Published: Nov. 2, 2020

Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, a passionate supporter for progressive environmental policy and national public education, will give a virtual talk to the CU community on Monday, Nov. 9.

Turnbull is being hosted by the Distinguished Speakers Board, a CU Boulder student-led organization. Turnbull was slated to visit campus March 17, before having to postpone his visit due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Former Australian Chancellor Malcolm Turnbull


If you go

Who: Open to the public
When: Monday, Nov. 9, 7 p.m.
Where: Zoom

The free event will take place on Zoom at 7 p.m. (MST) and is open to CU Boulder students (undergraduate and graduate), staff, faculty and residents of Colorado. Virtual attendees will be admitted on a first-come, first-served basis and are asked to sign up for a link to the event and to submit a question.

About Turnbull

Turnbull, the 29th prime minister of Australia, has over a decade of political experience on the national level, serving in various leadership capacities in parliament before serving as prime minister from 2015 to 2018. During his time as prime minister, parliament made an amendment allowing same-sex couples to marry, making Australia the 25th country to recognize same-sex marriage.

“DSB couldn’t be more excited to finally bring Malcolm Turnbull to CU,” said Ally Roberts, chair of the Distinguished Speakers Board. 

“While we are saddened he won’t be on campus with us, when we sought to bring Malcolm to campus last spring, we couldn’t wait to hear his insight and perspective on climate change and the Australian bushfires. That need is now prescient given the ongoing wildfires across Colorado and the greater west coast. Climate change is a challenge that our state, country and world must overcome, and we look forward to a former world leader’s discussion about the need for climate change legislation, alongside a discussion on the impacts of the American election on the greater world stage.”

Distinguished Speakers Board

The Distinguished Speakers Board is a student-run cost center of CU Student Government. The board strives to bring diverse speakers to campus that will intellectually challenge the student body, as well as spark meaningful dialogue surrounding relevant issues. Past speakers the board has hosted include Trevor Noah, Viola Davis, Scott Kelly, Anderson Cooper, Brené Brown, Laverne Cox, Edward Snowden (via video conference) and many others.