The father of the same-sex marriage legislation, Dean Smith is one of two inaugural winners of the University of Melbourne – Mckinnon Foundation prize. Senator Smith (Lib-WA) is named Mckinnon Political Leader of the Year for, “his bipartisan leadership on same sex marriage and his demonstration of courageous backbench leadership in the face of internal opposition and diversity of public opinion within Australian society.”

Mayor of Torres Shire (as in Strait), Vonda Malone, is the Mckinnon emerging political leader, winning $20 000 for professional development.

The Mckinnon Foundation was established last year by Sophie Oh and Grant Rule. The award panel was chaired by UniMelbourne VC Glyn Davis (CMM November 28 2017)