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REFLECTING ON 2019 LESSONS FOR A NEW AGE

64TH WALKLEY AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM ALL THE WINNERS INSIDE

Yearbook 2019 ABOUT US OUR COMMUNITY

Twitter The Walkley Awards were established in 1956 by Ampol Petroleum founder followers 21.7K Sir William Gaston Walkley. Today, the Walkley Foundation is independently funded and registered with the Register of Cultural Organisations and the Newsletter subscribers 5500 Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission as a deductible gift recipient (DGR) so that donations made to the foundation are tax deductible. Facebook followers Our funding comes from media companies, corporate , government, 5450 philanthropists and individual donors. We draw on the expertise of senior AWARDS SET THE journalists and editors who are chosen from a diverse cross-section of media Instagram followers 1456 organisations, formats and backgrounds. This leadership team guides our activities and shares their experience and insights through judging, projects, GOLD STANDARD public talks and The Walkley Magazine online. Above all, they uphold the LinkedIn followers 1027 FOR PUBLIC SERVICE integrity and credibility of the Walkley processes. JOURNALISM

At a time when citizens are losing faith in their institutions, top-quality reporting shows the industry is dedicated to pursuing journalism that serves democracy, writes Walkley Foundation chair Kerry O’Brien. , “LANDON AND JOEY”. WINNER OF THE , “LANDON AND JOEY”. WINNER OF THE our fundamental pillars provide the foundations of I would like to acknowledge the generous efforts of my fellow directors democracy: a strong, genuinely representative parliamentary — Marina Go, Lenore Taylor, Marcus Strom, Karen Percy and system, an independent judiciary, an apolitical police force Michael Janda — in providing guidance to Louisa Graham and the upholding the law with integrity, and a strong, free media. Walkley team to deliver an impressive yearlong schedule of awards, In that context the Walkley Foundation, as part of its brief events and programs. THE SUNDAY AGE SUNDAY THE to promote quality journalism, seeks to highlight the immense Support from the many media organisations whose journalists the importance of public interest journalism, as practised by a long honour Walkleys recognise is critical to the foundation’s ongoing sustainability.

MANUS, roll of investigative reporters and researchers. As a small but growing The Walkleys represent the pinnacle of industry awards and I would c institution, it works tirelessly to maintain public focus on journalism’s vital encourage the proprietors to continue their vital support. I would also role in society. The protection and promotion of quality in journalism encourage all our media organisations to champion their finalists and is our game — at the most basic level as well as at the pinnacle. winners and celebrate their achievements. We’re not just about acknowledging the best and the brightest. This is a time of serious challenge for our craft across a broad FOur awards process has grown steadily from small beginnings more front, at a time when democratic societies like ours are losing trust than 60 years ago and now sets the gold standard against which all of in institutions. The integrity reflected in the work we celebrate at the our journalistic output and the state of our industry is measured. But Walkleys is our bulwark against that erosion of trust and a reminder, not

COVER PHOTO: JUSTIN M JUSTIN PHOTO: COVER 9. ON PAGE PRIZE. READ MORE ABOUT THIS IMAGE PORTRAIT NIKON-WALKLEY 2019 more broadly we are endeavouring to protect and maintain that gold only to the citizens of this country, but more importantly to ourselves, EDITOR CLARE FLETCHER ART DIRECTOR SHIREEN NOLAN SUBEDITORS KATHRYN BICE, SIMON CRERAR, VANESSA FREY, JOHN VAN TIGGELEN EDITORIAL ASSISTANCE standard in a very foundational way, via the various support programs of the heights we can rise to individually and collectively, and what we BARBARA BLACKMAN, LAUREN DIXON, HELEN JOHNSTONE, IKE MORRIS, MARGOT SAVILLE, CAROLINE TUNG, JANE WILSON LEGAL ADVICE MINTER ELLISON PRINTING HORDERN we implement through the year. should aspire to be.

2 Walkley Yearbook 2019 Walkley Yearbook 2019 3 at the 2017 Walkley Awards. Photo: Adam Hollingworth. A JUDGING PROCESS DEDICATED TO ENSURING INTEGRITY

A PROUD TRADITION, AN EXPANDING FUTURE Encouraging diversity was a key focus for the Walkley Judging Board this year, writes of claims made in applications. Their task was to provide factual advice, Despite unprecedented attacks its chair Lenore Taylor. not to participate in the selection of finalists, and first-round judges have on journalism, the Walkley t’s been a very challenging year for journalism. reported that this was a very helpful innovation. Foundation stands united In a year that saw Australian Federal Police raids on journalists, attacks In the second round, the 14 participating members of the Walkley on the public broadcaster, an increase in suppression orders and huge Judging Board, drawn from 12 media outlets, meet for a full day to choose with our partners to support defamation payouts awarded against publishers, the Walkley Foundation the winners. The discussion focuses solely on the merits of the entries, the pursuit of the truth, stands united with our colleagues at the Right to Know coalition, MEAA with masthead allegiances left at the door. It is certainly robust at times, writes CEO Louisa Graham. and the Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom in calling for the Federal am always astonished by the quality of journalism lined up before as it should be, but most pleasing from my point of view as chair is the Government to ensure that journalists are able to do their jobs and us each year as we embark on the final round of Walkley judging. fact that, on many occasions, judges were prepared to change their report in the public interest without fear of prosecution. The public has I’ve often read, watched or listened to most of the finalists during minds, swayed by the perspectives and points of view around the table a right to know and journalism is not a crime. the course of the year, but seeing this distillation of the best of — and that, at the end of the day, we were all happy with our decisions. The strength of a democracy is largely founded on the quality and truth Australian journalism, as judged by our peers in the first round, Obviously, we are also very careful to avoid any conflict of interest, of its journalism. But quality journalism rarely comes without a price. This is always impressive and inspiring. with judges in both rounds always recusing themselves in the case of any year, with the pro bono support of the Enero Group and many media The pieces in front of us delve into every aspect of Australian professional or personal conflict, actual or perceived. organisations, we launched a national awareness campaign in the hope that life. They show determination and persistence and integrity and the I would like to thank all the judges involved in the 2019 Walkleys once those who consume quality journalism understand the price journalists Ivery best skills of storytelling across every medium. for their time and effort. They made time in their busy lives because pay to tell them the truth, they’ll be more willing to pay a price as well. After halving the entry fee this year, we saw a small increase in the the Walkleys are important. I’d also like to thank the deputy chair of the The Walkley Foundation has much to be proud of, and 2019 has been total number of entries. But there was a greater diversity in the sources Walkley Judging Board, Claire Harvey, chief executive Louisa Graham a year of growth and building on our mission to celebrate and support of entries, with particularly big increases in entries from commercial and the whole team from the Walkley Foundation for managing this great Australian journalism. television news journalists and freelancers. mammoth task. After three tremendous years of hosting the Walkleys in , We also work hard to ensure the broadest possible representation At a time when our profession is under threat from up-ended business we are back in for the first time since 2014. This has been made in the judging process. The first-round panels, who choose the three models, legislative overreach and those who are very deliberately seeking possible by the generous support of the NSW Government, which shares finalists in each category, are made up of representatives from different to de-legitimise our work, it is more important than ever to promote and our vision to see public interest journalism thrive, by undergirding the media organisations. This year they were supported by and celebrate the very best of what we do. We all know that a Walkley Award sort of courageous acts of journalism that expose corruption and hold Simon Crerar, who assisted with questions of eligibility and the checking is the measure of Australian journalistic excellence. the powerful to account.

4 Walkley Yearbook 2019 Walkley Yearbook 2019 5 PHOTOS IN FOCUS NIKON-WALKLEY PHOTO OF THE YEAR

Government support for journalism is essential, in the form of supporting the Walkleys, funding the public broadcaster, providing grants and tax concessions or enabling legislation that allows journalism to report on uncomfortable truths. In mature liberal democracies, government funding for journalism should not equal government influence over reporting. So once again, I thank the NSW Government for recognising the value of quality journalism. An important part of what we do is build a sustainable funding base to support the awards and the many programs we offer. Philanthropic contributions, ranging from small recurring monthly donations to major JOURNALISTS bequests, play a key role in sustaining the foundation and our work of [ ] investing in the industry through awards, grants, scholarships, mentorships MUST BE and the creation of a digital archive of Walkley-winning stories. This year, more than 60 years after the Walkley Awards for journalism ABLE TO DO were established by Sir William Gaston Walkley, a second member of the Walkley family has made a bequest supporting Australian journalism. THEIR JOBS This is a significant bequest from the estate of Sir William’s sister-in-law, June Andrews. Bequests are a powerful and enduring gift to the AND REPORT foundation, and backing journalism with this kind of philanthropic support makes a difference. I am excited that others have now come IN THE PUBLIC forward to make a pledge. Our philanthropic program has grown over the past year and we INTEREST are thrilled to have partnered again in 2019 with Anita Jacoby, the Jibb Foundation and the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund. This year, WITHOUT we welcomed new support from the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas, The William Buckland Foundation and the FEAR OF Harold Mitchell Foundation. We are grateful, too, for the support from our growing community of donors — committed individuals and PERSECUTION. organisations who value the work of our journalists and want to see it strengthened and supported. We are also grateful for the support of media organisations and the many corporate and community partners who share our commitment to quality journalism. News brands are built by best-practice journalism that holds the powerful to account, changes laws and transforms lives. This is the way we build trust with audiences, and counter disinformation RUNNING THE GAUNTLET and those who seek to discredit journalism. The Walkley Foundation is at the heart of media. generations. To support the next stage of the project, the foundation has Jason South We work independently and collaboratively with media and journalists launched its $250 x 250 fundraising campaign. We are grateful to those of all stripes. Every year, scores of journalists donate their time to judge donors and organisations who have already shown their support for this the Walkley Awards, sit on grant selection panels, interview potential landmark project. scholarship recipients, mentor the next generation of leading journalists, You can read more about the tremendous work that the Walkley appear on the panels of our Walkley Talks series and serve as a director Foundation has been doing to support Australian journalism in the pages or member of the advisory committee. This significant contribution is of this book. I also want to acknowledge the Walkley team; the staff the basis of the credibility and integrity of the Walkley Foundation. members who go above and beyond their job duties to deliver the In particular, I would like to thank Kerry O’Brien, who so generously mission of this vital organisation. gave his time to chair the Walkley Foundation. It has been a great honour I have been honoured this year to be a part of three important industry to have one of the country’s most esteemed journalists at our helm over initiatives. I was appointed to the boards of Media Diversity Australia the past year. and the Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom and also served as an advisory The Nikon-Walkley judges thought Jason South’s image of managed The Walkley Foundation’s biggest asset is the trove of Walkley-winning committee member on the Federal Government’s Regional Grant to tell the biggest news story in Australia in a single frame. As Pell emerges from the stories, and we are now curating this 64-year history of the best of Opportunity program to fund local journalism. All are doing important Cardinal George Pell runs the darkness, you can just make out his clerical collar; amid the shadows, the only two Australian journalism into a complete digital archival resource. With the work to ensure that journalism thrives and continues to underpin gauntlet of media and angry people whose faces are lit are Pell and the man lunging at him. Framed by lawyers, support of Google and , the foundation launched democracy. Christians at ’s the held-back crowd and a scrum of press cameras above, it’s an image full of drama the archive’s pilot in April. The archive will bring together all our past Finally, congratulations to all the 2019 winners, whose outstanding County Court before hearing and emotional contrast. The judges said: “It’s no mean feat to get an image that good winners and serve to highlight best-practice journalism for coming work is highlighted in the coming pages. his sentence. out of a court job.”

6 Walkley Yearbook 2019 Walkley Yearbook 2019 7 PHOTOS IN FOCUS NIKON-WALKLEY PORTRAIT PRIZE

Brutal consequences of truth-telling Our laws should encourage and reward people who call out wrongdoing, because journalism is not a crime, writes Marcus Strom, Walkley Foundation director and president of MEAA’s Media section.

But no such protection is offered for people who choose to make complaints internally. Our laws should not be designed to muzzle people and silence the truth. Our laws should encourage and reward those who call out wrongdoing. They should protect quiet Australians who bravely blow the whistle on behalf of all of us. Landon Punch is a young The Right to Know campaign is about all of this and more. Yindjibarndi man who lives in the The police raids on a News Corp journalist and the offices of the ABC town of Roebourne in remote his year we have seen that telling the truth has become a criminal has shaken Australia’s reputation as an upholder of press freedom and Western Australia. Landon, like offence. For whistleblowers and the journalists who work with provoked the media industry into action. many others in the community, them to bring important stories to our fellow citizens, truth-telling Research for the campaign found that 87 per cent of Australians value has a fearful and strained can land you in jail. Armed federal police can raid your office. a free and transparent democracy where the public is kept informed. relationship with police. He is Or your home. But only 37 per cent believe this is happening in Australia today. pictured with a joey he’s hand- Look at the case of Richard Boyle. Concerned about harsh, In the past 20 years, around 75 laws related to secrecy and spying have rearing until it’s big enough to be unreasonable and possibly unlawful debt collection methods by the been passed by Parliament, each one chipping away at what Australians released back into the bush, after Australian Taxation Office, he followed internal procedures to raise his are allowed to know about their government. he killed the baby kangaroo’s concerns. But after seeing no action, he decided to go public. mother for food. The consequences have been brutal. Richard lost his job. His home The Right to Know campaign is seeking: was raided by police. He now faces court on 66 separate criminal • the right to contest warrants; charges, with the prospect of serving six life sentences if found guilty. • exemptions from laws that criminalise journalists for doing their job; LANDON AND JOEY But Boyle’s truth, with the assistance of journalists at Nine Publishing • proper protection for whistleblowers; and the ABC, led to a parliamentary investigation and an inquiry by the • limits on which documents can be stamped as “secret”; Justin McManus small business ombudsman that will lead to changes in ATO practices. • a properly functioning Freedom of Information regime; and The Sunday Age Similarly, proceedings continue against Witness K and Bernard • defamation law reform. Collaery. Jeff Morris blew the whistle on the Commonwealth Bank and its shoddy insurance schemes, which destroyed the lives of hundreds of The unprecedented unity of our industry, of our profession, in this The judges praised the softness and fragility of Justin McManus’ portrait of Yindjibarndi man Landon Punch with a joey. The portrait is part of a people. In return, his own life has been blown apart. campaign is inspiring and it is unshakable. This campaign will not series in which McManus photographed Aboriginal families and community members who have lost loved ones while they were in police custody. The Australian Parliament has passed legislation that is designed stop until our Parliament takes notice and takes action on reforming McManus made this portrait of Landon in the remote Western Australian town of Roebourne, on assignment with reporter Miki Perkins. The to punish those who call out wrongdoing, when surely the law should these laws. death of Aboriginal teenager John Pat in Roebourne in 1983, after local Indigenous people were threatened then attacked by four off duty police offer protection. Australia’s reputation as a confident, open and transparent democracy officers, was instrumental in the Australian Government establishing the 1987 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. Like many in Someone who chooses to make a confidential disclosure to a journalist has been seriously damaged and the flow of information to citizens is Roebourne, Landon is fearful of police. McManus captures both peace and trauma in his face, while the joey presents a powerful visual symbol. knows the journalist will protect their identity in all circumstances, even being increasingly restricted. “Landon had just returned from a trip out on country, with the joey in hand. I asked him what had happened to its mother, to which he replied: under threat of jail. That unshakable ethical obligation is and always will Every Australian has the right to know about the decisions our ‘We killed it for food, and now I will hand rear the joey until it is big enough to be released back into the bush’. His admission seemed brutal and be at the heart of our profession. governments are making in our name. caring at the same time. I thought it an interesting contrast in terms of duty of care with the stories of deaths in custody.”

8 Walkley Yearbook 2019 Walkley Yearbook 2019 9 PHOTOS IN FOCUS NIKON-WALKLEY COMMUNITY/ REGIONAL PRIZE

Phoenix’s Heart: It was 3pm on an ordinary, sweltering January afternoon Neema, New Citizen: Neema M’maalo’s mother, Ababele, was pregnant A YEAR OF UPS Demonstrating the intimacy and trust a regional photographer can build with his at Merewether Ocean Baths when Phoenix Petersen’s six-year-old heart when she fled Congo’s civil war in the late and ended up in a community, Max Mason-Hubers’ body of work shows a range of subjects portrayed stopped. Ninety per cent of children who go into cardiac arrest outside of refugee camp in Tanzania, where Neema was born. They were settled in AND DOWNS IN in different ways. From a news action shot to a stunning portrait, these five images hospital don’t survive, but he’s one of the lucky ones. Phoenix, now seven, Australia when Neema was 12. Now aged 20, she is about to start a NEWCASTLE represent highlights from Mason-Hubers’ past 12 months in Newcastle. The judges has a genetic condition known as long QT syndrome, which increases the degree in business and commerce at The University of Newcastle. praised the skill, storytelling and consistency of editing in this series. risk of irregular heartbeat. Here, he shows the scar where an implantable Max Mason-Hubers cardiac defibrillator was installed in his abdomen to keep him alive. Newcastle Herald and The Sydney Morning Herald

Desperate Fight (right): James Farrell, James Worsfold and Michael Worsfold frantically carried bucket after bucket of water from a nearby creek as spot fires began to ignite around their home in Salt Ash, NSW, blown there by huge wind gusts as a ferocious fire They Don’t All Go Your Way front approached. (above): Newcastle Jets captain Scorched: On November 22 Nigel Boogaard leaves the field 2018, a bushfire tore through at half-time in the Jets’ frustrating the community of Salt Ash draw against Brisbane Roar on with a speed and ferocity that January 2 2019. astounded those in its path.

10 Walkley Yearbook 2019 Walkley Yearbook 2019 11 PHOTOS IN FOCUS NIKON-WALKLEY CONTEMPORARY AUSTRALIAN DAILY LIFE PRIZE

CHINESE TOURISM BOOM In 2018-19, Australia hosted 1.3 million Chinese tourists — more than the population of Australia’s fifth biggest city, Adelaide. Pumping $11.5billion into the economy Matthew Abbott during the same period, Chinese tourists account for more than a quarter of spending by international visitors. They are now the top source of tourists, outnumbering our The New York Times New Zealand neighbours. Matthew Abbott set out to visualise this story, embedded himself in the most typical and ordinary Chinese tour he could find: a bus trip from to Sydney to the Gold Coast. The result is a strong set of human interest images, which the judges agreed were composed and lit beautifully. Capturing spontaneous moments over his four-day journey, Abbott’s lighthearted, fly-on-the-wall documentary journalism helps us see Australia through Chinese eyes. Says Abbott: “On the Gold Coast, the Chinese witnessed the ‘Australian farm experience’, which included a lesson on how to shear a sheep. The shearer’s cheeky and sometimes crude jokes were translated into Mandarin and met by roars of laughter. Many of the tourists had family and friends already based in Australia, while others came for the clean air, warm weather, wildlife — and a good dose of selfies.”

Above: A group of Chinese Clockwise from top: Spectators take photos of ram Bruce (“the boss”) down the runway tourists made seven stops in before a shearing demonstration; the group stops for dinner in Sydney’s Chinatown. Elsewhere, Sydney just to snap selfies some visitors complained about Western food and a lack of hot drinking water, a Chinese staple; in front of the Harbour Bridge a Chinese tourist poses in front of a portrait of Bronwyn Bishop, Australia’s longest-serving female and Sydney Opera House. Member of Parliament; Chinese tourists at the SkyPoint Observation Deck on the Gold Coast.

12 Walkley Yearbook 2019 Walkley Yearbook 2019 13 WALKLEY BOOK AWARD LONGLIST THE BEST AUSTRALIAN NONFICTION BOOKS OF 2019

GABRIELLE CHAN EAN HIGGINS DAMON KITNEY ANDREW RULE Rusted Off: Why Country Australia The Hunt for MH370 The Price of Fortune: The Untold Winx: The Authorised Biography Any Ordinary Day: Blindsides, Is Fed Up Pan Macmillan Australia Story of Being James Packer Allen & Unwin Resilience and What Happens Vintage, Penguin Random House Australia HarperCollins Publishers See the winner after the Worst Day of Your Life The Hunt for MH370 brings together years of of this year’s An uplifting tale, skilfully told, which offers Penguin Random House Australia Rusted Off is as clever as it is insightful. research and shoe-leather journalism in one The Price of Fortune provides a rare glimpse insight into the competitive and often Illustrating the chasm between city and of the greatest aviation mysteries of all time. into the inner life of one of the nation’s best- Walkley Book unpredictable world of horseracing. This In a writing world steeped in memoir, Sales country, Chan delivers a fresh look at politics Higgins’ in-depth reporting on the possible known figures, weaving his private turmoils Award biography of phenomenon Winx, a stellar turned her personal story into journalism. and how it is conducted. It is the work of a causes of the doomed airliner’s disappearance, and mental health issues through the successes on page 74 sprinter, is told through her close family In Any Ordinary Day, she takes her own skilful journalist who takes a “local” route to and the twists, turns and political interventions and failures of a torrid business career. In — rider, trainer, owner and breeder — traumatic moment as a starting point and uses produce a compelling and beautifully written in the international hunt, is sobering and a series of revelatory interviews with James and explains how this star of the track it to inform these remarkable conversations national narrative. shocking. Yet, it always remains sympathetic Packer and his closest circle, Kitney provides captured trophies and hearts in the about loss, grief, faith, trauma, resilience and to the victims of the disaster: the passengers, a surprisingly frank account that displays the fashion of Phar Lap and Black Caviar. the simple power of indefatigable humanity. ADELE FERGUSON and the families and loved ones left behind. very best journalistic skills. Banking Bad ABC Books, HarperCollins Publishers JESS HILL MATTHEW WARREN See What You Made Me Do: Power, Blackout Banking Bad is a gripping tale of misconduct, Control and Domestic Abuse Affirm Press malpractice and misinformation by Australia’s Black Inc. banks and financial services. Ferguson uses her Blackout asks how energy-rich Australia is exceptional skills to flesh out the background See What You Made Me Do is a highly topical running out of electricity. Warren cuts of the scandal that rocked Australia, from the and thorough journalistic investigation of through ideologies to deliver a comprehensive call that sparked her attention to her concern family violence, viewed from the perspectives – and fascinating – overview of the history about the future of whistleblowers. of the perpetrators, victims and children. of the country’s electricity system. Citizens Hill canvasses a broad range of professional and energy policy enthusiasts alike will profit PATRICK MULLINS opinions and analyses the role of everything from a better understanding of the economic, Tiberius with a Telephone: The Life from patriarchy to government structures. physical and political issues facing Australia and Stories of William McMahon The book is highly readable, despite its as it transitions, slowly yet inevitably, to a Scribe confronting subject matter, and offers some clean-energy future. potential solutions. The unlikely and short-lived Liberal prime minister is the central character in Tiberius with a Telephone, but it is the times that dominate this sprawling biography. Mullins weaves McMahon’s story through a thorough and engaging examination of a period of tumult and fundamental social change. The research and scholarship add gravitas to a lively writing style and keen eye for detail.

