The American Australian Association held its annual Benefit Dinner at Cipriani Wall Street, bringing together influential figures from Australia and the United States to honor News Corp Chief Executive Robert Thomson.
Thomson, a veteran journalist and former editor of The Times and managing editor of The Wall Street Journal, received the Lifetime Achievement Award for his significant contributions to the Australia-US relationship. The award was presented during the black-tie affair, hosted by Steven Marshall, president of the Association and former South Australian premier.
Notable attendees included Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan Murdoch, former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, and U.S. Ambassador to Australia under Barack Obama, Jeffrey Bleich. Bleich, now an international special envoy at AI company Anthropic, joined Australian diplomatic representatives Greg Moriarty and James Larsen.
The Murdoch family has a long-standing connection to the Association, which was founded in 1948 by Rupert's father, Keith Murdoch.
Singer-songwriter Nick Cave performed at the event. Remarks were also delivered by Consul-General Heather Ridout, Dr. Christopher Robinson of St Vincent’s Health Australia, and Association Scholar Yasmin Zaman, who presented her work in space medicine.
Ambassador Greg Moriarty spoke about the alliance ahead of the 75th anniversary of ANZUS. The evening concluded with a musical set by Sarah Lipe and her band.
Since 2002, the Association’s Education Fund has awarded over US$19.6 million in scholarships to 1,194 emerging leaders.