He became a fellow of the Australia India Institute in 2013. From 2014 until 2022, he was a director of EastWest Academy Pty Ltd, which assisted Australian businesses in India. He completed a PhD in art history at La Trobe University in 2021. Michael is a director of Ryder Cheshire Australia, and is President of its Victorian chapter. It is a not-forprofit which supports two medical facilities in India and Timor-Leste. He is an Adjunct Research Fellow at La Trobe University, and a Council Member of The Australian Institute of International Affairs, Victoria.