14 Walkley Yearbook 2019 Walkley Yearbook 2019 15 MID-YEAR CELEBRATION OUR VALUES: The 2019 Mid-Year Awards were celebrated in Sydney on June 26. The evening honoured emerging talent in our industry, with awards for the best young journalists, ENCOURAGING EXCELLENCE media diversity, women’s leadership, freelancers, industrial reporting and arts journalism and criticism. An outstanding group of winners was announced, including The Walkley Foundation is a custodian of excellence Young Australian Journalist of the Year Oliver Gordon and Women’s Leadership in Media winner Melissa Davey. in reporting and we work independently with all media Jane Howard, recipient of the Arts Journalism Prize, and Jeff Sparrow, who took to encourage journalism of the highest standard. out the Walkley-Pascall Prize for Arts Criticism, also won $5000 cash each, thanks to the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund.

OTHER AWARDS Support from Media Diversity Australia enabled us to offer an award for journalism OURTHE WALKLEY AWARDS that raises awareness of culturally and linguistically diverse communities and people The Walkley Awards have recognised the best Australian journalism for more than 60 with disability. It recognises the significance of media coverage in providing nuanced years and will carry this mission into the future. Despite industry-wide challenges, 2 reporting that can alter perceptions and attitudes, challenge stereotypes and fight journalism is thriving; this year, entries rose to a record 1357. WALKLEY misinformation. Congratulations to the inaugural winners, the team behind ABC We cut the entry fee from $295 to $150 to encourage work from a more diverse AWARDS TV’s You Can’t Ask That. range of journalists. This lower fee allowed more entries from freelancers, small ENTRIES 2019 We administered the Our Watch Award for reporting to end violence against community regional organisations, independent publishers and others who may have women; the 2019 winner was Sarah Dingle and the team from ABC ’s been deterred by the cost. For members of the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance, Background Briefing. entry has always been free. In 2018, The Australian’s Hedley Thomas and Slade Gibson won a for their investigative podcast, The Teacher’s Pet. Helen Pitt’s book about the Sydney WALKLEY YOUNG AUSTRALIAN Opera House, The House, won the Walkley Book Award, while Evan Williams and the JOURNALIST6 OF THE YEAR Dateline production team won the Walkley Documentary Award for Myanmar’s Killing AWARDS 2019 “I think winning the award certainly elevates Fields. Veteran Pacific correspondent was recognised for his Outstanding Contribution to Journalism. your career by increasing your profile and We celebrated the 2019 Walkley Awards in Sydney on November 28. Read our people’s perception of your skills and abilities. tributes to this year’s winners from page 46. I definitely noticed an increase in industry 1357 OTHER AWARDS recognition, new followers on social media and Media Diversity Australia 5Award more people reaching out to me with stories.” Isabella Higgins (below), Shortform Journalism winner at the 2019 Young Australian Journalist of the Year Awards.

Our Watch Arts Journalism Walkley-Pascall Prize 72Award Prize for Arts Criticism 46 48 49 Freelance Women’s Journalist Leadership of the Year in Media 14 The Helen O’Flynn and Alan Knight Award for Best Industrial 37 28 Relations Reporting VALUESOpposite: The 2018 Walkley Awards Gala Dinner. 16 Walkley Yearbook 2019 Photos: Adam Hollingworth Walkley Yearbook 2019 17 OUR VALUES: SUPPORTING THE NEXT GENERATION The Walkley Foundation works to ensure the brightest new talent from a diverse range of backgrounds is recognised, OURdeveloped and connected with the industry. In previous generations, young journalists received their training in the newsroom. Today, with shrinking staff numbers and fewer resources, many organisations can’t take on cadets or grant senior journalists time away from their desks for mentoring. This is where we step up.

SCHOLARSHIPS AND FELLOWSHIPS In 2013, award-winning journalist and broadcaster Anita Jacoby honoured her late father, Phillip, by offering practical help to a young journalist, including a job placement with the . This initiative has been so successful that new partners are joining us, offering a range of practical training experiences for journalists plus support for newsrooms across Australia. “We’re telling

Jacoby-Walkley Scholarship stories that would The 2019 winner, Caroline Tung, completed a 10-week placement with Television and Digital in Sydney, comprising time at 60 Minutes, the Nine newsroom, not necessarily be 9news.com.au, A Current Affair and Today. From November 4 to 28, Tung was based at told, coming back the Walkley Foundation, assisting with the Walkley Awards broadcast, yearbook and awards night. She also receives a place in an AFTRS TV Unit course. to our Indigenous

Media Super Scholarship with Seven perspective and our Inaugural winner Amy Clements spent 12 weeks at Seven, splitting her time between the Seven newsroom, Sunrise and The Latest — Seven’s nightly news bulletin. She has Indigenous lens … also been fine-tuning her skills at 7digital. I hope [winning

The William Buckland Foundation Fellowship with The Age a Walkley has] Thanks to a generous donation of $15,000 from The William Buckland Foundation, the Walkley Foundation was able to offer a fellowship to applicants from regional opened up some Victoria in conjunction with The Age. Rachael Houlihan, from The Standard in Warrnambool, spent 12 weeks at The Age, working alongside education and city minds at the ABC reporters on daily news while also pursuing an individual project. and other media Our Watch Fellowships “Quality journalism is organisations in “It’s awesome to be able to Fourteen journalists were selected for the inaugural Our Watch Fellowship, aimed at developing newsroom leaders to propagate best-practice reporting on violence absolutely critical for terms of the great against women. The group learnt from experts and each other, deepened their a functioning democracy talk to someone who has understanding of the complexities of the issue and built a powerful network over content … actually three retreats around the country. but it is also critical for made by Indigenous done what I’m doing now, a sound financial sector.” peoples.” has been through the same Jonathan Shapiro (above), 2018 winner Yale MacGillivray (above right) of the Business Journalism category. with Allan Clarke, 2018 winners MENTORING of the Coverage of Indigenous challenges and has such The Jibb Foundation continues to support the Young Australian Journalist of the Photos: Adam Hollingworth Affairs category. Year Awards. Its funding goes towards mentoring, the overall winner’s prize (a trip to newsrooms in the United States) and subsidising entry fees. All these initiatives have useful insight to share.” had a positive impact on the number of entries. Our thanks also to the journalists who have acted as mentors. If you’re interested Zoe Osborne (above right), 2019 mentee and Young Australian Journalist of the Year in becoming a mentor to help strengthen excellence in the industry, please register joint award-winner for Visual Storytelling, with Annika Blau. your interest at walkleys.com/mentorship.

Thank youVALUES for your support ANITA 18 Walkley Yearbook 2019 JACOBY Walkley Yearbook 2019 19 OUR VALUES: VALUING JOURNALISM Great journalism is worth valuing and supporting. We must lead a conversation highlighting the significance of quality reporting for both the industry and all Australians.

OURTELLING OUR STORY COMMUNICATIONS AND THE WALKLEY MAGAZINE The impact of Walkley-winning stories continues long after the winners The Walkley website was redesigned in 2019 to better showcase fantastic have taken their trophies home. Hedley Thomas and Slade Gibson’s Australian photographs and cartoons. We continually publish stories in 2018 Gold Walkley-winning podcast, The Teacher’s Pet, triggered the The Walkley Magazine online, including funded original reporting, such as reopening of the police inquiry into the death of Lynette Dawson. the stories supported under the Walkley Grants for Freelance Journalism Walkley-winning stories by Anne Connolly and Adele Ferguson have led appearing from page 31. The best way to keep up with new articles is to to Royal Commissions. To assist this process, we share all prize-winning sign up for our weekly newsletter at walkleys.com/subscribe. stories through our communications, interview series, podcast and public programming, as well as our long-term project to create a digital archive PUBLIC TALKS, EXHIBITIONS AND PODCASTS of Walkley-winning stories. Our free monthly talks at the State Library of NSW are our forum for public conversations about the importance and impact of great AMPLIFYING IMPACT journalism. Each talk attracts more than 100 registrations and an audio In 2018, a dedicated Walkley channel on Apple News featured our recording is later released as an episode of the Walkley Talks podcast. winners and finalists. Within a week the hub had been viewed 250,000 We also engage a public audience nationally through our relationships times by 165,000 unique viewers — an extraordinary result. Apple News with writers’ festivals, universities and other partners. Each year the also presented the 2019 Walkley Young Australian Journalist of the Year Nikon-Walkley Press Photo Exhibition takes Australian photojournalism Award winners’ stories and within days the hub article had been read by to communities around the country. more than 100,000 users, driven in part by a push notification from the In November, we took a program of masterclasses and public Apple News editorial team and strong featuring in Top Stories. discussions to the State Library of Western Australia. Featuring award- winning local and interstate journalists, the Shining a Light on the Truth festival engaged a public audience in conversations about press-freedom WHAT PRICE WOULD YOU PAY? politics and the power of storytelling. 2019 Nikon-Walkley Press In conjunction with the Enero Group and its Photography exhibition at the THE POWER OF COLLABORATION Parliament of . communications agency, Naked, we launched Events presented with partners help us bring top journalists to broader Photo: Natasha Solomons a national advertising campaign called What audiences. Our talk series at The showcased Price Would You Pay?, focusing on the value of journalists Kerry O’Brien and Pamela Williams in conversation about their Gold Walkley-winning stories. Pairing them with university journalism. Walkley-winning journalists are the academics and a journalist currently working in their topic areas made “If you can explain face of the campaign, which highlights the cost for thought-provoking, in-depth discussions that reached hundreds of of delivering quality news. We shine a light on attendees and thousands more through the Sydney Ideas podcast. things to people, bring In August, we presented a stacked panel of journalists to a packed the price that journalists pay to deliver the truth crowd at RMIT in Melbourne, themed around the What Price Would people along, explain and ask the public to think about what price they You Pay? topic. their own society, you would pay for that truth. Quality journalism isn’t We partnered with The New York Times to present its president and CEO, Mark Thompson, delivering a keynote address on declining free — producing it is expensive — and we want investment in quality journalism, how that impacts democracy and the increase the engagement Australians to understand that we all should implications for both publishers and politics. The former director-general of ordinary people subscribe, pay or donate to support the fourth of the BBC, who has overseen the NYT group’s digital transformation, said Australian media must continue to produce quality journalism in political life, in our estate. The campaign has been a huge success and take risks if they are to survive and thrive in the digital age. Media “In regional areas, and donations to the Walkley Public Fund were companies must be more open-minded, breaking out of traditional democracy.” much higher in 2018-19 than in the previous norms and adapting to new technologies, he said. Failing to adapt would James Button (right), 2018 winner of the journalism is critical be a “certain path to the grave”. Print/Text Feature Writing Long category. financial year. because it is the voice Photos: Adam Hollingworth of the community and fights for the issues that matter to readers.” Belinda-Jane Davis (above), 2018 winner of Coverage of Community and Regional Affairs.

Thank you for your supportVALUES 20 Walkley Yearbook 2019 Walkley Yearbook 2019 21 OUR VALUES: WORKING COLLABORATIVELY WITH ALL MEDIA

The Walkley Foundation’s unique status allows it the privilege OURof working collaboratively with all media organisations.

The foundation is independently funded, with support from media They were: Andrew Hobbs, an editor at Bauer Trader Media; organisations, governments, corporate Australia, universities, public Erin Handley, a digital journalist with the ABC’s Asia Pacific Newsroom; institutions and philanthropists. Our widespread community support Farz Edraki, an ABC features writer and producer; and Guardian reporter demonstrates our success in working across the entire industry to Josh Taylor. In a reciprocal visit, four Korean journalists travelled to champion quality journalism, and we have the unique role of working Australia in April. This program has run since 2013. collaboratively with all media organisations. The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance has been the trustee of the WALKLEY TRIVIA NIGHT foundation for more than 40 years and continues to support us in our We held the inaugural News Masters Trivia Night at The Beresford hotel mission to promote independent, ethical, high-quality journalism. in Sydney on July 3. Hosted by Stephen Brook and Network Ten’s Angela Bishop, the tournament drew 160 guests from a mix of media THE JUDGING PROCESS and corporate partners. It was a great opportunity to raise funds for the Each year, more than 100 senior journalists and media industry workers Walkley Public Fund and increase awareness of the foundation’s work. give their time to judge the Walkley Awards. We also draw on industry The Paper Giants from The Australian won, taking home the News Trivia leaders to judge awards and prizes and to serve on selection committees Cup — and the glory of beating their media rivals. for fellowships, scholarships and grants. BOOSTING INNOVATION IN LOCAL NEWS TRAINING In late 2019, we partnered with the Facebook Journalism Project to In February 2019, we announced the Google News Initiative training bring its Local News Accelerator program to Australia and New “... one of the best training sessions I’ve ever been “Generally in this program, managed by John Bergin, which takes the latest digital skills to Zealand. The program supported 11 publishers for three months to newsrooms and universities. The GNI trainers’ network brings together boost direct reader revenue through subscriptions, memberships and to. The simple and useful tools used not only help industry, we can be quite an accomplished and varied team of 14, including working journalists, one-off payments. Each team may apply for up to $100,000 to continue academics and media instructors and educators. Over the year, the their work in 2020. further our storytelling, they also add many more a cynical bunch, but program more than achieved its target of providing free training to 4000 layers to the way we research a story and also think awards nights like the students, journalists and editors across Australia and New Zealand. about a yarn. I would do this training for my team Walkleys provide us with GOOGLE NEWS INITIATIVE NEWSROOM LEADERSHIP PROGRAM AT COLUMBIA JOURNALISM SCHOOL every six months if I could.” the rare opportunity to Three journalists from Australia and New Zealand were among the Farz Edraki, Professor Rashell Habib, news editor, 10 daily celebrate the work you’re inaugural Google News Initiative Newsroom Leadership program NaYoung Lee from fellows for 2019-20: Danielle Cronin from Brisbane Times, Australian Jung-Ang University, all so rightly proud of.” Community Media’s Betina Hughes and Phillip O’Sullivan of TVNZ. Erin Handley, Josh The program aims to provide tomorrow’s editors with the skills and Taylor and Andrew Hugh Marks, chief executive, Nine knowledge to guide their newsrooms through the transition to digital Hobbs in Seoul. and to reach and engage audiences in new ways. Each fellow works on Photo: Lauren Dixon a specific project relevant to their newsroom. They also attend four weeks of onsite courses at Columbia University in New York and Google offices in Silicon Valley and Asia.

BUILDING GLOBAL LINKS In December 2018, we staged the first Australia-Malaysia Media Exchange in partnership with the Australian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. Our delegates — ’s Rachael Dexter, Simon King of nine. com.au and Sally Roberts from SBS — took part in panel discussions, masterclasses with journalism students and roundtable discussions. Four Australian journalists travelled to Korea in September as part of the annual Australia-Korea Media Exchange, organised by the Walkley Foundation in partnership with the Korea Press Foundation in Seoul.

VALUESThank you for your support 22 Walkley Yearbook 2019 Walkley Yearbook 2019 23 OUR VALUES: INVESTING IN JOURNALISM

INVESTING IN THE FUTURE THE WALKLEY FUND DINNER OURThe inaugural round of Walkley Grants for Freelance Journalism funded 11 special Returning for a second year, the Walkley Fund for projects, financed by $50,000 from the Walkley Public Fund for Journalism and Journalism Dinner raised awareness and funds for our $25,000 from the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas. Read more about cause. Hosted by (Seven), guests the program, and some of the journalists’ work, on pages 30 to 44. heard from a stellar panel of Walkley-winning journalists A new annual grant was established in honour of veteran journalist Sean Dorney — Mark Burrows (Nine News), Joanne McCarthy (Newcastle to encourage reporting on the Pacific Islands region. The Sean Dorney Grant for Herald), Caro Meldrum-Hanna (ABC), Helen Pitt (The Sydney Pacific Journalism, funded by a group of donors and organisations, awards $10,000 to Morning Herald) and Hedley Thomas (The Australian) — an Australian journalist working in any medium. The inaugural winner, Ben Bohane, moderated by (ABC). is an Australian photojournalist, author and TV producer who has covered Asia and the Pacific Islands for 30 years. He is the founder and director of Waka Photo Agency, based in Vanuatu. With his grant, Bohane travelled to Bougainville to cover the referendum.

LONG-TERM SUPPORT The Jibb Foundation made a second three-year commitment to fund an annual prize for the overall Young Australian Journalist of the Year and to support the foundation’s mentoring program for all category winners in the Young Australian Journalist of the Year Awards. The Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund continues to provide prize money for the two Walkley Arts awards. The Cultural Fund also generously supported important stories on media issues, as well as training for journalists that features award-winning journalists sharing their skills. Kathy Egea continues to support the Helen O’Flynn and Alan Knight Award for Best Industrial Reporting. Established in 2017, the award honours Helen O’Flynn (1920-1984) — one of Australia’s most respected industrial relations journalists — “June Andrews’ bequest is and Egea’s late husband, Alan Knight, an emeritus professor and newspaper, radio and TV journalist for more than 40 years. a powerful and enduring gift.

JOURNALISM: MAKING A CASE FOR SUPPORT Backing journalism with this Walkley Foundation chair Kerry O’Brien promoted the foundation’s work at a number kind of philanthropic support of public and private events, including a Philanthropy Meets Parliament Summit, where he joined industry leaders to discuss the question: “How can philanthropy really can make a difference.” support considered public policy development in a post-truth political world?” Photo courtesy of Ben Bohane Louisa Graham, Walkley Foundation chief executive BEQUESTS The Walkley Awards were founded in 1956 with a generous legacy from Sir William Gaston Walkley. The Walkley Foundation is now grateful and honoured to have received a $1million bequest from Sir William’s sister-in-law, June Andrews, who died in 2017. The foundation also received a significant bequest from a supporter who wished to remain anonymous. Kym Druitt pledged a future bequest, joining past Walkley “That the Walkley Foundation intends to turn this Foundation chair Quentin Dempster in including the foundation in their wills. SHOWCASING AUSTRALIA’S FINEST JOURNALISM work into a resource for all – particularly journalism In early 2018, the Walkley Foundation began locating and digitising every Walkley Award-winning story from the past 61 years. Supported by Google, and working in partnership with Deakin University, we presented a selection of entries on an students – is one of the most exciting and forward- interactive pilot website. With renewed support from Google and the ABC, the foundation is on track to complete the second stage of the project by mid-2020. thinking of decisions.” See page 29 for more details. June Andrews. Photo courtesy of OAM, head of Journalism at UTS and Walkley Award winner Robyn Kerr.

STEPHEN HOWES & CLARE HOLBERTON, BOB & HELEN LYON, PACIFIC ISLAND LIVING MAGAZINE, TNC PACIFIC CONSULTING, IAN AND DENISE MACINTOSH Thank you for your supportVALUES 24 Walkley Yearbook 2019 Walkley Yearbook 2019 25 OUR VALUES: INDEPENDENCE AND GOOD GOVERNANCE

The Walkley Foundation is an independently funded company limited OUR JUDGING BOARD by guarantee and registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for- The board of directors appoint an advisory committee, the Walkley Judging Board, comprising profits Commission. The Walkley Awards belong to journalists and the senior media industry members who judge the Walkley Awards, advise the directors on matters relating to the awards and act as ambassadors for the foundation. Judging Board members serve industry and we work independently and collaboratively with all media. a two-year term, with an option to renew for an additional one or two years. Support from media organisations, whether in the form of financial OURsupport or in-kind contributions, is critical to our success. PUBLIC FUND COMMITTEE In 2019, Gold Walkley winner Kerry O’Brien completes his term as chair of the foundation after generously committing a year out of his busy schedule. Kerry’s The Walkley Public significant standing in the industry has added cachet to the foundation’s work and he Fund Committee is has lent his authority to the foundation’s voice on important media issues. We would the custodian of the like to formally thank Kerry for his outstanding contribution as chair and wish him Walkley Public Fund. Chair Deputy chair Natalie Ahmat, Michael Bachelard, well in the future. Comprising senior Lenore Taylor, Claire Harvey, presenter/producer, investigations editor, The Walkley Judging Board, the custodian of the awards, represents a broad range journalists and industry editor, Guardian deputy editor, NITV News The Age of media organisations. At the end of 2018 the board farewelled Sandra Sully, Simon leaders, the committee Australia The Sunday Telegraph OUR TEAM Crerar and Dennis Atkins. They have been distinguished members of our team and ensures that appropriate Louisa Graham, we thank them for their valuable input. governance and Guardian Australia editor Lenore Taylor became chair of the Judging Board this processes are in place chief executive year, while Claire Harvey, deputy editor of The Sunday Telegraph, took on the role of for administering fund John Bergin, deputy chair. Other new members are Michael Brissenden, Bhakthi Puvanenthiran monies. Kate Haddock project manager, and Hamish Macdonald. Google News Initiative training program Barbara Blackman, LEADING THE CONVERSATION executive officer Chief executive Louisa Graham represented the foundation nationally and globally, Gemma Courtney, including at the ABC’s Navigating the News Conference in and the events and program coordinator International Institute of Communications Annual Conference in London. Michael Brissenden, Patricia , Mags King, Deborah Knight, Lauren Dixon, She has been an Advisory Committee member for the Federal Government’s reporter, Four Corners, presenter, Radio managing photo news presenter, Nine senior manager, awards and partnerships Regional and Small Publishers Innovation Fund, a member of the Public Interest ABC National Drive, ABC editor, SMH, Journalism Initiative round table and a participant in a discussion on the future of media The Age and AFR Clare Fletcher, convened by philanthropist Judith Neilson, founder of the Judith Neilson Institute for Kate Julius Jim Nolan communications and Journalism and Ideas. editorial manager Louisa serves on the boards of the Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom and Media Helen Johnstone, Diversity Australia. Both opportunities facilitate influence and engagement within development manager the industry. Lauren Katsikitis, partnerships manager Jane Wilson, national events manager Stella Lauri, John Lehmann, Mark Mallabone, Hamish Alan Sunderland Pamela Williams network news editor, The Australian deputy editor, Macdonald, director, WIN host, The Project, OUR DIRECTORS Television The company directors, also known as the Walkley Foundation trustees.

