Former Young Australian of the Year Hugh Evans doesn’t like talking about his friendships with everyone from Bono, Rihanna, Chris Martin and Hugh Jackman to Julia Gillard, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and French President Emmanuel Macron.

But the young Melburnian, dubbed the Bob Geldof of his era, admits his mates are the sugar which helps his message – about global poverty and climate change – go down.