Bruce Nicholls

Bruce served as a Senior Trade Commissioner, with postings in India, Germany, Switzerland, China and Hong Kong. On his return to Australia, he served as Chairman of the Royal Automobile Club of Australia, President of the Australia-China China Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Chair of the Mitchell Business Network, Dep Chair of Norcen Financial Services, on the boards of the Port of Melbourne and Goulburn Valley Water corporations and as a Trustee of the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA).

Since retiring to his beef and sheep holding in Victoria, Bruce has published four books, chaired the Liberal Party’s trade and investment policy forum, and hosts quarterly public policy debates, the ‘Quaffers’ debates, in Melbourne.

Bruce's recent articles

The US election - a tragic comedy in which the hero - democracy - loses

Historians may define the seminal moment when a once great nation began its decline, as the moment when a grandiose narcissist, with a fondness for crude invective, ascended to the US Presidency.

China-Australia Business Relations. Are we still Lao Pengyou?

Close business friendships, and our common humanity, must always transcend loose political rhetoric.

Defence settings - Have we got it right?

Recent articles on our defence and security postures, and their impact on civil society, have preferred pacifism over a more defensive tone. While pacific sentiment is noble, we should never underestimate harsher realities.

Foreign Affairs and Trade are strange bedfellows in Australia today.

Paul Barratt’s recent article, favouring a freestanding Trade Department should be supported. As our nation stumbles through the fog of the Corona virus, it is time to navigate a path toward economic recovery in our relations with China.