Heidi Murphy, Bhakthi Tory Shepherd, Puvanenthiran, state editor, senior producer, Marina Go, Michael Janda, Karen Percy, Chair Marcus Strom, Lenore Taylor, editor, ABC Life The Advertiser Mornings with Neil Kerry O’Brien non-executive senior digital business senior reporter, ABC media adviser editor, Guardian Mitchell, 3AW693 director reporter, ABC News Melbourne and science Australia communicator, The VALUESUniversity of Sydney 26 Walkley Yearbook 2019 Walkley Yearbook 2019 27 THIS ARTICLE WAS SUPPORTED BY FUNDING FROM MEDIA SUPER THE BUSINESS OF FREELANCING DIGITISING THE WALKLEY ARCHIVE There’s no guidebook for freelancing, but it’s important to keep in mind that creatives have engaged in temporary work SUPPORT IS NEEDED for centuries. Here are a few tips from Yaara Bou Melhem to Media organisations: The Walkley make it more relevant in this one. Foundation is asking the industry to support the project and their journalists by sharing access to their libraries and digitised files of Walkley-winning work.

Walkley-winning journalists: Our alumni are being asked to notify the foundation of their contact details and register their interest if they wish to support the project with additional information and interview access.

Disruptions from tech have prompted many KEEP SOME DROUGHT MONEY SAFEGUARDING A LEGACY support from Google and Deakin University, Corporate, educational and industries, including the transport, service and Okay, so I’m no trust-fund kid and I know it’s OF REPORTING a selection of entries were showcased on a pilot philanthropic organisations: Funding hotel trades, to engage people in short-term a hard ask for most people, but having savings For more than 60 years the annual Walkley website in April 2019. is needed to cover project costs, including contract work in what’s been dubbed the takes the pressure off so you don’t have to Awards have recognised and rewarded the best The digital archive pilot does not only curation, digitisation, the development of “gig economy”. accept any old gig that could be soul-destroying of Australian journalism. Until recently, that present and list this impressive treasure-trove of resources, and promotional events. Whether you love it or fear it, this trend is or irrelevant to your career path. Three months powerful historical record of the best Australian information; thanks to the use of digital tools, growing in our industry, too, with more and to cover expenses is usually enough to see you journalism has not been available to the public. it can also curate a journey for the visitor, $250 x 250 fundraising campaign: The more journalists turning to freelancing as a way through but six months is even better, especially Instead, the vast collection has survived only in enabling them to go deeper and discover the foundation is asking for just 250 donations of to survive in the fractured media landscape. if you’re transitioning into a different area or library storage. At a time when journalism has stories and moments in history that have $250 to cover the cost of digitising the entire According to folklore, the term “gig” came taking time out to acquire new skills. never been under greater threat, and public shaped our nation. archive and to help us achieve our goal of from the creative industry. Artists, musicians, support and trust in journalism has never been completing the project by the end of 2020 actors, comedians, filmmakers and writers GET A GOOD ACCOUNTANT more vital, it’s time to change that. WHAT’S NEXT? (further information below). would be commissioned for short projects — A good accountant who specialises in media Complete a one-night performance in a bar, a bespoke will save you thousands of dollars in tax and PROJECT OBJECTIVES • Digitise the remaining 1300-plus Walkley- THANK YOU painting, a film, a book or two. may help you do things like income averaging • Promote quality journalism winning records Our thanks to those who have already shown If you’re a freelance journalist (and it is and claiming items as tax-deductible expenses • Educate the journalists of tomorrow • Design the website to enable discovery, their support for this landmark project: possible), you’re not just a journalist. You’re — everything from home-office costs to haircuts access and engagement, with records and • Build trust in media Archive Angels a comedian, a filmmaker, a writer or that thing (if you’re in the land of film and television). • Develop news literacy supporting information that’s harder to define: a personality. This Loads of deductions are allowable if you work Create • Richard Moran diversity only makes our industry stronger in the creative industry. • Support ethical best practice in journalism • Present behind-the-scenes interviews with • Margot O’Neill and more relevant. It enables it to evolve with • Integrate existing resources and information award winners • Hedley Thomas the times and exposes it to different ideas and INVEST IN YOURSELF in this area from across the media, educational • Develop tools and learning resources for ways of working. You could do your 10,000 hours in one area and cultural landscape educators and media literacy programmers Archive Partners But how do you freelance or work sustainably and keep at it forever, but chances are you’ll • Preserve a history of Australian society as Collaborate • ABC as an independent? There are no hard and need other skills to stay relevant and remain reported by our country’s best journalists • Work with educators, media literacy • Google fast rules — it really depends on the individual, interested in what you’re doing. Investing in programmers and newsroom trainers to Archive Pilot supporters their skill set and interests — but here are a few higher education and short courses, and WHAT WE HAVE ACHIEVED promote access and integration of the practical tips that may be useful. finding ways to move laterally across associated SO FAR resource in their relevant programs. • Google industries, will broaden and refine your skill set. In early 2018, the Walkley Foundation began • Co-present public events with cultural • Deakin University SET UP A COMPANY the process of digitising that unique content and educational organisations to promote • State Library of NSW There are many tax-related reasons to do this BE PART OF A COMMUNITY and making it available to the public. With the archive and journalists and it also has some structural benefits, such as Join a union, become involved with associations allowing you to pay yourself and others who of your peers and keep up with what’s going work with you a salary, as well as take out in your industry. The support flows both ways. workers’ compensation insurance and income If you spend a little time laying down some Just 250 donations of protection insurance. of these structural foundations for working $250 will cover the cost independently, it will likely become easier to of digitising the entire PAY YOURSELF SUPER turn your focus to the business of just doing catalogue of award- If you’re not paying yourself a salary, you what you do. The best advice I’ve ever been winning journalism should at the very least be contributing to given as an independent is to simply to do good and will support us in super. There’s this thing called compound work. After all, good work begets more work. providing an accessible interest. Look it up — a little bit today will go Good luck and have fun while you’re at it, treasure-trove of gold- a long way in retirement. because it’s a privilege to tell stories. standard reporting. D Donate to the Walkley Digital Yaara Bou Melhem is a Walkley Award-winning journalist and filmmaker. She’s currently directing her first feature-length documentary with US-based Archive today at Participant Media, is developing a social hybrid VR drama and continues to work in documentary through her company, Illuminate Films. Yaara won walkleys.com/ the Walkley Freelance Journalist of the Year Award in 2016 and 2019 for films and reports commissioned by the ABC and Al Jazeera English. donate

28 Walkley Yearbook 2019 Walkley Yearbook 2019 29 WALKLEY GRANTS FOR FREELANCE JOURNALISTS WALKLEY GRANTS FOR FREELANCE JOURNALISM SLIM pickings

This year, the Walkley Foundation funded “Through this program we want to foster SPECIAL THANKS TO THE André Dao, Michael Green and 11 journalism projects in the public interest in a collaborative media environment that JUDGING COMMITTEE: Tia Kass’s project, “We Feed this inaugural round of the Walkley Grants for encourages co-publishing where journalists are You”, will be an illustrated Freelance Journalism. The judging committee funded and paid for their work,” she said. Natalie Ahmat, presenter/producer, NITV feature about migrant workers selected the winners from a field of 117 The initial pool of $50,000 from the Walkley applicants on the basis that their stories would Public Fund for Journalism was boosted by an Monica Attard, head of journalism, UTS in the Australian food industry, serve the public interest, make an impact and additional $25,000 contribution from the Judith comprising illustrative portraits not otherwise be published. Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas. Andrew Eales, managing editor (Victoria and and first-person stories. In the The winning projects span topics including “The aim of the Judith Neilson Institute is to south-west NSW), Australian Community Media extract below, Putri Nazeri, the environment, health policy, banking, sport, celebrate and encourage quality journalism,” who arrived in Australia from development, school funding inequality, migrant said JNI board director Mark Ryan. Matthew Liddy, editor, Interactive Digital Malaysia in 2016, describes food workers, refugees and the impact of border “The institute’s contribution to the Walkley Storytelling Team, ABC working as a vegetable picker policies, and more; you can sample this work Grants is an early modest step in these efforts. on a farm near Bairnsdale, over the following pages. The institute will be announcing further grants Helen Trinca, managing editor, The Australian, Walkley Foundation chief executive Louisa and initiatives to support quality journalism in and editor, The Deal 280km east of Melbourne. Graham said the projects will be published in the coming months.” Illustration by Tia Kass The Walkley Magazine online under a Creative Lenore Taylor, editor, Guardian Australia Commons licence, as well as co-publishing with any publications the grantees have organised. Find out more at walkleys.com/grants

moved to Bairnsdale because there’s no jobs in Griffith. I only had $200 in my hand. So I forced myself to work in this farm, picking broccolini for 30 cents per bunch. And this contractor is very bad because we have to live with the accommodation that they prepared for us and the transport that they prepared for us. It was very bad accommodation. Very bad. It is dirty. I think they have five rooms CONGRATULATIONS TO and each room will have four “Oh, you can get more hours.” And then I work to work fast. They have a box here. You have to people live in it, sometimes more almost 20 hours a day. Let’s see. Three days fill the basket, the box very quickly. Moving, than that, with two toilets. And we have to ask a week he will give me planting job and cutting keep moving. You can’t stop. CONGRATULATIONSTHE 2019 WALKLEY AWARDTO for permission even to buy groceries. and doing spinach. So I have three jobs in a day, And then we start doing spinach around So, it makes my life not easy and it makes me other than picking broccolini on the other days. 12 o’clock, midnight. There is a machine, WINNERS AND NOMINEES. very angry. Why should I listen to this person? They pay me hourly, $15 an hour. So I will a tractor. I just open a box and then make sure THE 2019 WALKLEY AWARD I have no choice. I cannot run away, because start planting at maybe eight o’clock. And then that the spinach is going in the box. It’s easy I have no money. So I forced myself I finish planting around afternoon and then job, but still we have to work midnight until the CONGRATULATIONS TO to do the job, learning how to pick broccolini rest for one hour. And then I start doing cutting next day. Maybe six o’clock. WINNERS AND NOMINEES. and prepare myself, physically and mentally, vegetables and we finish work very late at night. I struggled with myself. I’m Muslim, so I pray THE 2019 WALKLEY AWARD because it’s not easy work in farms in rainy, When I do cutting, I have to bend myself. every day and I could not pray properly. I have in bad weather conditions. We have to do it fast and we have to do it to sit down when I pray because my body was I don’t know minimum wage in Australia. So properly. If not, if we wrongly cut the vegetable, very exhausted, I’m in pain. WINNERS AND NOMINEES. I struggled with myself and I asked that you will cut your hand. I’m doing this cutting The series, and Putri Nazeri’s full profile, will appear in CHAMPIONING QUALITY JOURNALISM JNINSTITUTE.ORG contractor, “I should get more hours.” So he said, salad, the green and purple one. And you have The Saturday Paper.

CHAMPIONING QUALITY JOURNALISM JNINSTITUTE.ORG 30 Walkley Yearbook 2019 Walkley Yearbook 2019 31

CHAMPIONING QUALITY JOURNALISM JNINSTITUTE.ORG Vivienne Pearson and Margaret Paton’s project on school fundraising was WALKLEY GRANTS FOR FREELANCE JOURNALISTS one of 11 awarded an inaugural Walkley Grant for Freelance Journalism. Based in different areas of regional NSW, the two teamed up specifically for the project and met for the first time at the Walkley Fund Dinner, where the grants were announced in April this year. Walking our Walkley path

While challenging, when you inhabit another writer’s story

Working with another writer has been in this way, it can our reading. The same researcher names kept cropping up, so we felt we were triangulating sanity-saving and idea-inspiring. also be rewarding. on a niche. We’ve also interviewed for a range of national publications on issues that – VIVIENNE PEARSON – MARGARET PATON sit on a tangent to our project title: school fundraising inequities. For our first pieces — for The Saturday Paper and ABC News Online — we’ve been fter writing an opinion piece about Some elements of the grant have been double- I have worked on the grant project under hanks to the Freeline (freelance talk outside of school gates about what’s doing joint interviews using Zoom. This school fundraising for ABC Online in edged. The generous time frame has been the shadow of two ironies: that this grant was journalists’) email group, I saw happening in and to our education system. allows us to automatically record the mid-2018, I knew there was more to freeing but the lack of deadlines — the lifeblood only possible because of fundraising (by the Vivienne’s shout-out for a fellow writer. Within a few weeks of tackling our project, interview (which could be audio or video) so Athe story. I also knew that, as a freelancer, I was of a freelancer — allowed us to let some valuable Walkley Foundation’s Public Fund — give TI was impressed with her chutzpah — she’d Vivienne and I realised the data we wanted we have that as well as the transcript I type unlikely to be the one to tell it. time slip away. Early requests for information now!) and that, at times, I put this project aside been a freelance journo for only four years and weren’t really there. The My School website just during the interview. I’ve been interviewing- That was before the new Walkley Grants for and interviews, before the project was clear and in order to fundraise for my own child’s school. had notched up an impressive list of bylines wasn’t showing us the fundraising picture in transcribing in real time for a couple of years Freelance Journalism. By funding a level of before we had specific deadlines, were met with As deadlines neared, the solution to all in mainstream publications. In one of her full. So, we set up an online survey (offering the now, despite having decent shorthand. It background research that is hard to justify a surprising degree of silence. The chance to these conundrums has turned out to be nationally published pieces, she’d already option of anonymity for our target respondents works for me as long as I use plenty of when you’re being paid on a per-word (or per- work on a bigger topic has been empowering simple: start writing. I fell into the trap of started exploring the inequities that fundraising — parents and teachers). We received almost truncations. But those interview recordings article) basis, it fitted perfectly. but has also allowed my vision to slip out of focus. trying to “finish researching” (like that is ever creates. It helped us hit the ground running. 200 responses, thanks to the survey being are really handy to revisit and get a better The fact that applications for the grant were Knowing that we were one of the few to be possible) before putting fingers to keyboard Securing the grant was amazing, but I was shared widely on social media. sense of the nuanced points of interviews. welcomed from pairs or trios, as well as chosen from a large field of applicants boosted for an actual story. But we are writers. soon to hit a roadblock that would stop me We’d hoped to get more insight from Oh, and we’ve made sure to collaborate on individuals, prompted me to try to minimise the our confidence but also allowed scope for The story needs to drive the research and, from further teaching. As a provisional teacher principals and were toying with the idea of the list of questions we send to our isolation that can be a downside of freelancing. impostor syndrome — another pitfall of once a blank page has even a few words on it, and casual K-12 teacher for nearly seven years interviewing 20 around the country about their interviewees before Zoom starts recording. When I saw that Margaret was an experienced freelancing — to take up residence. there is greater clarity about what else is in NSW, I was running out of time to find fundraising approaches, achievements and Doing joint interviews at times and journalist specialising in education, a teacher, Halfway through the project, we faced needed to fill it. a school to supervise me so I could move to hurdles. After dozens of calls and fewer than a melding material from our separate and a parent of a school-aged child, it was a challenge when we realised the data we The story of our grant is not yet finished. proficient teacher status and therefore keep handful of “yes” responses, we put that project interviews at others has rewarded us with immediately clear that she was an ideal partner planned to write about were not available. We are writing this alongside our main story teaching. I was kind of glad I never gave up to one side, figuring few wanted to talk given insights into how another writer thinks and for this project. We switched tack to write about fundraising for the Walkley Foundation and commissioned writing as a career, which I’d largely been doing their increasing workloads and media shyness. crafts. It was a really interesting process to Six months later, I can reflect that working more broadly, including why it’s not feasible to stories for mainstream and education-specific since I nabbed The Sunday Age’s first cadetship Vivienne and I set up a shared Google Drive write these personal reflective pieces as we with another writer has been sanity-saving and focus on the figures. We have explored how publications (with publication dates ranging way back in 1990. that soon became the linchpin of our tweaked each other’s stories — something idea-inspiring. Our weekly phone calls have school fundraising speaks to questions that are from late October into 2020). So, in late April this year, I cancelled my collaboration, with a whopper of a “running that took a lot longer than it would have if kept the project ticking over and allowed us to at the heart of our society: equity, policy, history, Thank you, Margaret, for being my teacher accreditation. That’s another story, commentary” capturing our weekly phone I’d done it on my own. gradually get to know each other — something volunteerism, fatigue, gender bias, the cult of freelance colleague. To the directors, judges, but an important one for our education system. convos, interesting insights, questions and So, while challenging, when you inhabit that’s not always easy in the constant flux of busyness, commercialisation, the downsides partners, donors, staff and supporters of the Now that there are moves to gag public more. We spent weeks (months really) checking another writer’s story in this way, it can freelancing. It has been eye-opening to conduct of choice and more. Walkley Foundation - as well as to the editors servants, state education departments are out peer-reviewed journals and public-domain also be rewarding, making you see different joint interviews and see how another writer It is not easy to critique our chosen topic, who supported our application and will snooping on teacher’s personal Facebook feeds, coverage about school fundraising. The depth perspectives and nudging you out of what operates. Of course we work differently but, as school fundraising overflows with good publish our stories - we would like to say a then reprimanding them, and neoliberalism of material far surpasses what I’ve collected for you do automatically in your writing despite our Trello board going by the wayside intentions. It is not right that outrageously busy sincere thank you. We are grateful personally is rearing its head in many ugly ways in my stories over the years — our shared Walkley processes. My gut feel is that this joint project and our shared drive being a mess of combined parents have to raise funds to prop up a key and, even more importantly, for the role this education policy and practice. These are topics Foundation file is a rich resource. will continue long after we cash the last filing systems, we have collaborated with total public institution, yet I have total admiration grant plays in acknowledging the importance I have written about this year. This censorship We’re also developing a “matrix” that lists cheque for this grant. Thank you, Vivienne, respect for each other’s integrity and skills. for those who do. of freelancers in Australia’s media landscape. is happening at a time when teachers need to themes and issues we’ve come across through and the Walkley Foundation.

