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Born in Sydney, Australia McMullen was still a small boy when he accompanied his father, a member of the RAAF, to live in Penang, at the height of the Malay Emergency. He has been attracted to far-flung destinations ever since. He has covered the highest war on earth in the Himalayas and more than thirty other conflicts, including the genocide in Rwanda. He has camped with a lost tribe of Stone Age Indians in the Amazon, drunk mare’s milk with nomads in Mongolia, swum with sea-lions and iguanas in the Galapagos Islands, dived with whalesharks, climbed active volcanoes and been stranded in a tent for 17 days in Antarctica after filming six men and their huskies on the longest trek ever made across that frozen continent.
Educated at Sydney’s Macquarie University (BA in literature, history and political philosophy) McMullen has a Doctorate of Journalism (Hon) from Central Queensland University and continues to speak out on the need for ethical reform in journalism.
At eighteen years of age, McMullen was the youngest ABC foreign correspondent of his day, reporting from Papua New Guinea, then at twenty from Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and India. At 24, McMullen began twelve years in the United States, first as the ABC’s New York correspondent, then Washington correspondent. He covered the coup against Salvador Allende in Chile and the major political story of his era, the Watergate scandal and the impeachment proceedings against President Richard Nixon. Later, as a roving reporter for ‘Four Corners’ based in New York, his triology of documentaries from the war zones of Central America won him a United Nations Media Peace Prize. After almost two decades with the ABC McMullen spent the next sixteen years wandering more of the world as a reporter on Sixty Minutes.
For many years, McMullen has worked on a number of humanitarian projects to help the disadvantaged - the Merry Makers group for Down Sydnrome children, Youth Insearch of Australia which arranges weekend camps and counselling for teenagers in trouble, the Melbourne based Mirabel Foundation which supports children left behind by parents who died of drug addiction. the SANE Australia campaign seeking more government assistance for people with depression and other mental illnesses, and the Australian Red Cross to assist refugees and the victims of war. As a Director of Ian Thorpe’s Fountain for Youth Trust, McMullen is now working to improve medical services for aboriginal children in the Jawoyn remote communities near Katherine in the Northern Territory.
Synopsis of presentations:
- A LIFE OF EXTREMES: Stirring journeys beyond the edge of the known world.
Meeting a lost stone-age tribe in the Amazon, riding on the back of a forty foot whale shark, climbing active volcanoes and giant meteor craters, travelling across Antarctica by huskie sled, riding with Mongol horsemen and flying by helicopter to the “highest war” in the Himalayas. Extremes of life including more than thirty warzones, from the military coup in Chile to the killing fields of Asia and Central America, the irradiated nuclear wastelands of Kazakhstan and the slaughterhouse of the Rwandan genocide. A life of danger and high adventure that began with a childhood lived in the Malay Emergency of the 1950’s and carried this storyteller to some places no one else has been.
- SEPTEMBER 11 - THE MEANING OF THE MADNESS: This is a clear view of the future. Using first hand experience, conversations with terrorists and anti-terrorism experts, interviews with the world’s leading military strategists, and other high-level political contacts to explain why terrorism has been unleashed and what is likely to happen next around the world. Before the Sydney Olympics Jeff McMullen was asked to give a private address on global security to Australian Police Chiefs and anti-terrorism authorities to help them understand the threat posed by terrorist operations. Face to face meetings with terrorists who have killed Americans, Australians, Israelis and other international citizens by planting explosives in public places have shaped this assessment of where the terrorists will strike next. In his best selling book, Jeff McMullen examines the broader pattern of where this violence is coming from and why it is likely to continue for at least another 25 years because of environmental ruin, critical stresses posed by overpopulation, poverty and hunger. After this round of “the oil wars” Jeff McMullen outlines the risk of the “water wars”.
- LIVING IN THE MATRIX: What other countries think of us and what we don’t know about them. The great British archaeologist, John Romer says Jeff McMullen has seen more of the world than most people might in ten lifetimes. This address explores the misconceptions that keep countries and cultures far apart. The Clash of Civilisations, the global anarchy and growth of organised crime, the exodus of 23 million refugees, the friction between religions and the break-up of the great national empires into uncontrollable states are all aspects of a deeply divided world. After years of interviewing many of the world’s greatest problem-solvers, including earth-scientists, military experts and political leaders, solutions are proposed to many of the critical challenges in this world in chaos.
