Robert Jolly

Rob Jolly has a long relationship with Monash and was one of the earliest graduates at the University. He is a passionate supporter of social justice and a strong advocate of action on climate change.

Rob’s relationship with Monash University commenced in 1963 when Rob enrolled in the Faculty of Economics and Politics, completing an Honours degree in Economics, Master of Economics and Diploma of Education by 1971. From 1967-71, Rob was a Teaching Fellow in Economics at Monash. He represented Monash in golf and received a Half Blue when Monash won Intervarsity golf. He married Christine Bates (deceased) in the Monash Chapel and his daughters, Kim (deceased), Lisa and Renae completed degrees at Monash. Following Kim’s passing in 2007 from Lupus, the Jolly family, in conjunction with Monash University, established the Kim Jolly Lupus Research Fund. The fund was specifically established to raise funds for research into Lupus. In 2016, he jointly founded Lupus Victoria with Vu Nguyen. He is currently Chair of Lupus Victoria and his life partner, Kaye Thomas, is a fellow director of Lupus Victoria.

Rob’s first significant contribution to national social justice policy was when he was appointed Research Officer and Industrial Advocate at the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) in 1971. His major role was to present National Wage Cases on behalf of Australian wage and salary earners before the Full Bench of the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission. Rob also undertook economic research for the President of the ACTU, Bob Hawke. As Treasurer of Victoria, Rob was responsible for developing Victoria’s long term economic strategy. A major long term change was the establishment of the Transport Accident Commission which provided no fault income and health support to all motor accident victims. More recently, Rob was a Member of the United Nations Financial Sector Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking.

Rob is a passionate environmental activist. Rob is currently Deputy Chair of Capricorn Power, a startup company that converts waste heat into energy. The company is on the verge of commercialising the Barton Heat Engine which was invented by Dr Noel Barton, formerly a leading scientist at the CSRIO. He previously served as a board member of the Alternative Technology Association, a member of the finance committee of the Australian Conservation Foundation and a board member of Ecocycle Victoria. Rob became a consultant to renewable energy companies in 2000 and created a model of the Australian Renewable Electricity Market (REC) in 2001. He is an advisor on energy efficiency and climate change.

Rob is a keen golfer and has played many sports during his lifetime, including basketball, cricket and football. He was previously on the Board of Melbourne Tigers Basketball Club and Basketball Stadiums Victoria.