32 Walkley Yearbook 2019 Walkley Yearbook 2019 33 WALKLEY GRANTS FOR FREELANCE JOURNALISTS

It has been a back-and-forth to find the answers, even with the support of a Walkley Foundation grant to fund costly Freedom of Information requests. Some requests have RIDING produced nothing, while others are still churning through the system after nine months. I should know more by the end of December. What has since emerged publicly, however, is that racehorse training in the coastal reserve runs foul of the local council’s own Warrnambool Planning Scheme. Clockwise from top left: Hoof prints on In other words, when Weir and McLean Spooky’s Beach indicate the impact of horses were accessing Levy’s Beach in the lead-up to in the area; racehorse trainers began to cram the 2015 Melbourne Cup, they were breaking onto beaches between Warrnambool and the law in plain sight — yet nobody questioned Port Fairy after Darren Weir’s 2015 Melbourne their presence or intervened. To be fair, aside Cup win; the 2km zone set aside for racehorse from surfers and fisherfolk, the isolated beach training in the Belfast Coastal Reserve is a had for many years also attracted four- nesting site for the hooded plover. Opposite: drivers and trail bikers who hooned through Eastern Maar elder Uncle Alby Clarke looks the dunes with impunity. out over the Tarerer coast near Warrnambool. A few small-scale local horse trainers had also been using pockets of the reserve and its beaches for decades in that give-and-take way of country life; if you don’t go overboard, we’re area’s birdlife, particularly the hooded plover, decline in horse numbers shows that Levy’s/ not going to make a fuss. as well as culturally sensitive sites. Spooky’s is no longer needed. Cr Peter Hulin, Weir’s rapid expansion into Warrnambool Those strongly opposed to the training are meanwhile, says he is a strong supporter of and, in particular, his history-making Melbourne determined to fight on. If anything, they’re the racing industry but that animal cruelty Cup win (relived in the movie Ride Like a Girl) more emboldened because the ground has allegations against Weir have changed his changed everything, however. shifted dramatically since Weir’s halcyon days. mind about the merits of training horses on Even before the Cup victory, Weir and Earlier this year, Weir and McLean were sand dunes. McLean had more than 100 horses a week charged with a string of serious crimes relating Warrnambool Racing Club chairman churning up beaches between Warrnambool to animal cruelty and corruption. McLean is Nick Rule is unmoved, however. He maintains and Port Fairy. Afterwards, the number presently suspended and awaiting a court the local industry has learnt from past mistakes ROUGHSHOD ballooned to more than 250 a week as other hearing, while Weir has already been banned and access to Spooky’s remains critical to trainers piled in for a piece of the action. from racing for four years by Racing Victoria. the industry’s future, because the beaches The beaches were left pocked with divots; Most of the 100-plus horses that Weir had are an important “point of difference” for the small car parks were full of horse floats; stabled in Warrnambool have moved on. Warrnambool to attract and maintain its The 2015 Melbourne Cup win of 100-to-1 long shot the Prince If the plan was an attempt to settle the often- there were piles of manure and flies; and foul The number of racehorses now using Lady Bay trainer base. of Penzance, ridden by Michelle Payne, was the stuff of legend heated debate about the escalating use of local words began flying between the trainers and has tumbled from a peak of close to 100 a day “WRC acknowledges that the previously and became a movie. But in one particular town, in south-west beaches as training grounds, it did anything but. angry locals. to an average of just 22. unregulated use of the beaches was not Victoria, it’s no longer quite so popular. Carol Altmann reports. On one side stood the racing industry and its As it stands, there are very few places in Despite industry cries to the contrary, the sky working,” Rule said in a statement. supporters, including federal MP Dan Tehan Australia where horse trainers can use a beach has not fallen on the local racing industry, “It fully supports regulation and is fully and former Victorian premier Denis Napthine, within a few miles of a racetrack and nowhere which is valued by Racing Victoria at committed to working with all interested who argued that year-round beach access was that they can use a dune. $97 million a year. In fact, Warrnambool parties to ensure the proposed regulations are critical to the growth — if not the very survival So many racehorses began to turn up Racing Club this year notched up a record adhered to.” — of Warrnambool’s racing industry. at Levy’s, Spooky’s and Hoon Hill that, in profit on the back of another hugely successful The grassroots South West Owners Trainers On the other side were the Eastern Maar late 2016, Victoria’s Aboriginal custodians May Racing Carnival. & Riders Association, which includes hobby The trouble in my home town of Warrnambool It is also just a 15-minute drive from traditional owners, conservationists and locals intervened and shut down the area until “The entire justification for opening up this trainers who have used the area for decades, began when Prince of Penzance’s trainer, Warrnambool Racecourse, where, until recently, who, like me, couldn’t quite believe that a proper management plan was developed. beach has collapsed,” says Bill Yates from the also wants Spooky’s reopened. Darren Weir, attributed his victory to training Weir had a $1 million stable complex. And a coastal reserve would be used in this way. Spooky’s is poised to reopen as soon as Belfast Coastal Reserve Action Group, which “If we don’t have access, it would mean no horses on the “magic sands” of picturesque now, largely on the back of his former success, For the past 12 months, through my Warrnambool Racing Club gains its final has been fighting the issue for three years. beach access at all for three months of the year local beaches. a 2km section of Levy’s Beach, called Spooky’s, reporting at The Terrier, I have been trying planning approvals, which are well underway. “There is simply no justification for it now. when Lady Bay is closed off,” says the One of those beaches is along Warrnambool’s is set to become a racehorse training facility. to unpick how Warrnambool got from Weir to This process already includes a ministerial It is a beach, for God’s sake, and why on earth association’s secretary, Tammy Good. main foreshore, Lady Bay, where there is a long Under the Belfast Coastal Reserve Management here. I want to know why government bodies intervention to render the new plan legal. would you not just leave it alone?” The action “For us it’s about the safety of the horse first. tradition of horses training outside the summer Plan released by Parks Victoria in 2018, up to would tie themselves in knots to accommodate Parks Victoria’s thinking is that, instead of group believes there is a bigger picture at play It is far better to run a horse in a long, straight months from dawn until 10am. 120 racehorses a day will be allowed to access the racing industry in a coastal reserve, racehorses turning up at beaches all along that is yet to be revealed. line because there is less stress on joints; you But the other beach is a wilder, more rugged Spooky’s foreshore five days a week, 52 weeks a particularly when trainers already have access the reserve, the majority will now be funnelled The Eastern Maar remain strongly opposed just can’t replicate that at a racetrack.” place called Levy’s, which forms part of year. Another 40 racehorses a day will be able to to Lady Bay for nine months of the year. into one place. to the plan, as do BirdLife Australia and the With opinions about animal welfare also the 20km-long Belfast Coastal Reserve. This run up and down a dune known as “Hoon Hill”. I have also been trying to unpick how It describes the plan as a “compromise” and Victorian National Parks Association. divided, there is little doubt that this debate is reserve, also known as the Tarerer coast, is rich This is the equivalent of up to 600 horse Weir and his local protégé, Yangary trainer says the training will be regulated, monitored Two Warrnambool city councillors who yet to run its course. in Indigenous heritage and home to vulnerable work-outs a week on the beach and 200 on the Jarrod McLean, were allowed to use a coastal and reviewed after two years. It also says strict previously backed the plan are also having Carol Altmann is an independent journalist and author

bird species such as the hooded plover. dune, or potentially 40,000 horse rides a year. reserve in the first place. FINNIGAN O’BRIEN AND PADDY TERESA CHRIS FARRELL, SHANE HOWARD, PHOTOS: controls will be enforced to help protect the second thoughts. Cr Michael Neoh says the based in Warrnambool, Victoria.

34 Walkley Yearbook 2019 Walkley Yearbook 2019 35 BOLT WALKLEY GRANTS FOR FREELANCE JOURNALISTS

wet and dry eucalypt. The Tasmania Parks “Lightning strikes In addition, notes the review, “... we heard FROM and Wildlife Service (PWS), the government reports of firefighters witnessing unusual and department in charge of this wilderness area, [didn’t] cause any fires unpredictable fire conditions they had not had carried out a fuel-reduction burn in 2015, until the late . previously experienced.” but the blaze was still able to push through. By Before that … they were Damp channels of tall Eucalyptus regnans THE January 6, 50 firefighters were on the campaign, associated with heavy (mountain ash) forest and rainforests that once along with six helicopters flying back and forth provided a natural barrier between fire-prone between the remote fire zone and a grazing rainfall, so the fire would and fire-sensitive habitats caught alight. Whole property in Westerway. just go out.” swathes of paleoendemic pine and alpine When the flames hit the Vale of Rasselas forests, timber plantations and bordering BLUE (through which the Gordon River flows and farmland were suddenly vulnerable. which was last burnt for fuel reduction in 1982), Last summer, even ecosystems containing they licked rapidly south, aided by the steep Authorities Council (AFAC) was inconclusive highly fire-sensitive species, such as King Billy incline of the Gordon Range. The fire stretched about the phenomenon. The report, handed and pencil pines, were affected. These ancient out of the World Heritage area and encroached to government in July 2019, pointed out that Gondwanan trees grow in remote places far on land slated for logging by Sustainable the technology for detecting and recording from roads or dams, on mountaintops, in small Timber Tasmania. By March 6 — almost lightning strikes has vastly improved in the past islands of cold relief and protected by the 10 weeks after ignition — the Gell River fire, decade and could not be adequately compared borders drawn up by the World Heritage Properties as it’s now called, had scorched 35,062 hectares with the limited historical data available. Conservation Act 1983. This makes for extreme of land. Though the PWS did express concern about conditions so, in January, specially trained Gell River was just one of several “campaign the impact of dry lightning fires on Tasmania’s remote-area firefighters were recruited from fires” — those designated as a focus for different wilderness, it was similarly wary of jumping New Zealand to help battle the Gell River fire. agencies and fire departments across the state to a conclusion in the wake of the disastrous “It’s pretty challenging to put them out, — started by lightning last summer. The 2018-19 2016 bushfires: “It is too early to know whether because you’ve got to get in by helicopter, season saw a larger area burnt than during the a shift in climate may be contributing to a long- you’ve got to set up your own little dams to get previous 10 years combined. On January 15, term increasing trend in dry lightning activity the water to fight them and, yeah … it takes another “dry lightning” storm swept through, in summers.” a lot of resources,” explains Kirkpatrick. with 2400 strikes recorded. Seventy fires started, Jamie Kirkpatrick, a geographer, conservation Like many, Kirkpatrick is resigned to the with major burns converging in the Central ecologist and professor at the University of climate changing — to some extent. In a future Highlands — referred to as the Great Pine Tier Tasmania’s Fire Centre Research Hub, says where Tasmania’s once-damp ecosystems are fire campaign — and to the west of Huonville the data he’s seen back the anecdotal evidence expected to dry, he believes a focus on remote- and Geeveston, known as the Riveaux Road that dry lightning events — and the fires they’re area firefighting is the main hope in combating Complex. starting in Tasmania — are on the rise. Having the effects of dry lightning — as well as efforts In Australia, fire presents a difficult question. arrived in the state almost five decades ago, he to mitigate the severity of climate change. On the one hand, there is consensus that some recalls lightning usually striking in the cooler The AFAC review likewise encourages the degree of fire is inevitable — necessary, even. months. Back then, the average temperature Tasmania Fire Service to develop specialised Much of the bush is fire-tolerant and is meant on land was one degree cooler; over the ocean, remote-area firefighting capabilities, separate to burn. On the other, not unlike coral reefs it was two degrees. from the existing volunteer brigades, to better hammered by bleaching, many now wonder In 2017, Kirkpatrick published research respond to events like the Gell River fire. The whether there is a limit to how much fire the about rainfall and temperature records in review also outlined, at length, the impacts of bush can cope with. Tasmania’s west that revealed an increasing climate change and dry lightning on fire, but it Is climate change THE DAY AFTER BOXING DAY had been “It was a pretty good lightning show,” he recalls. Grazier Bob Shoobridge, whose property amplitude, or variability, over time. He says this didn’t go as far as providing recommendations putting Tasmania’s a long one for Grant Joseph. The 44-year-old “I was thinking, ‘Yep, we’re gonna have a fire.’” served as an air base for the Gell River variability reflects “unstable air”, which drives for mitigating climate change. unique wilderness at forester was driving home from the hospital That night — December 27 2018 — the campaign, is a volunteer firefighter with the the pressure system to create stronger winds It’s on the premier’s mind, though. In the risk by lashing it with in , through the low hills of the Derwent storm passed across the Franklin-Gordon Wild Bushy Park brigade and a mate of Grant but also lightning storms. 2019 budget briefing, Will Hodgman did lightning sans rain? Valley. In the back seat of the family car, Rivers National Park, an area in the “western Joseph’s. Shoobridge says fire comes from two “We didn’t have lightning strikes cause any acknowledge that action on climate change By Jess Cockerill. his daughter admired her newly plastered arm wilds” best known for hydroelectricity and places: “You’ve got stupidity and you’ve got fires until the late 1990s,” he says. “Before that “protects our communities and our and, ahead of him, the sun was sinking in the blockade that gave rise to the Tasmanian nature.” Arson and accident fall under stupidity. … lightning strikes were associated with heavy environment [which is] under threat from bush a stormy sky over Mount Field. Wilderness World Heritage Area. Bright arms Lightning strikes, in his summation, would be rainfall, so the fire would just go out.” fires”. Of course, even if Tasmania wereto It was Joseph’s 28th fire season with the of electricity clawed at the drought-dried tendrils a natural force. But what if human-induced Kirkpatrick says the increase in dry lightning achieve its goal of sourcing 100 per cent of its Tasmania Fire Service; he became a volunteer of the buttongrass moorlands. The moorlands climate change were increasing their frequency? strikes is the result of human-induced climate energy use from renewables, one individual when he was 13 and was now the Westerway love fire; the grass stokes easily. The burning In Tasmania, says Shoobridge, “You change: “It’s unnatural.” state cannot solve this problem alone. Dry Brigade chief. Like any TFS volunteer, he kept kills any hopeful tree saplings, while the grasses normally get a nice bit of rain with the Although the AFAC and PWS might not go lightning is part of something bigger; so, too, his pager close at hand over the summer quickly re-emerge after the blaze. lightning.” This wasn’t the case during last as far as Kirkpatrick in apportioning cause, is the wilderness, however remote. months; he was on call even when his daughter Because it springs back from fire so quickly, summer’s fires. Most of the farmers, foresters, all parties are agreed that, whether or not there Remoteness can’t protect a place from broke her arm. nobody was too worried about the buttongrass tourism workers, civilians and conservationists are more dry lightning bolts, the terrain they climate change. If the dryness more typically The pager buzzes when you’re needed, burning on the remote Denison Plains. Eight I’ve spoken to believe the dry lightning events strike is becoming more flammable. Areas of associated with mainland Australia slips into its Remote-area firefighters and telling you where to go and when. The firies firefighters were sent to respond in that first of the past decade were not previously typical vegetation that were historically “wet” are southernmost state, it will be a worse invader water-bombing aircraft work to carry theirs with pride — it’s a badge of duty week. But by January 2 in the new year, the fire of the Tasmanian summer. shifting to dry, “facilitating increased ignitions than foxes or arsonists. suppress the Gell River fire at — but they resent it, too. Joseph didn’t need had crept downhill into Denison Gap, where But a review of last summer’s fires by the from lightning strikes than may previously have Jess Cockerill is a freelance journalist based

Mount Wright on January 11 2019. a pager to read the silver flashes in the distance. the moorlands begin to give way to patches of FIRE SERVICE) FREY (TASMANIA WARREN PHOTO: Australasian Fire and Emergency Service occurred”, according to the AFAC report. in Melbourne.

36 Walkley Yearbook 2019 Walkley Yearbook 2019 37 WALKLEY GRANTS FOR FREELANCE JOURNALISTS Nina Funnell first reported on a young Jane Doe’s story of sexual assault back in 2017 for news.com.au and The Mercury. The story sparked a powerful campaign for the woman, and other Tasmanians like her, to win the legal right to tell their stories in their own name.

[to apply for the court order], because s a journalist, I find laws that named and provide that consent in writing. I certainly didn’t have the money or the prohibit the media from naming This means the NT will be the last remaining resources to put into the application. sexual assault survivors — as jurisdiction with the gag laws in place. “Abuse victims know when they are ready to long as they have their consent In 2019, I was awarded a Walkley Grant for talk publicly. It’s condescending of the courts — illogical and oppressive. And Freelance Journalism, which is currently to tell them otherwise.” as a sexual assault survivor myself, I believe laws assisting with the #LetHerSpeak campaign, Understanding these risks, Grace agreed to Athat silence survivors en masse only exacerbate including legal research and travel expenses. begin the process of applying for a court order the stigma, isolation and shame they experience. Shortly, I will use this funding to visit the NT with the help of News Corp lawyer From the beginning it was important that to investigate the stories of two adult sexual Gina McWilliams. the campaign and call for reform be led by assault survivors who also wish to tell their WNING While this process was underway, Grace’s survivors. On the launch date in November stories under their real names. abuser appeared in a 17-minute video interview 2018, I profiled a dozen sexual assault survivors It’s a privilege to help give voice to the with commentator , who accused who had already spoken out publicly in voiceless in our community and I am grateful her of having engaged in “sexually provocative jurisdictions where gag laws do not exist. They to the Walkley Foundation for assisting with behaviour” and said that schoolgirls should shared the many ways in which being named this reporting. Producing a sustained body of not “exploit their seductive powers to ruin the had helped them heal, through reclaiming work that has led to a commitment for law lives of men”. a sense of ownership over their stories. reform is rewarding on a personal level, This was not the first time Bester had spoken From there, the campaign soon took on of course. But, more importantly, it will enable publicly of the abuse. In 2015, he bragged a life of its own, with celebrities such as John sexual assault survivors in Tasmania to tell O about his crimes on Facebook. “Judging from Cleese, Alyssa Milano and former Hey Dad..! their stories on their terms, while also NE’S the emails and tweets I have received, star Sarah Monahan joining the campaign enhancing opportunities for journalists to the majority of men in Australia envy me. and posting selfies holding #LetHerSpeak continue to work constructively with the I was 59. She was 15 going on 25,” he wrote. signs. More than 5000 people signed the survivor community in that state. “It was awesome.” #LetHerSpeak petition and a subsequent When told well, these stories can challenge Grace was appalled. “The fact that victims Mercury poll found 92 per cent of Tasmanians stigma, expose wrongdoing, educate the public are criminalised for identifying themselves supported proposed changes to the law. and shine a light on some of our nation’s publicly but perpetrators are not is simply This year, two other Tasmanians — “Leia” darkest atrocities. unjust,” she told me under her pseudonym, and “Alicia” — also joined the campaign. Both When I was finally able to break Grace’s Jane Doe. women were gang-raped in their teens and, name and story — more than two years after “Journalists, commentators and even my in both cases, the men responsible served jail we commenced this journey together — V ICE perpetrator have all been able to publicly time. They approached the #LetHerSpeak I marked the occasion by providing her with a discuss my case. I’m the only one who is not campaign after deciding that they, too, wished bound copy of the 5000 people who had signed allowed to. It’s not just illogical, it’s cruel. to speak out under their real names. the #LetHerSpeak petition. Many left notes of Survivors should have the right to publicly Then, in August 2019, after a $10,000 legal encouragement; several were from individuals n 2017, a young woman This, too, was an unusually brave move. paper was found to have breached section 194K speak about their experiences, whether they battle, became the first female who disclosed that they, too, were survivors. Oapproached me, requesting According to the Royal Commission into of the Evidence Act 2001 and fined $20,000. choose to exercise it or not.” sexual assault survivor in Tasmania to win her As a community, we cannot underestimate help to tell her story. Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, In the NT, journalists can also face up to six And with those words, the idea for the right to self-identify when speaking to media. how invaluable that kind of support and At age 15, she had been it takesO most victims an average of 24 years to months in prison for naming rape survivors #LetHerSpeak campaign for sexual assault The following day, the state’s Attorney-General backing is for sexual abuse survivors, many groomed and repeatedly tell someone — if they tell anyone at all. who consent to be named. gag-law reform was born. committed to reforming the law. Two months of whom fear that they will be mocked, blamed sexually assaulted by her So, from the first time I met Grace, I knew At the time that Grace contacted me, only Shortly afterwards, and in partnership later, she announced that legislation will be or shamed if they speak out publicly. then 58-year-old maths she must be uncommonly resilient. I also three other sexual assault survivors in Tasmania with Grace Tame, Steve Fisher, End Rape introduced early next year to bring Tasmania’s Reading through the names on the petition, teacher, Nicolaas Bester, at knew it was a privilege to be entrusted with had been granted a court order allowing them on Campus Australia, Marque Lawyers and law into alignment with other jurisdictions Grace discovered that dozens of her former St Michael’s Collegiate girls’ the responsibility of helping her tell her story. to use their real name when speaking to the News Corp, I designed and launched the where sexual assault survivors can be named school peers and teachers — including some high school in Hobart. What I didn’t know, and what I couldn’t media. All were male. #LetHerSpeak campaign. — provided they are over 18, consent to be students who had previously teased and At age 16, she had found have predicted, was that it was going to take us In 2004, Steve Fisher, an adult survivor of tormented her over the abuse — had signed the courage to report him, two long years of campaigning on two different clergy abuse, was the first to be granted such in support of her right to speak.