- MEETINGS WITH REMARKABLE MEN AND WOMEN: Dancing in the White House, sipping tea with a double agent in Moscow, meeting Presidents, Kings, Queens, revolutionaries and femme fatales, campaigning with Nelson Mandela in South Africa, reporting on Richard Nixon and the Watergate scandal,, discussing philosophy with the Dalai Lama and peace with Jimmy Carter; dining with Maharajas in India, following the footsteps of Jesus with leading historians, travelling with polar explorers to unmapped regions, diving with deep sea adventurers and treasure hunters, looking into space and at giant meteor craters with astronomers, climbing the lava covered peaks with vulcanologists and travelling with naturalists to film exotic animal species in the Galapgos, New Guinea and the Amazon…these are remarkable lives to share, rich in wit and wisdom.
- THE MAN AND THE MYTH: Fame often masks the real character of the world’s best known men and women. After 35 years of getting to know many of the world’s greatest artists and most talented performers, here is a fresh view of many of them, including memorable discussions with Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorcese and Peter Weir, interviews and hanging out with actors like Russell Crowe, Warren Beatty, Kenneth Brannagh, Cher and Emma Thompson; great conversations with many of the most famous musicians of our time including John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Sting, Mark Knopfler, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Barbara Stresisand, Ray Charles, Janet Jackson, Stevie Wonder and Elton John. When the mask comes down, all of these people reveal a side the public rarely hears about.
- AFTER THE OIL WARS: A confronting forecast of the challenges we will face as our global population climbs towards eight billion, straining our ability to sustain life on earth for everyone. Assessments from the leading earth scientists on depletion of critical resources, especially the coming water crisis. A discussion of species extinction including loss of plants and animals around us. Future scenarios for the impact on humanity of the most serious environmental problems. The connection between human wars and our war on the earth. Solutions to the crisis from some of the brightest scientists and success stories to inspire our own efforts.
- TAKING A RISK: In a confronting and uncertain world, how to make critical decisions under pressure. After losing a cameraman colleague in combat thirty years ago, Jeff McMullen went on to thirty war zones, becoming an expert at assessing military and political leadership. He also led a life of high adventure, heading numerous filming expeditions into remote parts of the world including Antarctica, the Amazon, the Himalayas and the irradiated villages in Kazakhstan which he described as like” a land of living mutants”. The lessons learned involve preparation, assessment of danger and careful analysis of risk. This adventurer learned that fear holds us back from so much that is possible but can be overcome in the right frame of mind.
- MAKING A DIFFERENCE: In the most rapidly changing age in human history many people feel overwhelmed and often powerless. But some make an extraordinary difference. With our family, our friends, our employees, virtually anyone we come in contact with, it is possible to make a great difference, even dare say, to help make this world a better place. This address offers some very personal stories of just how much courageous lives can achieve. It includes the philosophy of successful political leaders, military and sporting leaders, but also men and women who have transformed their countries by travelling the path to peace and development. Accounts of unforgettable strangers and some of the bravest people on earth include a man who investigated war crimes in Rwanda, another who gave his life to inform people about Melanoma cancer, the ‘Riverkeeper’ who took on some of the biggest corporations in the world to clean up water pollution and a pair of brave explorers of the world’s most dangerous volcanoes who gave their lives trying to predict the ‘superplumes’ that threaten huge populations.
- TELLING THE TRUTH: Controversial issues and serious questions about the performance of mass media and the real scoop on contemporary journalism from a reporter with a distinguished international career of 35 years in television, radio, newspapers and magazines. Twenty years as foreign correspondent for The Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the longest serving reporter on Australia’s SIXTY MINUTES programme, Jeff McMullen also spent distinguished terms as a New York and Washington correspondent and produced prize-winning documentaries for the ABC’s FOUR CORNERS’ series. This address explores the breakdown of the media’s core values, cheque-book journalism and the public loss of trust.
Client Testimonial:
"What can I say but awesome, brilliant and one of the best in the world. His message was so appropriate for our global organization."
-- Golden Key International Honor Society, Atlanta, GA USA
Articles:
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Books:
 A Life of Extremes - published by HarperCollins
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