THE VOICE OF TASMANIA first to the school, then the continents to cut through the legal red tape that a court order. The process cost approximately 16 NEWS SUNDAY APRIL 7 2019 THEMERCURY.COM.AU As I watched her read out the names, it was police and finally through the courts. has kept her and other sexual assault survivors $10,000 and was described by Fisher as as if something shifted and settled inside her. It is less common for child victims to come in Tasmania gagged. “harrowing” and “re-traumatising”, as he was www.themercury.com.au MONDAY, AUGUST 12, 2019 $1.90 incl GST It struck me that healing that might otherwise There may My story to tell, on

be life after “Jane Doe” and the gang rape sur- It seems cruel to As I got older, I forward if they are still under the care of the This is because, in Tasmania and the required to prove to the court that his story vivor from Tasmania have banded DETERMINED: Rape takeI want years to say to other to realised achieve there is in therapy could occur me that convicted the Huskies together to push for the reform and a survivor “Leia” wants to healing in talking # perpetrators are able survivors: You did not GoFundMe campaign has been cre- tell her story. about and sharing THE man behind the South- ated to help the two sexual assault to speak, yet the ask for this. No person my experience. ern Huskies says he is “mas- survivors take their individual fights survivors are denied ever asks for it. You institution where the abuse has occurred; if the Northern Territory, it is a crime for journalists was in the public interest. sively disappointed” at the NINA FUNNELL to be named to the Supreme Court. this same right.in a single moment through simple acts of demise of his grand plan for a SPECIAL REPORT “It’s a hideous law and it needs to will survive. Tasmanian team in the Nat- be changed” says the Tasmanian sur- If I had been able to see ional Basketball League. TASMANIAN woman held vivor who has requested to go by the As an adult and someone that has survivors speaking publicly in Justin Hickey, the Tasmani- at knifepoint, bashed and pseudonym Leia*. an millionaire owner of funky gang raped when she was a “My story has already been told so survived what I have, I believe I the media without shame or perpetrator has access to them; or if the victim to name sexual assault survivors — regardless “I had to write out a whole statement about A human kindness.stigma back then, it probably drink-bottle company Hydra- schoolgirl, has broken her 25-year si- many times by other people: police, should have the choice to use my Play, told the Mercury it was a lence about the ordeal. prosecutors, journalists, not to men- name without legal ramifications would have saved me from difficult decision to pull the The attack happened on Christ- tion, town gossips. I’m the only one for myself or others. a lot of self destruction and plug on his dream. mas Eve in Burnie in 1993. The then who is not allowed to tell it.” confusion. “For it to end like this is very 16-year-old had climbed into a ute with five men who were travelling to n the night of the attack, Leia These stories matter. We have a duty to has a history of mental illness. Yet, in Grace of their consent — unless a court makes why I wanted to speak. It was a really, really disappointing, but life goes I on,” he said. the same party she was. Ohad gone into the vehicle will- Mr Hickey confirmed the The girl was instead driven to an ingly. Inside were five men, two of State Government would be abandoned paddock where she was whom she knew: the driver and a informed of the situation and terrorised, told she was going to be passenger, Glen Last, who was a Tame’s case, all of these factors were present. a special exemption. Those found breaking the complicated process and ... [having just been that every cent the Southern killed, then brutally raped. friend. (Neither the driver nor Mr tell them. Huskies owed would be paid. The ringleader, Geoffrey Michael Last have ever been charged with FULL REPORT PAGE 5 Haywood, then told her she was any offence in relation to Leia and going to be taken elsewhere to dig both later agreed to assist the prose- her own grave. cution.) By 22, she had decided that she wished to law can face fines or jail time. through a trial] it’s another thing you don’t The victim’s harrowing story of Also in the car that night were National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family escape and survival has never before three other men, who Leia hadn’t been heard outside of a courtroom. met before: Geoffrey Michael Hay- Nor has she ever spoken publicly wood, 29, Leon Roy Roughley, 27, about the personal impact of endur- and Timothy John Marshall, 22. waive her right to anonymity and speak out This is no idle threat. In 2012, the Sunday want to go through. I was really fearful that ing three separate trials. (Charges against Mr Marshall Violence Counselling Service: 1800 737 732. Now, after news Haywood has were eventually dropped.) died at age 51, the rape survivor says “I was sitting in the back previous fears she held over speaking of the ute on Glen’s knee out have abated and that she is ready as we made our way to to tell her story. the party. But when publicly, in the hope that sharing her story Tasmanian named an adult rape survivor with I would not get the exemption,” he said. But the victim has been advised we get to the house, Nina Funnell is an award-winning freelance she cannot speak out using her real the ute doesn’t stop. name, due to an archaic Tasmanian My stomach just law — section 194K of the Evidence flipped,” she said. Act — which prohibits all media Leia pleaded with might educate others about the warning signs her full consent. The reporting was sensitive and “I’m just very lucky that the media were from naming sexual assault victims, the men to stop driv- journalist, author, anti-sexual-assault advocate and the regardless of their consent. ing. “As a survivor I should have the When the vehicle did If you or someone you know has been impacted by sexual violence, CANES right to tell my story with my name. eventually stop, according to Without my name and face, it’s not court documents, Haywood said “we support is available by calling 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732 of grooming. respectful to the survivor. Despite this, the willing to pay for the court costs for me my story, it’s just my words. You should all jump her”. creator of the #LetHerSpeak campaign. WIN need a name and a face. Every sur- “Glen opened the car door and the men then took turns raping and crawled out through the window of hen the matter went to court vivor deserves that. It’s an injustice told me to get out of the car and run, assaulting Leia. the upturned vehicle, finding that, by Win April 1994, Leia found her- WATCH THE not to allow us our names,” the just run!,” Leia said. “During it, I felt like I was outside then, Haywood and Roughley had self accused of being a lying, drug woman, now 41, told the Sunday Tas- But court documents show Hay- my body looking down. All I could left and only Marshall remained. taker who fabricated the rapes to REPLAY AT manian. wood, who was in the back seat, think was ‘I just want to get home to A court would later hear Marshall avoid trouble with her parents. themercury.com.au The woman also hopes to publish stopped the schoolgirl and grabbed my Mum and Dad,” she said. took her at knifepoint – first on foot Outside court, Leia says the treat- a nonfiction memoir about her ex- her hair. After a scuffle with Leia, he “When it was finally over, Hay- and then by vehicle – to his brother’s ment was just as bad. “People would REPORT PAGE 40 My name is perience, but under the existing law, held a knife to her throat. wood sat across my chest, and put a apartment. say, ‘It’s your fault for getting in the any publisher that agrees to print her Marshall and Haywood then knife to my throat and said ‘I should To her horror, Haywood and car with them’. They would call me manuscript could be prosecuted if pulled Mr Last from the vehicle, kill you, you sl.t and dump you in the Roughley arrived at the apartment the most disgusting names,” she said. Legislation the book includes her real identity. beating him, as Leia pleaded with the woods’. He had pure evil in his eyes. too. But inside court, Leia persisted. driver not to let the men rape her. I’ve never seen anyone look that But by then the men appeared to After a four-week trial, Haywood, has ‘stalled’ he #LetHerSpeak campaign for Mr Last’s barely conscious body way, before or since.” have grown weary and disinterested Marshall and Roughley were all Tlaw reform was launched last would be found hours later on the in her, and instead started drinking found guilty of one count of rape. claims MP year after a sexual assault survivor side of the road. He later recuperated fter the attack, Leia was bundled and smoking drugs. The men were sentenced to a dubbed “Jane Doe” discovered she in hospital. Aback into the car. As dawn broke, Leia mustered up combined 17 years’ jail. Grace Tame could not speak about her experience As the ute was driven further from As Haywood drove along the one final burst of courage. Creeping In February the next year, the THERE are fears sittings of Tasmania’s Upper House of abuse under her real name, despite town, Leia was overcome with an im- rural road, Leia sat in the seat behind past the drunk and dozing men, she men appealed, and their convictions could be postponed after the the fact her perpetrator had been pending feeling of doom and a belief him, trying to calculate an escape. inched towards the front door, and were overturned on a series of tech- sent to jail. that she would not survive the night. It had been raining that Christmas towards her eventual freedom. nical arguments regarding how evi- Government failed to intro- Walkley Yearbook 2019 More than 5000 people signed the “We passed a series of paddocks ... Eve and the roads were slippery. As While other children in Tasmania dence was admitted at court. Walkley Yearbook 2019 duce any new Bills into Parlia- 38 and I am Jane Doe #LetHerSpeak petition for legal re- Haywood then told the driver to pull the ute hurtled along, it suddenly hit would spend that day opening A second trial resulted in a hung ment last week. 39 form, created by End Rape On Cam- over. We stopped and the driver got something, flipping and crashing. presents, Leia spent her Christmas jury, at which point Leia almost gave Labor’s David O’Byrne pus Australia, in partnership with out and fled on foot, leaving me be- Leia was knocked unconscious in Day with police detailing a chilling up hope. slammed the “outrageous Marque Lawyers. hind.” A court would later hear that the crash. When she came to, she account of torment and survival. But aided by the Department of stall” to the legislative agenda which he says he hadn’t seen in AT the age of 15, Grace Tame was the vic- mission by the Supreme Court to talk ries has been the focus of the #Let Her all his years as an MP. tim of repeated sexual abuse. For the past about the abuse she suffered — and why Speak campaign to reform the archaic The Government says Par- nine years, Tasmanian law has prohibited she fought so hard for the right to tell her laws that silence victims. Grace Tame’s or- liament has been busy with her from speaking publicly of her ordeal. own story under her own name, instead of deal is something nobody should have to NSW toughens gun laws Salmonella fears in eggs Fans remember Cobain legislation — including new But, after a two-year, $10,000 legal being referred to only as a “Jane Doe”. endure. For the first time, in the Mercury, fight, Grace has finally been granted per- The right of survivors to tell their sto- today, she tells her story. SHOOTERS who fail to declare serious EGGS sold in NSW and Victoria are being ON the 25th anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s anti-bullying laws. mental health issues will be weeded out and recalled over possible salmonella contami- death, dozens of people left flowers, candles But one Labor Upper House family law court proceedings taken into ac- nation. and handwritten messages at a Seattle park MP says the Legislative Coun- NINA FUNNELL’S EXCLUSIVE REPORT P6-7 | TALKING POINT P16-17 | EDITORIAL P14 count when ruling on gun licence applica- Synergy Produce is recalling six and 12- near the house where the Nirvana front- cil has spent more time in tions under the biggest overhaul of NSW packs of Southern Highland Organic Eggs man died. briefings than reviewing legis- firearm regulations. with best before dates up to and including Cobain, whose band rose to global fame lation. Doctors will also be encouraged to be May 9, the NSW Food Authority said. in the city’s grunge rock music scene of the FULL REPORT PAGE 10 more proactive about reporting patients The eggs have been available for sale in early 1990s, was 27 when he died April 5, who own guns and show signs of risky be- Woolworths in NSW and Victoria, IGA in 1994, in his home near Lake Washington. haviour. The changes are part of historic re- NSW and other independent retailers in Fans trekked to nearby Viretta Park, HOBART Shower or two 13 LAUNCESTON Morning frost, partly cloudy 15 BURNIE Possible shower 13 Details: P22-23 forms being introduced by the new boss of NSW. None of the affected eggs were sold leaving memorials on benches and phrases Gun crackdown the NSW Firearms Registry. Food alert in Tasmania. Grunge rock icon such as “thank you for your art”. V1 - MERE01Z01MA MERE01Z01MA - V1 WALKLEY GRANTS FOR FREELANCE JOURNALISTS

Is the National Disability Insurance Scheme failing Australians living in remote communities? Kylie Stevenson and Tamara Rex Munungurr’s manual Howie report. Photos by Tamara Howie isn’t suitable for the uneven ground.

jayak Munungurr his brother, with the scooter. His care plan also includes According to an NDIA spokesperson, NDIS Rex, five metres from their front door funding for occupational therapy and physio. plans for those living in the Northern Territory Dto the shade of a poinciana tree The application for the $200 sunshade was are written and approved by NDIA service overlooking the beach. It’s 11am, about 30°C. denied. “They told us, ‘No, you cannot have it, delivery teams in the NT who visit remote Except for the trilling of birds and yipping of we will not fund it. This is something that can communities to meet with participants. camp dogs, it’s unusually silent — most of the be funded by him, or the community can buy But this is not always the case, counters 40 people who live here in the East Arnhem it for him’,” says the Darwin Community Legal McGinlay. When the scheme was first Land community of Garrthalala have made Service’s NDIS Appeals advocate, David introduced, he explains, all decision-making the bone-rattling 120km journey to Yirrkala McGinlay, who represented Rex. powers rested interstate, usually at head office for the footy finals. “It was causing social isolation for him; in Geelong. While some decisions are now Djayak stretches out on a blue-framed, he wasn’t going out of the house because of the made locally, McGinlay says this doesn’t white-sheeted single bed next to Rex and dangers of sun exposure and heat.” happen consistently: “The NDIS isn’t points out a spot in front of him where, years Over the course of the wet season and its McDonald’s. You can’t have a business model ago, his late wife watched a crocodile take their build-up, McGinlay received two more that runs a service Australia-wide and expect puppy. “She screamed out to me and when rejections before finally negotiating to get Rex it’s going to work the same in Sydney as it I came, the croc was back and forth his sunshade. The process left a bad taste in [does] in the remote NT.” just along here with the dead dog on its snout,” the lawyer’s mouth. “How could a government says Djayak. have so much bureaucracy for a $200 Northern Australia is like that: beautiful but sunshade?” he asks. “It would have cost them harsh. You need a deep understanding of the thousands to argue with me.” land and its people for things to work here. The problem, says McGinlay, is that the When the NDIS passed through Parliament Months earlier, 4000km away in Geelong, scheme doesn’t acknowledge that Indigenous in 2013, then-PM was moved Victoria, Rex’s application for a sunshade Australians in remote communities have to tears. The new scheme shifted disability from a for his mobility scooter landed on a desk at particular needs because of their culture, medical model to a social model focusing on the National Disability Insurance Agency environment and isolation. “How could people inclusion and personal goals, as well as the (NDIA) headquarters. The NDIA oversees the in Geelong make a decision about a guy in supports a person would need to achieve them. National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), East Arnhem Land when they have no idea The biggest healthcare reform since the which provides Rex, who has cerebral palsy, what the community even looks like?” he says. introduction of Medicare in 1984, the NDIS

40 Walkley Yearbook 2019 Walkley Yearbook 2019 41 WALKLEY GRANTS FOR FREELANCE JOURNALISTS

Clockwise from left: Three-year- old NDIS participant Gabriel plays on the beach on Elcho Island; Joeleen Ganambarr with her haul of mud mussels; Rex Munungurr’s abandoned beach wheelchair; the Miwatj minibus that services NDIS clients on Elcho; Serina Gondarra and Lyall Braun wash mussels.

promised Australians with disabilities, and Constitution ... why would the service sector first people in East Arnhem Land to access communities want from the NDIS. For many, communities where skinny rubber tyres on their carers, greater choice and control. The give any credit to First Nations people and the NDIS, when asked what they know of the the goal will likely revolve around staying just don’t cut it, particularly in NDIS would create plans and funding their culture if our own government doesn’t?” scheme, the men and their carers look blankly on country and taking part in ceremonies, unpaved communities during the wet season. allowances tailored to individual needs and at one another. “Nothing,” replies Djayak. hunting, music and other cultural activities. But not everyone is frustrated. goals. They talk among themselves in Yolŋu Matha Rex’s objective is to get down to the beach, But as the scheme rolled out across the before Djayak says: “Can you please tell us, just metres from his home, and participate in country, its life-changing, empowering potential what does this NDIS stand for?” traditional hunting: fishing and collecting was quickly overshadowed by bureaucratic Under the tree in Garrthalala, Djayak and In East Arnhem Land, three in four people oysters and turtle eggs. bungles, inconsistent support packages, rejected Rex are joined by their brother, Mithili, who don’t speak English at home, according to the “[His] wheelchair needs to be okay to use Off the north coast of Arnhem Land on Elcho applications, underfunded plans and, most lives next door. His carer – their cousin Ted latest census data. Nationally, there are more here in the bush,” says Djayak. He points to the Island, Lyall Braun drives a 4WD minibus recently, a $4.6 billion underspend. Wanambi – follows closely behind, puppies than 150 Indigenous languages spoken at skeleton of a $6000 manual “beach” wheelchair, out of the main town of Galiwin’ku. After In September 2019, NDIS shadow minister nipping at his ankles. home. For many, English is a second, third or which didn’t last long in the harsh conditions about an hour of red dust and corrugations, Bill Shorten described the scheme as “When he was a little one, Rex could walk fourth language. and failed to give Rex the independence to go he slows to turn down a track so little used that “constipated” and disputed Prime Minister down there on the beach,” says Djayak, who is Despite offering information in 13 languages anywhere on his own. Its inflatable wheels are branches scrape the vehicle’s “I love NDIS” Scott Morrison’s claim that the underspend Rex’s carer. “His legs were a little bent. As he on its website, the NDIS does not have written in Yirrkala, awaiting repair. stickers in teeth-gritting screeches. was due to a lack of demand.“The NDIS is got older it got worse.” material in any First Nations languages. An His current wheelchair is a basic manual He finally pulls up at a clearing, the bus adrift,” said Shorten. “It’s doing good things, Djayak also recalls Mithili playing football, NDIA spokesperson says the agency has plans model that requires Djayak to push Rex empties and everyone disappears into the but there are too many people missing out.” soccer, basketball and volleyball before to translate some products for use on Indigenous everywhere, including across the few metres of mangroves with their sacks, pillowcases, First Peoples Disability Network (FPDN) Parkinson’s disease took hold. “He could run, radio and in local communities. bare earth and tree roots to their outdoor toilet buckets and knives. deputy CEO June Riemer agrees. She says an he could manage everything himself, but it’s In the meantime, the Miwatj Health and shower. Braun is an outreach worker with the initial report predicted 20,000 Aboriginal and becoming more and more difficult.” Aboriginal Corporation is developing its own Advocates say there are often long delays for Miwatj Health Aboriginal Corporation and Torres Strait Islanders would be eligible for the Djayak and Ted help Rex and Mithili in materials in Yolŋu Matha, and many specialised equipment, partly because the his job today is to take a handful of his 42 scheme, but her organisation puts the number the way many family carers do. They attend organisations across the Top End are employing NDIA requires participants to trial it to prove clients and their family members hunting for at around 60,000. their medical appointments with them, do the remote community connectors to bridge its benefits. For people in remote areas, this mud mussels, a practice that’s been handed In the NT, 52 per cent of NDIS participants housework — washing, cooking and cleaning language barriers and help participants means travelling to a city where the equipment down to women in the area for generations. identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. — and go hunting. understand the scheme. is available. The trip is afforded by the “community Nationally, the figure sits at 7.3 per cent. They don’t use the terms “cerebral palsy” Health inequality in the remote Northern “It makes it hard when they apply these participation and access activity” funding on Riemer says FPDN flagged eight years ago and “Parkinson’s” and can’t say exactly what Territory is extreme compared with the rest national practices that don’t fit these remote the clients’ NDIS plans. that the NDIS had to look different for these conditions mean. Djayak asks hopefully of the country. There, the life expectancy of models — we don’t have everything that’s “It makes it hard when they “Most are really excited to come hunting,” Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander if there is a cure for his brother, Mithili. Indigenous — compared with non-Indigenous required,” says Vanessa Gillett, NDIS apply these national practices says Serina Gondarra. “We’ve been doing it communities if it was going to work for them. Neither do they use the word “disability” — — Australians is, on average, 11.5 years less for coordinator of support at the Laynhapuy that don’t fit these remote for thousands of years. It’s in our blood.” “It’s not like we haven’t been talking about there’s no translation for it in Indigenous men and 12.8 years less for women. Homelands Aboriginal Corporation. Joeleen Ganambarr bends at the hips and this for a long time,” she says. “But when you languages. Advocates say there is also a gap in Battles for appropriate equipment have been models — we don’t have works her way through the mangroves, her don’t even recognise your First Nations in the Although Rex and Mithili were among the understanding as to what participants in remote going on for years, even pre-NDIS, in remote everything that’s required.” bare feet squelching in the mud. She spies

42 Walkley Yearbook 2019 Walkley Yearbook 2019 43 WALKLEY GRANTS FOR FREELANCE JOURNALISTS 2019 WALKLEY AWARDS

earth until a palm- She agrees that there A MESSAGE FROM sized mussel comes loose. is still work to be done The longbums — cone- for a national model to THE NSW PREMIER shaped mussels — are operate effectively in easier to see in the deep the unique context of the shade and mud of the remote NT and says mangrove forest and she a remote model could be quickly fills her large considered. white bucket. From July this year, After an hour, Serina the NDIA introduced starts a small fire and significant increases in everyone throws a few remote and very remote mussels on, using sticks price loadings, but the to shift them out of the increase in allowances flames once the shells doesn’t make a difference pop. The rest will be if there are no services. taken home to feed their However, it’s not just families. a matter of cost. Of The trip not only the 848 NDIS-approved elevates clients’ self- providers in the NT, only Congratulations to everyone nominated for a esteem, says Braun, it 20 per cent of them are Walkley in 2019. New South Wales welcomes also gets them out of the active. Many interstate the return of these most prestigious awards to house. “If their family had a vehicle, these “There are a lot of providers have registered here but do not our state. people wouldn’t necessarily get to go hunting good plans, well-funded actually have any staff on the ground — they’re The Walkley Awards highlight Australia’s most outstanding anyway. They get put in the too-hard basket testing to see if there’s a market. journalists. They prove the media industry has a strong pulse, plans, but the reality is, C and left behind,” he says. One coordinator of support based in the with reporters, photographers, designers, producers and editors “With the bus, they can come out here and there are no services. Top End says her organisation has pulled out dedicated to delivering the best product to their audience. In the get back to country, collect bush tucker and get I’m really scratching my of several remote communities because it age of fast media and mass consumption, institutions like the a bit of pride in providing for their family.” head. I can’t get anyone simply can’t find services willing to go there. Walkley Awards are more important than ever to remind us of to go there. People’s lives “There are a lot of good plans, well-funded the importance of timely information and the public interest. plans, but the reality is, there are no services,” Every nominee has thrived in 2019, bringing their audience are at stake.” she says. “I’m really scratching my head. I can’t something unique. The words you wrote, story you presented or get anyone to go there. People’s lives are at stake.” photographs you captured have been powerful to the viewer or A car pulls up outside Rex’s house in Moving closer to services might seem like reader. You have inspired, entertained and informed. You have Garrthalala and a woman comes over to an obvious solution, but it’s not an option told stories which challenge us and ones which have left us feeling introduce herself. She’s a physiotherapist and, for everyone. For people in remote homelands, helpless or emotionally exhausted. after a brief chat, she wheels Rex into his like Mithili and Rex, family and cultural ties Quality journalism informs our thinking. It does not frame home for a session. are strong. facts or position perception, it provides information for the Ideally, Rex would have physio once a week, “I love the country. I feel heavy when I am in consumer which allows them to draw their own conclusions. but the NDIA determined that the $700 travel town,” says Mithili. Walkley Award winners are brilliant journalists who understand cost of getting a therapist from Nhulunbuy to The NDIA acknowledges the challenges for their role in society. You challenge the status quo, celebrate Garrthalala weekly wasn’t value for money, rural and remote communities and says it will victories and explain complex situations for a broad audience to even if those travel costs were pooled with take time to progress the NDIS to full maturity. understand. You are a key part of a balanced society and vital to other clients. Instead, a physio visits once a In the meantime, Rex has just had the help us understand the evolving global landscape. month and clients manage their own programs at funding approved for his 4WD scooter that will Those nominees victorious in their categories will forever be home in between. Services like occupational allow him to move independently around his known as Walkley winners – an honour bestowed upon relatively therapy which were once available locally through homelands and get him out hunting on the few. I know you will cherish the title and it will drive you to the NT Government, were pulled out when the beach in Garrthalala. Djayak says this will help deliver more stories needs to know. NDIS came in, leaving the area worse off. to achieve what is most important to them: Thank you all for your devotion to your work and The Northern Territory’s Health Minister, remaining on country. congratulations for the recognition. May your nomination this Natasha Fyles, says the Office of Disability no “We are near the water, the sand. We can evening inspire you even further in all your future endeavours. longer provides specialist disability services, hear the birdsong. We communicate, the land with a few exceptions, and the NT Government to us and us to the land. The birds you hear, contributes more than $100 million annually to we sing it, too. The animals, the trees, the sand, YOU ARE A KEY PART OF Gladys Berejiklian MP the NDIS. the water and on the rocks, too,” he says. Premier of New South Wales Her government advocated for strategies “Our name is here. Our fathers are buried A BALANCED SOCIETY to deal with the thin markets in remote and regional here. We just want to be where we’re from, AND VITAL TO HELP US areas when the scheme was being developed. where we belong.” “The NDIS, when it works well, is a fantastic Above (from far left): Vanessa Gillett, Rex Kylie Stevenson is a Walkley Award-winning freelance UNDERSTAND THE EVOLVING scheme. But we need to make sure we have Munungurr, David McGinlay and Rex’s cousin, journalist based in Darwin. Tamara Howie is a GLOBAL LANDSCAPE provisions for those who, through no fault of Ted Wanambi; the mobility scooter fitted with Darwin-based journalist, artist and arts producer. This their own, can’t access services,” says Fyles. its $200 sunshade. feature appears in full in The Walkley Magazine online.

44 Walkley Yearbook 2019 Walkley Yearbook 2019 45 2019 WALKLEY AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM 2019 GOLD WALKLEY INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM /

12-PAGE SPECIAL INVESTIGATION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2018 $1.70 (Inc GST) HERALDSUN.COM.AU MUST-READ STORY OF THE YEAR COVERAGE OF A MAJOR TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2018 $1.70 (Inc GST) HERALDSUN.COM.AU BREAKING NEWS HERALDSUN.COM.AU SEX, DRUGS, BETRAYAL, KARL AUSSIE WEDDING WINS RIGHT TO THE MUST-READ STORY OF THE YEAR SPRAY AGONY EX NEWS EVENT OR ISSUE HOW AUSTRALIA UNLOADS BLEW THE FIRST TEST ON STAR SATURDAY, MARCH 2, 2019 $2.50 (Inc GST) NAME GANG WAR INFORMER PAGE 7 SPORT FUEL PRICE PUMPED DANGEROUS KAREN COLLIER PETROL retailers have been ripping record profits from drivers in the past week. As Christmas and school holidays approach, the difference between the national average unleaded retail pump and wholesale 12-PAGE SPECIAL price blew out to a record 24.7c a litre, analysis reveals. CommSec senior economist Ryan Felsman said the gross retail margin was the highest LIAISONS since monitoring began in March 2004. Informer’s sexual affairs flagged in secret The previous record was a 20c-a-litre gap in late October this year, he said. report revealing she handed key doc to cops “At the end of the day, basically the difference LAWYER X INFORMER This is a powerhouse piece of investigative journalism with far-reaching impact on between pump and wholesale EXCLUSIVE commission into the police scheme price was the largest on ANTHONY DOWSLEY AND MUST-READ GANG WAR SPECIAL in which the female barrister in- record,” Mr Felsman said. PATRICK CARLYON formed on dozens of her clients is “What that implies is expected to canvass the ethical there’s a significant mark-up SUPERGRASS Lawyer X’s sex- conflicts they raise. on those wholesale prices, ual affairs with criminals who THE ROB Former detective Paul Dale told that the retailers are the police, the judiciary and politics. A deep and sustained investigation, years in the were clients have been flagged the Australian Crime Commission generating a significant in a top secret report. KARAM TEST in 2008 that he had an affair with margin.” TRUTH Justice Murray Kellam, QC, PART 6 Lawyer X, which she denied. CONTINUED PAGE 6 SCANDAL highlighted the “intimate re- ’s methamphet- lationships’’ between Lawyer X heraldsun.com.au amine cook denied, in open court in and those she informed on in his 2011, that he had bought Lawyer X a Independent Broad-based Anti- $35,000 diamond engagement ring. making, it was courageous and risky. The Herald Sun produced the definitive corruption Commission inquiry Commenting on the In his own evidence to the in- Lawyer X, herself, told the Her- report, suppressed since 2015. sexual affairs of Lawyer X in his quiry, former police chief commis- ald Sun in 2014 that she had slept The Kellam report, which the IBAC report, Justice Kellam noted: sioner Simon Overland also said with a police officer who later had 50% off Herald Sun has now seen, also re- “It is apparent that the provenance “that it was sometimes difficult to oversight of her informer role. That veals that Lawyer X handed police a of the intelligence provided was discern the exact circumstances in officer denies that they had ever shipping manifest for 15 million ec- often convoluted and/or not stated, which (the Source) had come into had a sexual relationship. 7-DAY HERALD SUN stasy pills hidden in a consignment due to identified complex and possession of information … be- The father of her daughter is HOME DELIVERY of tomato tins bound for Australia. sometimes alleged intimate re- cause of the (Source’s) own blurred also believed to be drug trafficker. explanation of a scandal that recast Melbourne’s gangland wars: how lawyer Nicola The shipping document, which lationships with clients, communal lines of professional conduct with The Kellam inquiry began due + HERALDSUN.COM.AU Anthony Dowsley she told officers she had covertly interaction with a number of cli- respect to … clients”. to the Herald Sun’s exposes on the copied from client and Tomato ents, social association with crimi- Lawyer X’s numerous affairs secret informer. But when it was $7/week for the p5 Tins syndicate member Rob nals and police and … provision of with criminals, police and legal col- completed in 2015, only a brief sum- ATFemale barrister RoyalLAST commission Tony Mokbel among Karam, triggered the 2007 ecstasy legal advice outside usual pro- leagues were widely known, includ- mary of its findings was released. first 12 weeks bust, then the world’s biggest ever. fessional business settings.’’ ing by her police handlers. A royal CONTINUED PAGE 8 for victoria DETAILS PAGE 14 We’re GST) HERALDSUN.COM.AU Gobbo was recruited by to inform on clients. Their exclusive reports juniorrecruited footy by $1.30rules(inc overhaulto probe ‘atrocious’ drug kingpins to policeMONDAY, MARCH 31, 2014to inform corruption of the appeal against jail

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2014 $1.30 (inc GST) HER ALDSUN.COM.AU un WE’RE FOR VICTORIA and Patrick Carlyon on gang war clientsd justiceS system sentences Free* Foxtel For One Month Heral Herald Sun Foxtel’s Big Christmas Sale exposed an unprecedented legal scandal that triggered an inquiry and continues Every TV Pack included Lawyer Taxpayers face massive clean-up bill FIGHT a secret HOW THE HERALD SUN BROKE LAWYER No lock in contract police FOR X iQ4 - no set up costs informer EXCLUSIVE THE SCANDAL IN MARCH 2014 Foxtel ANTHONY DOWSLEY TRUTH to have serious implications. Gobbo’s alias, “Lawyer X”, is now a byword for the HERALD SUN SILENCED IN LATE-NIGHT COURT Herald Sun CASE FROM TELLING YOU MORE ABOUT LAWYER X A PROMINENT underworld V1 - MHSE01Z01WR THE Her ald Sun was last nig ht to stop i ts pre sses. Editor D amon silenced f rom pu blishing de tail on growing calls for a royal commission Johnston s aid th at V ictorians Lawyer X which i t be lieves is of and the fact the issue could influence H deserved to kn era ow the full truth. ld Sun EDITORIAL extreme public interest. Victorian politics. lawyer was recruited by “The police l ast n ight moved to Victoria Police took the extraord- Johnston said: “We believe Victo- prevent us from publishing important WE wanted to tell o inary a ction of s eeking a S upre rians deserve to know the details ur readers an me details that go to the heart of th of Court injunction at 7 .30pm e pub- what w e h ad intended to publ important s prevent- lic interest,” Johnston said. ish i n tory on today’s front pa *Off er based on direct debit for 1 month of Platinum HD with a Foxtel iQ4. New residential customers & standard install only. Fees apply after fi rst month unless you cancel. Off er ends 24.12.2018. ing the newspaper from today’s newspaper.” ge. But publishing But V ictoria P olice obta Victoria Police to inform on any i nformation about Lawy ined th e Johnston said the He last night, the Supreme Co er X , court order proh rald Sun urt prevented whom the Hera ibiting the publishing would contin ld Sun had no inte n- of any info ue i nvestigating an d us from pu tion of rmation that would tend to would e blishing the re naming or identifying. iden xplore all legal avenues in a port. We can’t tify the lawyer. bi As th e hearing commenced, the d to publish the details pulled from tell you what The police’s push to silence report- the story was about Herald Sun was ordered by the the paper shortly after 8pm. . But we Foxtel and some services not available to all homes. 4K requires compatible 4K TV. Game of Thrones: 2018 © Home Box Offi ce, Inc. All rights reserved. HBO and all related service marks are the propert y of Home Box Offi ce, Inc. criminal figures running judge ing on L awyer X also comes despite will CONTINUED PAGE 2 fight for your right to know the truth Melbourne’s drug trade for . Deadpool 2: © 2018 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved. © 2018 Marvel. more than a decade. The controversial move to list the lawyer, whom the Herald Sun has chosen to name only as Lawyer X, as a registered informer gave the force unprecedented access to secret abuse of power. information on some of Australia’s biggest drug barons and hitmen, including alleged corrupt police and others involved in Melbourne’s gangland war. The force’s biggest secret in turning a high-profile criminal lawyer into an informer brings

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another witness was killed. p It ended with Victoria Police’s then chief com- missioner Simon Overland agreeing to a settlement with Lawyer X. The Herald Sun can also reveal a taskforce was then shut down without notice or explanation as investigators and Patrick Carlyon helped readers understand what happened and what it meant. began probing whether Lawyer X had helped circulate PAGE 57 (Inc GST) more than 30 highly sensitive SATURDAY, JULY 27, 2019 $2.50 HERALDSUN.COM.AU information reports stolen from the St Kilda Rd police complex in 2003. The investigation was taken RANCE’Sover by another taskforce, QUEEN OF which is believed did not pursue the lawyer. a house of horrors has been so badly Just prior to the taskforce trashed by public housing tenants being shut down, then deputy trashed commissioner Sir Ken Jones that taxpayers face a $20,000 Their reporting was timely, gripping and illuminating. FINALSaddressed investigators, who THRONES had spent six years working on clean-up bill. six tenants, includingorthcote the case, encouraging them to continue their work. children, abandoned the n EMILIA CLARKE Sir Ken, who had concerns home, leaving a mountain of junk, handling of informers on the SPORT smashed windows, hole-riddled CONQUERS have your ALL say RACEand witnesses, left the force walls and mould. and was a target of the Office heraldsun.com.au of Police Integrity after a SATURDAY,public fallout with MARCH Mr 23, 2019 $2.50full report: (Inc GST) HERALDSUN.COM.AUpages 6-7 Overland. The force’s “human sources’’ unit was also shut down and re-formed. cheers & Anthony Dowsley has been a crime reporter with the Herald Sun since 2004, CONTINUED PAGE 4 by george, runs for roos race you’ve luke p2 JUSTICE CRISIS DEEPENS n p9 aWay from groW Faruk Orman dogs sport with barrister ANTHONY DOWSLEY Carly Marcs specialising in crime and corruption issues. These are his first Walkley Awards. Lloyd and FARUK ORMAN FREE AND PATRICK CARLYON (inset below) Nicola Gobbo. Picture: AFTER 12 YEARS IN PRISON THIS is Nicola Gobbo, party girl, Police documents reveal ALEX COPPEL Patrick Carlyon has been a senior features writer at the Herald Sun for a decade. criminal barrister and police informer. how Nicola Gobbo She is Lawyer X. betrayed her gangland tigers NICOLA GOBBO ON ... Pictured hiding in plain sight with client in secret plot to ... into He has previously won two Walkley Awards for feature writing. the killers she is betraying, unleashing Australia’s biggest legal scandal. top TONY MOKBEL SPEAKING OUT HER INFORMING THE SCANDAL She is arm in arm with Carl four Williams and his busiest hitman, SpORT Dowsley and Carlyon produced a documentaryWell, one of theon many the LawyerThere must beX some saga andI provided are Victoria Police I accept that Andrew Veniamin — both now dead. ironies of all this is I very serious concerns with significant assistance this nightmare She is hosting the Crown casino have so many conflicts high up. I’m not saying I over a number of years for is not simply going christening of Williams’ daughter, NICOLA Dhakota. She is winning over the working on a book. GET with the bloke but what know this for a fact, but absolutely no benefit for myself to go away.’’ crowd, including Tony Mokbel, by does he know? He doesn’t I’m assuming there must and for altruistic reasons... I feel mocking the Purana police taskforce. 2015 LETTER TO know about any of them. be some people that are betrayed by the very people in It is 2003, at the height of the gang- POLICE land killings. She has just defended They’ll stay hidden.” very worried.’’ whom I placed my trust.’’ Williams in court. But she is helping put him away, too, as a police informer GATTO SHE SET TO HER HANDLERS, 2007 TO HERALD SUN, 2014 2014 LETTER TO POLICE for the same officers she jeers on stage. She has started the day with a pris- elyse’s on visit to allegedly corrupt policeman new JUDGES’ COMMENTS Paul Dale. Offstage, she snorts cocaine. EXCLUSIVE life — to “roll’’ on Gatto. Orman, ult- people around him always. There- commission into the Lawyer X scan- AS Gobbo continued to act for It’s a snapshot of an extraordinary ANTHONY DOWSLEY imately convicted as the getaway fore if he is isolated and left in messy dal, which will resume on Wednes- Orman, detectives conspired with page 3 AND PATRICK CARLYON driver in the 2002 Port Melbourne conditions, HS is positive that he day, as well as in Orman’s petition her to invent lies to get her out of ap- ME UP FARUK Orman’s murder acquittal EXCLUSIVE family and I’m just trying to take it all cution in the murder case knew that deception the High Court has labelled execution, has claimed that Purana will not cope,” an entry on June 22, for mercy now with Attorney- pearing at court, due to the conflict; due to the Lawyer X scandal is set to ANTHONY DOWSLEY AND in,” he said. Gobbo, who was defending Mr EVERY MAX GAWN NICOLA Gobbo conspired with taskforce officers offered to let him 2007 notes. General Jill Hennessy. The dossier THE barrister was so concerned trigger criminal probes into the PATRICK CARLYON “Being able to be out in Melbourne Orman, had earlier represented the “reprehensible” and which could detectives to “stitch up’’ “walk’’ if he helped them get Gatto In another key information — spanning March 2006 to Decem- about a police blunder which threat- conduct of Nicola Gobbo, Victoria and having a coffee with my family is star witness against him — known as GOBBO for murder, classified reports com- over the murder. report from 2008, a police handler ber 2008 — further reveals: ened to out her as an informer that Police and prosecutors. first gang war conviction to be over- just unbelievable. I am thankful for Witness Q — at the Australian Crime Anthony Dowsley and Patrick Carlyon took on the legal system and the police, trigger the early release of some of piled by her police handlers reveal. The dossier of 219 reports reveals describes Gobbo saying one of GOBBO was “frustrated” at not she demanded protection in court. Mr Orman, 37, walked free from turned as a result of Victoria Police’s the court saying that a miscarriage of Commission. PLAYER ON THE The Herald Sun has obtained 78 that, on the day Orman was arrested Orman’s associates “cannot be- being used enough to assist in the Orman is one of 20 convicted the Supreme Court yesterday after recruitment of Gobbo as a secret justice happened here and that the But the prosecution never Australia’s worst criminals. pages of the “informer contact for the murder, Gobbo was on lieve the way that Orman has police investigation of client Orman; clients of Gobbo sent letters by the spending 12 years in jail over the informer on her clients. police and Gobbo caused all of this. disclosed its full knowledge of reports’’ — the first to be released by the phone to her handlers forming been treated just to try and stitch up AN “angry” Gobbo vented that Office of Public Prosecutions execution of infamous underworld As Mr Orman celebrated his “I now want to try and move on Gobbo’s conflict, it asserts. 116-PAGE DEMONS’ Victoria Police in the Lawyer X a strategy on how to break her Mick Gatto”. Orman claims german police should have notified her that warning that their cases could have heavy Victor Peirce, shot dead in his release with a large contingent of with my life.’’ Crown prosecutor Geoffrey Gobbo, 46, once seemed set on a & CLUB scandal. client’s will. shepherds were put inside his cell to they were about to arrest him; been tainted because the police used car in Port Melbourne in 2002. family and friends, he last night told The Herald Sun can now exclus- Horgan, QC, cross-examined Wit- The reports detail how Gobbo “HS (human source Gobbo) says tear it apart and he was kept in HANDLERS recognised Gobbo’s Gobbo to inform on them in a Mr Orman wiped tears from his the Herald Sun, which exposed the ively reveal details of Mr Orman’s ness Q at the crime commission pursuing this story doggedly for five years. Their coverage was comprehensive and different path. Her uncle is former gov- manipulated client Faruk Orman — that Orman will not cope in jail … isolation for three years. “conflict of interest” by informing on corruption first revealed by the eyes as Court of Appeal president scandal, of his relief. petition for mercy. before he prosecuted Mr Orman. HOPES who was charged over the murder of Orman is an obsessive compulsive The explosive dossier is expected Orman while representing him, but Herald Sun in 2014 Chris Maxwell acquitted him — the “I’m so happy to be out with my It sensationally claims the prose- CONTINUED PAGE 4 RATED ernor Sir , QC, AC. She Victor Peirce five years after the hit re cleanliness … He also needs to be critical evidence in the royal told her “it is her choice”; CONTINUED PAGE 4 recently returned to conventionality they were relentless in uncovering the biggest scandalGLOSSY in Victorian legal history. — if not the family fold — as a sub- GP FAN MEASLES ALERT DETAILS P77 Extra bite for watchdogs LABOR ALARM AT FIRE SERVICES PROBE A MEASLES alert has been issued AUSTRALIA’S corporate watchdogs ROBBO AND urban mum and kids’ centre saviour. GRANT McARTHUR JAMES CAMPBELL VICTORIA’S anti-corruption EXCLUSIVE One senior Labor figure said last for fans who attended last will be given an extra $550 million in a inside watchdog is secretly investigating TOM MINEAR AND night there was “no way” such an weekend’s Formula 1 Grand Prix. entrance and the food areas near massive Budget boost to clean up the agencies to take a tougher approach the state’s fire services. MATT JOHNSTON investigation could preclude Now, after a five-year Herald Sun A woman in her 40s is in Gate 1 of the Albert Park Grand tarnished financial sector in the wake to law enforcement in the wake of the The bombshell probe will , given the DAVID KING isolation in a Melbourne hospital Prix circuit last Saturday. of the banking royal commission. royal commission finding that they bali include the relationship between investigation sent shockwaves Premier’s intimate dealings with battle, Nicola Gobbo will be a house- after being diagnosed with the On Sunday, fans in the Fangio NEVER Next month’s Budget will include a had been asleep at the wheel. the Andrews Government and through Labor ranks yesterday as UFU boss Peter Marshall. highly infectious disease, believed Stand, at the Gate 2 entrance and in funding lift for the Australian Securi- Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the the United Firefighters Union. senior MPs expressed alarm about In response to detailed questions This story also took a major commitment from the masthead. In its scale, its scope to have been contracted in the the food areas at Gate 1 may have ties and Investments Commission of lessons of the royal commission need- LOOK AT EVERY hold name. Just as she always wanted. MISS A jail The Herald Sun’s where it could lead. The probe is from the Herald Sun over the Northern Territory. come into contact with her. $100 million a year for the next four ed to be learned. revelations about the digging into the long-running probe, an IBAC spokesman said: AFL MAG Racegoers are being warned to The woman also went to years, while the Australian Prudential “It’s time to restore a culture of But not for the reasons she hoped. MOMENT Independent Broad-based dispute that has engulfed the “For legal and operational reasons, TOKEN keep watch for symptoms. Braybrook Woolworths last Regulation Authority will get compliance and accountability that hell Anti-corruption Country Fire Authority and the IBAC is unable to comment.” JUST $4.95 WITH THE PAPER INSIDE CLUB’S LIST The infected woman frequented Sunday and Monday afternoon. heraldsun.com.au/kayo $38.5 million over the same period. puts people before profit,” he said. pageS 26-27 Commission’s Metropolitan Fire Brigade. CONTINUED PAGE 8 IS the Jones Stand, the Gate 2 REPORT, PAGE 6 The extra money will allow both CONTINUED PAGE 2 PETER MARSHALL DAN ANDREWS and its ongoing impact, “Lawyer X Informer Scandal” is an act of journalistic V1 - MHSE01Z01WR persistence that has changed Australia. That’s what a Gold Walkley is all about.

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ForFor us, us, everything Foreverything us, everything starts starts with with starts life. life. withBayer life.Bayer congratulates congratulatesBayer congratulates And, how best to advance health And, howAnd, best how to best advance to advance health health Anthony Dowsley and nutrition for people to reach XXXXXXXX XXXX and nutritionand nutrition for people for peopleto reach to reach and Patrick Carlyon theirtheir full full theirpotential. potential. full potential. XXXXXXXX XXXX forfor winning winningfor winningthe the the XXXX Walkley Award for XXXX InvestigativeXXXX Journalism

AWARDAWARD SPONSORED SPONSOREDAWARD SPONSORED BY BY BAYER BAYER BY BAYER

46 Walkley Yearbook 2019 Walkley Yearbook 2019 47 2019 WALKLEY AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM Nikon is a proud supporter of the Nikon-Walkley Press Photographer of the Year NIKON-WALKLEY Award and congratulates this year’s winner. PRESS PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR

Chris McGrath From his base in Istanbul, Chris McGrath has been well placed to cover some of the year’s biggest stories. But proximity and luck will only get you so far, and this Getty Images body of work shows a photojournalist at the height of his powers. The judges found McGrath’s selection, spanning Turkey, Syria, Kosovo and Hong Kong, to be insightful and timely — a powerful reflection of the year that was. He immersed himself in the action, getting so close to his subjects that he could reveal tension and emotion. Chris McGrath started his photography career at the Sunshine Coast Daily in Queensland. After completing his newspaper cadetship and a diploma in photography, he joined Getty Images as a staff photographer in Sydney. During his 19 years with Getty, McGrath has been based in its New York, Singapore and Tokyo offices. Since 2015, he has worked out of Istanbul, covering Turkey and the Middle East. Among many honours, McGrath was nominated for the 2019 World Press Photo of the Year and won first prize in the General News category of the 2019 A woman fleeing the fighting A body, reported to be an Islamic An unidentified man tries to World Press Photo awards. clutches her bag at a screening State fighter, lies next to hold back the press as Saudi point in the desert in Baghouz, a destroyed vehicle in Baghouz, investigators arrive ahead of JUDGES’ COMMENTS Syria, on February 12 2019. Syria, on March 24 2019. Turkish police at the Saudi How lucky is Chris McGrath to have covered some of the year’s biggest global Arabian consulate in Istanbul, events? But he positions himself so he’s in the right place to capture the most dynamic Opposite, top: A protester uses Top: Syrian Democratic Forces Turkey, on October 15 2018, images. It’s exciting work; a strong selection. a tennis racquet to hit back tear- prepare to march in a parade during amid a growing international gas canisters during clashes with an SDF victory ceremony at al-Omar backlash to the disappearance police after an anti-government oilfield in Deir ez-Zor on March 23 of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. rally in Tsuen Wan district, Hong 2019, announcing the defeat of Kong, on August 25 2019. Islamic State in Baghouz, Syria.

48 Walkley Yearbook 2019 Walkley Yearbook 2019 49 2019 WALKLEY AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM PRINT/TEXT: NEWS REPORT PUBLIC SERVICE JOURNALISM

COOPER CRONK GRAND FINAL Medical experts say COUNTDOWN playing Roosters $3.20 (inc GST) Friday, September 28, 2018 Wednesday, September 26, 2018 $3.20 (inc GST) LATRELL MITCHELL star is a risk. First published 1831 No. 56,460 A huge risk Game-breaker ready to explode White House FREED BILLY BARRIER REEF $500 million NEWS, ANDREW WEBSTER SPORT Everything that’s Officials told PAGE 18 CBD under siege on Slater cleared on in Sydney real estate gift The mystery of the QC’s two fronts to play this weekend to keep public for Roosters Weekend LIFTOUT TODAY NEWS PAGE 8 SPORT missing painting PAGE 2 WORLD PAGE 17 SPORT in the dark ANDREW WEBSTER

BROADCASTER IN CRISIS SECRET EMAIL Treasurer says sorry as party brawl spills over in the bear pit September 29-30, 2018 IssueNo. 56,463 $4.20 (inc GST) Guthrie ABC chair’s ‘bias’ email Hayne ‘Milne continued to yell at me and berate me... ‘After two glasses of red of course Board I was shaky and upset and close to tears’ calls time ordered hanging on ‘greedy’ there’s an agenda,’ Milne wrote on ... just banks EXCLUSIVE EXCLUSIVE Revealed: to sack Michael Koziol Sarah Danckert, Clancy Jennifer Duke Jennifer Duke Yeates, Jessica Irvine Michael Koziol The full text of an email sent by The Hayne royal commission has former ABC chairman Justin The man charged with reviewing ABC boss’ censured the banking sector as Milne about journalist Emma government spending at the ABC being driven by greed and dishon- Alberici reveals he wanted the says the public broadcaster’s esty and policed by an ineffective top ABC high-profile presenter sacked be- leadership turmoil will give him watchdog sparking calls for imme- cause she was ‘‘sticking it’’ to the more scope to explore savings, as diate reform. government with a ‘‘clear bias’’. board members cling to their Despite several searing obser- Mr Milne, who resigned as positions amid demands for mass secret vations about banking miscon- chairman of the public broad- resignations. duct, Commissioner Kenneth caster yesterday, had complained The ABC is now without a reporter in an ABC interview that his managing director and chairman Good start, but email to then managing director after resigned from a bit of a fizzer was presented dossier EXCLUSIVE gle executive was fired. ‘‘out of context’’ when the Herald This is about ADELE FERGUSON The chairman was reply- broke the story of his attempt to much more EXCLUSIVE Silent board is COMMENT PAGE 13 Michael Koziol ing to an email from Ms Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Dominic Perrottet (left) during question time. Photo: AAP Why we have Alberici removed. Guthrie that outlined a Ms Guthrie pasted a copy of the than the ABC Jennifer Duke failing the nation Jennifer Duke despise our WALEED ALY Germans investigate complaint from Mr Turn- email in a document to the board Michael Koziol COMMENT Page 6 ABC chairman Justin Mil- bull about Alberici’s polit- A rattled Treasurer Dominic Perrottet faced a politicians last week, days before she was COMMENT Page 30 Mac Bank tax deals ROSS GITTINS ne told ousted managing ical coverage. fired. The full version, read to the Former ABC boss Michelle EXCLUSIVE PAGE 16 Labor barrage in Parliament yesterday, as well COMMENT A week of chaos: director Michelle Guthrie “They [the government] Herald by a person who witnessed the board yesterday just 72 hours Guthrie warned the broad- Former ABC boss PAGE 22 to sack high-profile hate her,” Mr Milne said in as abuse from the public gallery. NEWS PAGE 3 Ms Guthrie’s presentation, re- after presiding over the disastrous caster’s board that firing her behind a sacking Michelle Guthrie. Hayne’s interim report has presenter Emma Alberici the email, which was con- veals the extent of his concerns sacking of former boss Michelle would be retribution for raising NEWS REVIEW Photo: AAP stopped short of making any find- following a complaint from veyed to the Herald by a about Alberici as the chief eco- Guthrie. explosive allegations of miscon- ings or recommendations. then prime minister Mal- source close to the board. nomics correspondent. The entire ABC board could duct and political interference by reasons appear to me to be in part Commissioner Hayne said it was colm Turnbull. “We are tarred with her The text read: ‘‘After two glas- now also be forced out as angry chairman Justin Milne. because of my disclosure about EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW important to consider why all the In an extraordinary in- brush. I think it’s simple. Revealed: radical recycling plan ses of red of course there’s an staff, former directors and a Details from a controversial the chair’s inappropriate conduct banks had engaged in misconduct. tervention that underlines Get rid of her. We need to agenda. They fricken hate her. chorus of federal MPs demand dossier show the new acting ABC towards me and [interference] in ‘‘Too often, the answer seems to be the political pressure on save the ABC – not Emma. EXCLUSIVE includes six national targets to plastic packaging to be recycled or She keeps sticking it to them with Justin Milne leaving the ABC studios in Sydney after his resignation yesterday. Photo: AAP answers over this week’s chair knew the independence of the ABC,’’ greed – the pursuit of short-term Ms Guthrie before she was There is no guarantee they tackle Australia’s waste crisis and composted by 2025 and all pack- a clear bias against them. We unprecedented turmoil. months ago of Ms Guthrie’s “huge Ms Guthrie wrote. ‘The worst two profit at the expense of basic axed on Monday, Mr Milne [the Coalition] will lose the Jewel Topsfield provide greater certainty for busi- aging to have 30 per cent average clear her as ok. We r tarred with email from Ms Guthrie about senior people at the ABC about digital transformation project Mr Milne was forced to quit frustration” with Mr Milne’s edit- The dossier also reveals the full standards of honesty,’’ he said. appeared to acquiesce to next election.” ness over the next 12 years, includ- recycled content by 2025. her brush [sic]. I just think it’s Alberici. It was not clear why he what to do with Alberici. The for- that was being discussed with the after the Herald revealed he had orial interventions. extent of the board’s misgivings years of my life’ Former Labor MP and promin- government complaints Mr Milne’s email sheds Australia would divert 80 per cent ing phasing out unnecessary plas- Ms Price will also launch the simple. Get rid of her. My view is referred to ‘‘two glasses of red’’. mer Telstra executive admitted government. asked Ms Guthrie to fire high- Ms Guthrie prepared the docu- about Ms Guthrie’s leadership, in- ent reform campaigner, Bernie about “bias” by calling for new light on the turmoil at of its waste from landfill by 2030 Australasian Recycling Label, we need to save the corporation On the ABC’s 7.30 program last his concerns had been partly ‘‘It would be naive not to under- profile reporters the Coalition ment in a last-ditch bid to keep cluding frequent absences and a Leigh Sales on her Ripoll, said the commission had the chief economics cor- the highest levels of the under an ambitious national target Secret papers detail reef which provides easy-to- not Emma. There is no g’tee they night, Mr Milne said the email driven by his desire for the ABC stand that the relationship government did not like. Mr Milne her job. ‘‘If the board resolves to failure to act as editor-in-chief. private pain revealed “the corrupt culture and respondent to be fired be- Emma ABC, and will raise ques- to be announced in the wake of understand recycling information will lose the next election [sic].’’ was part of a ‘‘confidential con- to secure $500 million in funding between the government and the last night defended linking staff terminate my appointment, the FULL STORY Pages 6-7 GOOD WEEKEND greed that exists in our banks and Alberici, top, body’s costly PR strategy Mr Milne was responding to an versation’’ he was having with for Project Jetstream, a major Continued Page 4 Continued Page 5 cause she was damaging tions about whether his de- China’s crackdown on recycled NEWS PAGE 4 for each piece of packaging. This institutions at the highest levels’’. the public broadcaster’s Justin Milne mand was an appropriate waste imports. announcement is part of the over- FULL COVERAGE Pages 12-15 standing with Coalition and Michelle course of action for a chair- A “working draft” of the 2018 all ambitious plan to sort out the MPs. Guthrie. man. national waste policy, obtained by tic and halving the amount of or- nation’s waste problem. Mr Milne’s comments Mr Turnbull had sent a the Herald, also aims to reduce the ganic matter sent to landfill. Australia’s environment minis- were contained in an email sent to list of 11 grievances to the ABC’s total waste generated by every Meanwhile, Federal Environ- ters agreed to update the 2009 na- Ms Guthrie on May 8 and were news director Gaven Morris on Australian by 10 per cent by 2030. ment Minister Melissa Price today tional waste policy in April after later circulated to board members May 7 over a story written by The policy, which will be re- will launch new national recycling the global heartburn caused by Yep, that’s right, in the week before the former Goo- Continued Page 8 leased by the end of the year, targets, including 70 per cent of Continued Page 4 Less BS. less Bank Stuff . bankwest.com.au/bank-less

Important things you should know: Bankwest, a division of Commonwealth Bank of Australia ABN 48 123 123 124 AFSL/Australian credit licence 234945. 1HERSD1 A001

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GUTHRIE ORDERED TO This running news story provided tantalising insight into the high-level machinations WHO CARES? This five-month investigation was driven by the crowdsourced evidence of more behind the sacking of ABC managing director Michelle Guthrie, and raised important than 4000 people who contacted the ABC after an audience call-out. Accounts from SACK TOP ABC REPORTER; issues about the national broadcaster, the board and its relationship with government. Anne Connolly, families and carers soon built a picture of systemic problems within the industry, ABC CHAIR’S ‘BIAS’ EMAIL; Michael Koziol and Jennifer Duke delivered a series of exclusives based on highly Mary Fallon and including understaffing, untrained staff, drugging of residents with dementia, and personal emails between Guthrie and chairman Justin Milne, revealing why their a dysfunctional regulatory and complaints system. REVEALED: ABC BOSS’ relationship broke down. Milne was forced to resign amid allegations he’d interfered in Patricia Drum Following Four Corners’ interview with then-minister Ken Wyatt, and reporters SECRET DOSSIER editorial matters for political purposes. The revelations led to renewed scrutiny of how Four Corners, ABC TV and ABC Digital subsequently seeking responses from nursing homes, the regulator and complaints the board and chair are selected and how the ABC’s independence can be guaranteed. agency, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the Royal Commission into Aged Michael Koziol and Michael Koziol has been a journalist with The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age for Care Quality and Safety the day before part one of “Who Cares?” aired. The ABC Jennifer Duke five years. He has been a breaking news reporter, federal political reporter, immigration expects crucial policy and regulatory changes will flow from the royal commission. and legal affairs correspondent and a Sun-Herald journalist, as well as covering Anne Connolly has worked at the ABC’s 7.30, Media Watch, Four Corners, Background The Sydney Morning Herald communications (including the ABC) out of Canberra. Briefing and Investigations unit over the past 20 years. She was named 2019 Journalist Jennifer Duke is a media and telecommunications reporter for The Sydney Morning of the Year at the Kennedy Awards and this win brings her Walkley Award tally to Herald and The Age. She started her career as a junior reporter on a property investment five, including the 1999 Gold Walkley. magazine and has previously worked as a property reporter for Domain and the Mary Fallon has worked on more than 50 programs for Four Corners. Previously, editor of Private Media’s Property Observer. she was a nonfiction book publisher and health and science writer. This is her fourth Walkley Award. JUDGES’ COMMENTS Patricia Drum has been a researcher and producer for ABC current affairs programs Exposing the extraordinary, colourful clash between two powerful individuals in one and documentaries, including Four Corners, The Killing Season and Hawke: The Larrikin and of the most important cultural institutions in the country, this story went to the heart of the Leader. She is co-author of The Killing Season Uncut. This is her first Walkley Award. editorial independence. Michael Koziol and Jennifer Duke were ahead of the curve, breaking personal stories and anecdotes involving the key players. It was complex and JUDGES’ COMMENTS engaging news reporting, turned around quickly, and the ramifications were immense. This was a brilliant story to crowdsource, using the ABC’s reach and resources by gathering stories from across the country. Generations to come will thank Anne Connolly, Mary Fallon and Patricia Drum for shedding light on the scandalous treatment of the elderly in Australian nursing homes and forcing an inquiry that will lead to dramatic changes. This entry is the very definition of excellence in public service journalism. THANK YOU FOR LEAVING NO STONE UNTURNED

Congratulations to MICHAEL KOZIOL and JENNIFER DUKE for looking where others didn't to win the best News Report - Print/Text at this year’s prestigious Walkley Awards.

We’re proud to support such outstanding work. 1800 640 886 | mediasuper.com.au

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50 Walkley Yearbook 2019 Walkley Yearbook 2019 51 2019 WALKLEY AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM INNOVATION HEADLINE, CAPTION OR HOOK

COURIERMAIL.COM.AU SATURDAY JUNE 1 2019 NEWS 29 02 NEWS SATURDAY MAY 4 2019 COURIERMAIL.COM.AU 24 NEWS FRIDAY MAY 17 2019 COURIERMAIL.COM.AU

DS ES . NEW TREN Cancer drug GREAT READING INSIDE TODAY’S S . NEW STYL Cat dodges NEW BUILD

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THE COURIER MAI L, Saturday, Ma England for six days eventu- y 4, 2019 01 Hall Institute of Medical Re- ally got bored and walked search have been able to “com- home on her own after fire- pletely prevent and reverse” fighters couldn’t rescue her. inflammatory damage in the Hatty (pictured), 5, became lungs of mice with asthma, by trapped on the Brunel Bridge GIVE ’EM A FINCH AND rewiring the immune system. between Plymouth and Saltash The drug, which is already last Friday, and firefighters being used to treat a range of spent five hours trying to get cancers, works by switching off her down, in an ordeal costing the inflammation that drives about $10,000. The train sys- and worsens asthma. The re- tem, which operates the bridge, searchers are now preparing to even planned to close the THEY’LL TAKE A MINE test the drug in human cells, tracks to rescue her. PALASZCZUK’S before a clinical trial. For five days, local media Shorten furious as State Labor ties NEW CONDITIONS About 2.7 million Austra- anxiously posted live updates lians have asthma – with Mel- on the cat’s predicament. ■ Count the precise bourne as the world’s allergy But when firefighters had up Adani in five years of red tape number of black-throated capital – one of the highest decided to give up for the day, finches living on the rates of disease internationally. vowing to return Thursday, STEVEN WARDILL property In an asthma attack, the air- Hatty, who had been missing STATE AFFAIRS EDITOR ways become narrow and in- for two weeks before turning Ecologists employed to flamed in response to an up on the bridge, returned ■ THE Carmichael coal project could monitor the finch must allergen or environmental trig- home of her own volition. be delayed by up to five years after The cat’s owner Kirsty have postdoctoral ger, causing breathlessness the Palaszczuk Government de- qualifications and tightness in the chest. Howden said that she “heard a manded Adani count the precise meow outside, had a look Co-lead researcher Dr STIR KRUEZI: Logan terrorist Agim Kruezi (right) was involved in inciting a brawl over a meal at Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre in Wacol. number of black-throated finches Christine Keenan said unlike HEE-HAWAYS DOES THIS: A miniature donkey is rescued during a two-hour mission by firefighters after becoming stuck in a septic tank north of Brisbane. through the window and there ■ Cattle grazing within a living on the property. reserved conservation other research groups around she was”. “She is a bit skinny The requirement, which must be area to be limited to one the world who were targeting and smelly, very vocal and has completed before construction can now headed upstairs and put animal per 50ha the factors released in the air- begin, is among a host of new condi- ways during asthma, the herself to bed.” tions ordered by the Department of While the cat doesn’t yet Research into the finch WEHI team is targeting the Environment that Adani insists de- ■ DNA of immune cells to stop know it, the owner said Hatty parts from its original environmen- to be completed prior to the inflammation. “is going to stay inside … we’re tal authority. construction, Halal ... is it meals TIME TO HAUL ASS going to try and make her a rather than The study was published in The extraordinary intervention SOPHIE CHIRGWIN the journal JCI Insight. Firefighters received a call spokesman said the firefight- figured out what we were peared to be in good health house-cat for a bit”. by the Palaszczuk Government to ongoing for help about 6.10pm on ers had to cut away the grass going to do,” he said. and good spirits. delay the central Queensland mine A MINIATURE donkey was Thursday evening and head- and shrubs around the septic “He (the donkey) was fine “Other than being a bit has created a new flashpoint in the rescued during a two-hour ed to the address on Beaujo- tank so they could get easier – we were a bit surprised, ac- cold and a bit smelly, he still Federal election. mission by firefighters after lais Court and Homestead Rd access to the animal. tually,” Mr Marles said. had a full appetite,” Mr Mar- Labor insiders yesterday said Bill ‘If they die becoming stuck in a septic at Morayfield. Caboolture Station Officer “The owners had some les said. Shorten’s camp was livid while re- tank north of Brisbane on Four fire crews were on the Scott Marles told reporters carrots there, so as soon as he By about 8.10pm on Thurs- gional figures said the party had fast it’s good’ you’re sooking for Thursday night. scene, using a tripod and rope the call was slightly more came up, he started eating day night, the donkey had abandoned campaigns to win mar- The donkey, believed to be to winch the donkey to safety unusual than what firefight- carrots.” been winched to safety. ginal Coalition electorates in re- PEOPLE in residential aged- five years old and named – a mission that took two ers are used to. Mr Marles said the minia- The successful firefighters gional Queensland in favour of city care facilities are stranded in a Talou, has stumped firefight- hours to complete. “While it took a while to do ture donkey didn’t seem to left the scene, while the ani- seats. DELAY: Anti-Adani school children rally at LNP Trevor Evans’ electoral office in Albion yesterday Picture: Richard Waugh system that is waiting for them Muslim terrorist and stabber slapped for jail tucker ruckus ers as to how it managed to A Queensland Fire and time-wise, it wasn’t that diffi- have sustained any injuries as mal was being washed clean “Shorten is ropeable,” one figure to die, and “no one seems to get trapped inside the tank. Emergency Service media cult of a rescue, once we a result of the fall and ap- and fed a carrot. said. “Just when we were getting academic Brendan Wintle. They in- conditions of 2014, required ongoing Mr Dow yesterday wrote to the “They are empathetic and very give a toss”, an expert says. traction with our working condi- clude a requirement for the ecolo- research of the finch. Palaszczuk Government to ask for a fearful that they will have the same Professor Joseph Ibrahim ALEXANDRIA UTTING It was yesterday revealed prisoners were not being sup- sentence of 10 days to be COURT REPORTER tions, casual pay message. Someone gists employed to monitor the finch Adani chief executive Lucas Dow list of issues and to commit to a time practices dished up to them that we said that residential aged care in a separate sentencing plied with halal meals, despite served concurrently with his needs to tell them you can’t win state to have postdoctoral qualifications yesterday insisted the new require- frame for the management plan. have been subjected to by the Pal- should be a place where people hearing in Brisbane District DEFIANCE AND requesting them. current term. The court heard government without the regions.” and for cattle grazing within a re- ments to complete research prior to “Our grave concern is that we ad- aszczuk Government,” he said. can enjoy their last few months TWO of Queensland’s most Court that, while on remand INCITEMENT IN A Smith is serving a seven- he was in solitary confine- The Department has detailed served conservation area to be lim- construction could take five years. dress their issues here and then we However, Mr Dow said Adani or years. hardened Muslim prisoners – a for the terror offences, Kruezi PRISON IS AN year jail sentence for stabbing ment for two months as a re- more than 30 amendments to ited to one animal per 50ha. “That’s how we understand it,” get another shopping list,” he said. was determined to get the project “They know they’re going convicted terrorist and a man was part of an incident at a 71-year-old woman in the sult of the melee he incited. Adani’s black-throated finch man- The original environmental auth- Mr Dow told The Courier-Mail. “It He said there was no doubt other approved and create jobs. to die. We know they’re going who stabbed an elderly woman Arthur Gorrie Prison when ATTACK ON SECURITY eye with a butter knife during “It is not alleged that Agim agement plan based on a controver- ority, based on the Queensland Co- looks like it is a cut-and-paste job resource proponents would now be INSIGHT P43 to die,” he told the aged-care in the eye with a butter knife in another inmate caused a Judge Leanne Clare a violent home invasion in Kruezi assaulted anyone, but sial report by Melbourne university ordinator General’s approval from the Wintle Report.” fearful about investing in Queensland. EDITORIAL P50 royal commission. “What cur- a home invasion – have plead- melee after allegedly being 2015, which caused the victim his defiant presence and his REALLY, THIS IS ALL rently happens is most of us sit ed guilty to inciting a prison given a non-halal meal. An officer took Smith to an permanent blindness and se- encouragement to Smith at around waiting for them to die brawl over a non-halal meal. Kruezi pleaded guilty to airlock and Smith lashed out. vere mental trauma. the outset made him an ac- YOU NEED TO SEE. and if they die quickly then ... Logan terrorist Agim unlawful assembly in March A struggle ensued and an He pleaded guilty to seri- cessory to the unlawful as- INSIDE No suspicious cause in everyone thinks that’s a good Kruezi, 26, was last year sen- 2017 after refusing to follow officer received a minor injury ous assault of a prison guard sembly,” Judge Clare said in THE BMW END OF FINANCIAL thing and it’s clearly not.” tenced to 17 years’ jail in Bris- directions of corrections offi- to his hand. Prisoners in the during the 2017 brawl. sentencing. “Defiance and Business 54 POWERBALL Prof Ibrahim said govern- bane Supreme Court for cers and kicking a door. meal area were directed to an Judge Leanne Clare sen- incitement in a prison is an YEAR SALE EVENT. Cinema 70 DRAW 1198 2-5-2019 inner city building fire ments do not care about peo- stockpiling weapons and Kruezi and fellow inmate exercise yard but a group tenced Kruezi to an ad- attack on the security of a Buy Search Sell 60 4 2 11 6 9 8 33 ple living in aged care facilities. planning an attack on police Kane Alan Smith, 24, were gathered to egg Smith on. ditional four months’ jail, prison and the people in it. Comics 67 POWERBALL 4 A FIRE that completely de- Witnesses at the scene yes- “Residents are stateless,” he officers who cancelled his sitting together when Smith The court heard there was suspended for two years after “Such conduct threatens Confidential 40 DIVIDENDS WINNERS stroyed a South Brisbane terday said they did not hear told the Sydney hearing. “The passport, halting his travel to threw the meal on the ground allegedly an ongoing issue at one month has been served. the safety of officers and the Des Houghton 48 1st $30,000,000 1 building on Thursday is not fire alarms, but reports from parliament does not care about Syria to fight with rebels. and said, “f--k this s--t”. the correctional centre where Smith was given a “token” safety of other prisoners.” Editorials 50 2nd $76,689.30 5 being treated as suspicious. the Fire Investigation Unit say people in residential aged care.” Receive up to $5,000 deposit contribution, and pay no set-up fees*, Insight 3rd $4782.20 49 The fire tore alarms were in- Leahy's View 52 4th $385.20 1106 through a pri- stalled in the on selected new BMW vehicles when financed with BMW Finance. 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SATELLITE STORYTELLING Satellite imagery now allows journalists to show change over time and take viewers to TIME TO HAUL ASS; Writing tabloid headlines is an art form and Baz McAlister’s wordplay is an editor’s places they’ve never been. But moving audiences through a complex visual experience GIVE ’EM A FINCH AND dream, selling even the softest stories with puns and punch. A story about a fallen Mark Doman and requires technical skill, judgement and just the right kind of writing. donkey that had to be winched out of a septic tank was a gimme, while McAlister’s Mark Doman is a journalist with the ABC’s Digital Story Innovations team, which THEY’LL TAKE A MINE; deft touch on a traditional saying succinctly summarises a story about Adani mine ABC News Digital Team produces high-quality visual, interactive and data-driven stories. Doman specialises approvals delayed by environmental approvals regarding a black-throated finch. in the use of open-source satellite data and imagery, combined with photography, HALAL ... IS IT MEALS And, hello, finding a way to insert a Lionel Richie earworm into a yarn about a prison abc.net.au video and on-the-ground reporting, to tell stories in novel ways about the world we YOU’RE SOOKING FOR fight over a mealtime incident might be downright genius. live in from the unique perspective of space. Baz McAlister is a writer and editor originally from Northern Ireland. As well One of the three pieces places images side by side to reveal the extent of secret Baz McAlister as The Courier-Mail, he has worked in various roles at over the mass detention facilities in China’s Xinjiang province. Another uses graphic overlays The Courier-Mail past decade, including The Sunday Mail’s deputy night editor and Qweekend editor. to give context to raw images of recent fires in Queensland. The third uses high- He is a four-time winner, eight-time finalist and frequent MC of Queensland’s resolution satellite video to map bomb blasts and territory lost in the battle for the Clarion Awards. This is his first Walkley Award. final pocket of territory held by Islamic State in northern Syria. JUDGES’ COMMENTS Funny, memorable headlines. Tabloid-headline writing is an art and these are exactly JUDGES’ COMMENTS what you want on the front page. To have an earworm in a headline is incredible. An amazing portal and resource using satellite maps to show how things have changed. Great use of new techniques and technology; excellent visual storytelling. Together, these stories amount to an outstanding deployment of new technology that advances public knowledge with elegant innovation and memorable ease. “Satellite storytelling” is exactly what the Innovation award is about.

Today you received Congratulations the highest accolade to all the 2019 in the Australian Walkley Award med ia industry. nominees and winners. Tomorrow you'll be Well done to the high flyers of Australian journalism Telum Famous. Congratulations to all the finalists and winners of the 2019 Walkley Awards

52 Walkley Yearbook 2019 Walkley Yearbook 2019 53 2019 WALKLEY AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM PRINT/TEXT: PRINT/TEXT: 21/10/2019 Spending the final days of life in a retirement home. LIFESTYLE LIFE & RELATIONSHIPS GOOD WEEKEND FEATURE FEATURE Counting down the days in God's waiting room

An 82-year-old writer spends his final years in a retirement home surrounded WRITING LONG WRITING SHORT by the sick and the sorry – and finds it hard to hold back the tears. By Richard Roe* (OVER 4000 WORDS) (UNDER 4000 WORDS) Updated November 17, 2018 — 12.57am, first published at 12.12am We sit in our allotted places for breakfast. For every meal. Alfredo* is to my right, Alice eyeballing me from across the table, Theresa on my left. My mother's stricture, "A place for everything and everything in its place", comes to mind. The table's not much larger than a card table, so finding a space for all our plates, jugs, cutlery, cups and glasses, containers for butter, salt, jams and spreads provokes a silent battle of shifty placement.

Before I can sit down, Alice moans, "There's not enough milk." She clutches the plastic jug to her breast and repeats her protest several times. She does this every meal. The jug holds about a litre of milk. Alice only uses it in her coffee, a couple of thimblefuls. She seems to have a lactose problem. After a month of calling the place my home, I realise she would demand more milk if none of us used it. It's a psychological imperative. She'd be hollering for milk if a mob of Jersey cows with overflowing udders filled the dining room.

“I’m going out with a song on my old cracked lips, a spring in my limp.” GETTY IMAGES

https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/counting-down-the-days-in-god-s-waiting-room-20181112-p50fiw.html 1/6 A NAGGING DOUBT: In 1995, David Eastman was convicted of the murder of Australian Federal Police COUNTING DOWN Mick Barnes moved into aged care last year. At 82, he was finished with journalism THE RETRIAL OF assistant commissioner Colin Winchester. Eastman spent 19 years in jail, consistently THE DAYS IN GOD’S but couldn’t resist telling the story he was living: a wry, poignant and honest account DAVID EASTMAN maintaining his innocence. He was released in 2014, when a judicial inquiry found he of life’s final journey. had been convicted on flawed evidence. The judge was “fairly certain” of Eastman’s WAITING ROOM A powerful companion piece to news reports on the systemic problems in the aged Sam Vincent guilt but said that “a nagging doubt remains”. care sector, this feature is a fascinating piece in its own right. As he empathetically Sam Vincent dedicated much of 2018 to researching, observing and writing about Mick Barnes observes the characters around him, Barnes’s writing is funny and laced with minute the retrial of Eastman, which he saw as a significant moment in Australian history. details that give the reader a glimpse into daily life in aged care. Good Weekend, The Sydney Morning Herald It’s a story many were familiar with, but the judges agreed this could be the definitive Mick Barnes began his career on a bush newspaper in 1954 and spent the next telling of it — a riveting read, beautifully crafted and researched. 45 years in newspapers, magazines and scriptwriting for TV news in Sydney, London Vincent is a writer and farmer from the Yass Valley. His writing has been published and Brisbane. He has been an investigative reporter, feature writer, theatre critic, in The Monthly, Griffith Review, The Saturday Paper and The Best Australian Essays. His first columnist, sportswriter, subeditor and chief sub, and spent many years freelancing for book, Blood and Guts: Dispatches from the Whale Wars, was longlisted for the 2015 Walkley magazines. His plays have been staged across Australia and in Edinburgh. This is his Book Award. He is writing a memoir about farm succession for Black Inc. Books. first Walkley Award.

JUDGES’ COMMENTS JUDGES’ COMMENTS Sam Vincent’s riveting true-crime feature is more than a vividly compelling portrait A truly unique entry that delivers a rare insider’s view of what it’s like in a nursing home. of David Eastman; it’s also an astute analysis of courtroom theatre by an eagle-eyed It’s beautifully written, with empathy for its cast of characters. Mick Barnes’s writing is observer of Eastman’s remarkable 2018 retrial and eventual acquittal. a captivating insight into a vibrant and connected mind. This story will stay with you.

congratulations TO THE 2019 WALKLEY AWARD FINALISTS AND WINNERS

WHERE AUSTRALIA CONNECTS

54 Walkley Yearbook 2019 Walkley Yearbook 2019 55 2019 WALKLEY AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM COVERAGE OF COVERAGE OF INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY AFFAIRS AND REGIONAL AFFAIRS

“The Killing Times” is a confronting, compelling and evolving digital series about DIRTY DEEDS For years millions of litres of toxic waste, collected from around Australia, was secretly THE KILLING TIMES a highly important chapter in our history. A collaboration between Guardian Australia pumped into creeks or dumped on the ground. The perpetrator was one of the and the University of Newcastle’s Colonial Frontier Massacres research team, the Donna Page and Nick Bielby Hunter region’s biggest industrial firms and, until got involved, Lorena Allam, project tells the history of more than a century of armed conflict and resistance along residents were none the wiser. What followed was a superbly researched and executed Guardian Australia Team the expanding colonial frontier. It reveals more than 270 sites where more than six Newcastle Herald investigation that revealed not only the enormous scale of the pollution, but also serious and the University of people were killed, using primary source material, strict methodology and painstaking shortcomings in the environmental watchdog’s handling of the matter. Interviews with research, as well as original reporting on places and people that has not been made more than 40 staff showed the NSW Environment Protection Authority was aware of Newcastle’s Colonial public before. The stories of descendants from all sides were fundamental to the the contamination but failed to act. Frontier Massacres project project, as was the development of a map, searchable by postcode, to show how close Donna Page is an investigative reporter for the Newcastle Herald, where she previously to home these incidents have occurred over time. worked as chief of staff and day editor. Page has also worked at theSouth China Morning Guardian Australia The collaboration is driven by the view that this information is essential to any Post and Portuguese news agency Lusa, based in Macau. Passionate about regional process of truth-telling this country decides to undertake in whatever form that may journalism, she was part of a Newcastle Herald team that won a Walkley Award in the take — on local, regional and national levels. While these stories will be familiar to same category in 2016 and was a finalist in 2013. She also lectures in journalism at academics/historians and Indigenous people, it is likely they are little known in wider The University of Newcastle. society. The user-friendly interactive tool is clear and concise, providing a crucial Nick Bielby is a reporter with the Newcastle Herald. He has been writing for the resource that can be used to teach and inform Australians for years to come. masthead since mid-2017 and has covered a range of subjects, mostly local government and crime. Prior to the Herald, he was a reporter at Southern Highland News JUDGES’ COMMENTS and The Maitland Mercury. A timely work of national significance that will have lasting impact. The interrogation of massacre data has produced a number of stories and will continue to be a foundation JUDGES’ COMMENTS for further stories. The work features forensic research and data journalism, and at its Amid a very strong set of finalists, “Dirty Deeds” stood out for its relentless, thorough heart it is truth-telling. It’s the first time we’ve seen all this information in one place, with investigation; this was determined local journalism. A meticulously researched public journalistic context pulling together the historical threads. Devastating but important. health story — what a service to the Newcastle community to be so vigorous about it.

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56 Walkley Yearbook 2019 Walkley Yearbook 2019 57 2019 WALKLEY AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM RADIO/AUDIO: RADIO/AUDIO: NEWS & FEATURE CURRENT AFFAIRS

THE SURVIVORS OF ISIS Adam Harvey personalised the chaos and complexity of a story with global THE GHOSTS OF WITTENOOM significance in his reports from Syria. His endeavour to reach the retreating front lines Adam Harvey of the Islamic State landed a series of strong interviews that challenge the listener, Kirsti Melville pushing beyond simple narratives and teasing out the blurred lines between victims AM, ABC Earshot, ABC Radio National and perpetrators. Harvey’s own presence in the story is vital here; his back-and-forth stretches of questioning draw some breathtaking responses and succinctly illustrate the confusing logic at the heart of the defunct “caliphate”. Including a lengthy pause and a sigh from Harvey in a short news piece was a particularly bold editing decision, but the sequence powerfully encapsulates the frustrations felt by those on the ground looking for a resolution to an enormous problem. Adam Harvey is the ABC’s Middle East correspondent, based in Beirut. Before that he lived in Jakarta, covering Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia for the ABC. His first job in broadcast media was at Sky News and he has worked in print media for The Daily Telegraph, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Irish Times and Dublin’s Evening Herald. He was also New York correspondent for News Limited. This is his second Walkley Award.

JUDGES’ COMMENTS Adam Harvey got himself into an extraordinary position to tell extraordinary stories. This is radio with incredible access and immediacy, strong in-the-field reporting and considered editing. He asked questions other journalists often shy away from, delivering a well-rounded portrayal through illuminating interviews with prisoners and Islamic State — voices you don’t hear from often. It’s fascinating to hear.

From top: A truck carries The blue asbestos mine in Wittenoom, Western Australia, closed in 1966, but its asbestos from Wittenoom deadly legacy lives on. The owners walked away, leaving three million tonnes of to the port at Point Samson asbestos tailings. Fifty years later, the Aboriginal people of the Pilbara have the highest in Western Australia’s mortality rate from mesothelioma of any group, anywhere in the world. Numerous Pilbara region; Maitland committees and reports from the Western Australian Government have warned of Parker at the entry to the the extreme risk to tourists and traditional owners, but no government has been old Yampire Gorge Road willing to commit to the dangerous and expensive operation of cleaning up the site. in Karijini National Park. “The Ghosts of Wittenoom” broke the news that the Banjima people are THERE HAS NEVER BEEN considering legal action against the WA Government for its failure to provide safe access to their native title land. The story prompted ongoing media coverage and renewed negotiations between the government, industry and traditional owners A MORE IMPORTANT TIME about cleaning up the asbestos tailings. -based Kirsti Melville is an award-winning documentary producer with ABC TO KNOW THE STORY RN’s Earshot and The History Listen. Her love for audio storytelling is driven by a strong sense of social justice, a desire to pick apart the complexities of human relationships, and the beauty of working with the nuance of voice and sound. This is Melville’s first Walkley Award.

JUDGES’ COMMENTS “The Ghosts of Wittenoom” does what only audio can do: bring everything to life. It juxtaposes the viewpoints of different people and amplifies under-reported voices.

58 Walkley Yearbook 2019 Walkley Yearbook 2019 59 2019 WALKLEY AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM SPORT PHOTOGRAPHY SPORTS JOURNALISM CAUGHT OUT: CRICKET’S INFLATED INVICTUS GAMES 2018 PLAYING NUMBERS REVEALED Craig Golding Nikon is a proud supporter of the Malcolm Knox and Nigel Gladstone AAP Walkley Award for Sport Photography and congratulates this year’s winner. The Sun-Herald

The Invictus Games were founded by HRH The Duke of Sussex in 2014 as an international adaptive sports event celebrating the healing power of sport. Photographer Craig Golding shot the fourth Invictus Games, held in Sydney in October 2018, in black and white. His series shows former military servicemen and women, who lost their limbs in war, competing in elite sports and culminates in a shot that sums up the whole background to these games: an able-bodied soldier walking offstage while the victor crawls behind, wearing a medal and his country’s flag over his shoulders. Golding’s work combines graphic action and composition with raw human emotion. The series of images uses masterly editing to tell a compelling story, starting, in the judges’ words, “a conversation beyond the content of the frame”. Craig Golding started at The Sydney Morning Herald in 1985, photographing news and sport in Australia and overseas. He has covered international sporting events, including Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games and the Rugby World Cup. In 2008, he left the Herald to pursue a freelance career. Golding has won more than 75 national awards for his photography and more than 45 international awards, including six World Press Photo awards. This is his second Walkley Award; he also won this category in 2007.

JUDGES’ COMMENTS Craig Golding presents a body of work that shows the skills of a visual storyteller. His series demonstrates his skill in observation and composition, all while working at a fast- paced event. The black-and-white treatment reduces noise and strengthens the story. Golding captures moments that Malcolm Knox and Nigel Gladstone set out to investigate rumours that Cricket provoke a conversation and are never contrived. Powerful. Australia’s participation figures — a record 1.65 million in 2019 — were inflated. They spent more than 250 hours crosschecking CA’s open-source database against numbers from 14,500 clubs across Australia, establishing that there were fewer than 250,000 individual players, while CA claimed nearly 700,000 club cricketers. Within days of their reporting, CEO Kevin Roberts acknowledged in a letter to stakeholders that CA had failed club cricket by not addressing its decline and undertook to meet the community’s concerns. CA promised to improve its data collection and reporting Clockwise from top left: and next year publish the number of unique cricketers in Australia. Mark Ormrod of the United Malcolm Knox has worked for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Sun-Herald since Kingdom climbs onto the 1994 in various roles, including literary editor, investigations reporter, chief cricket blocks, ready to compete in writer and assistant sports editor. Since 2011, he has been a sports columnist. Knox is the swimming event at the also the author of 21 books of fiction and nonfiction. This is his third Walkley Award. Invictus Games Sydney on Nigel Gladstone started his journalism career at the Manly Daily as an intern in October 24 2018; Ormrod, 2012 and worked across Sydney at local newspapers such as the North Shore Times, who lost his right arm and Blacktown Advocate and Inner West Courier. After starting as a part-time data journalist for both legs in Afghanistan, New Corp’s NewsLocal group of newspapers in 2015, Gladstone joined The Sydney dives into the pool; Mark Morning Herald in 2017 as a data journalist covering health, education, city planning, Ormrod makes his way from the environment, the economy, politics and sport. the podium after winning gold for swimming, October JUDGES’ COMMENTS 24, 2018; action from the This story had real impact. It was told using a range of reporting methods, including wheelchair basketball event meticulous research, data visualisation, an interactive widget, colour and analysis. It between New Zealand and forced Cricket Australia to acknowledge an issue it “overlooked” to protect commercial the UK on October 27, 2018. and government relationships, ultimately failing its own club cricket stakeholders.

60 Walkley Yearbook 2019 Walkley Yearbook 2019 61 2019 WALKLEY AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM PRODUCTION NEWS PHOTOGRAPHY Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie enters Parliament House following a smoking ceremony to mark the opening of the 46th Parliament.

THE IBRAHIM TAPES The paper wanted to make a splash with a big story but had already used all the THE SECOND COMING Matt Roberts was covering the opening of the 46th Parliament when he decided to pictures it had of Sydney night-life figure John Ibrahim and his complicated family. OF SENATOR LAMBIE focus on Jacqui Lambie as one of the decisive votes on the newly returned Morrison Fadzil Hamzah Faced with the task of creating something from almost nothing, Fadzil Hamzah Government’s tax-cut plan. An Indigenous smoking ceremony outside Parliament drew out highlights from audio recordings meant for podcasts and had the idea to House created rare lighting conditions inside the Marble Foyer. The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph Matt Roberts visualise them in a Frank Miller-inspired graphic novel, noir-style. He illustrated the The resulting image is an iconic single shot as Roberts captures Lambie returning to key players with a monochrome palette, then brought them to life with animation, ABC Parliament like a prize-fighter walking into the ring for a rematch. It’s an extraordinarily sound effects and a musical score. dynamic image, contrasting her determined stance with the frenetic press gallery The resulting work made a complex story accessible and interactive for a broad workers throwing questions from the sidelines. audience. It was one of the website’s most highly subscribed multimedia packages, Matt Roberts began his career as a sound operator in 2007 and has become one of accessed by large online audiences from as far afield as the Middle East. From idea the ABC’s most experienced camera operators in the press gallery. Roberts is now to storyboard to publication, it took Hamzah just a week and three days to create. training staff and shaping the ABC’s broader venture into still photography. Fadzil Hamzah is an award-winning infographics journalist. He began his career with Reuters Singapore and later worked for 12 years at Singapore Press Holdings as JUDGES’ COMMENTS executive infographics journalist for The New Paper. In 2016, he returned to Sydney A cinematic image and a strong frame showing good observation and anticipation. and joined The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph, where he formed, trained and Matt Roberts positioned himself well, capturing the smoke and shafts of light that led the digital art team. This is his first Walkley Award. give the backlit effect and add to the drama. It tells the story of the second coming, the resurrection. Jacqui Lambie’s demeanour is one of control and determination, JUDGES’ COMMENTS while the frantic press corp makes the picture. Every person in the frame has With limited resources and a short lead time, Fadzil Hamzah executed a great idea a wonderful expression on their face. brilliantly. The interactive reached a broad audience, giving readers great insight into a complicated story.

Congratulations! to the 2019 Walkley Award winners and finalists

AWARD

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62 Walkley Yearbook 2019 Walkley Yearbook 2019 63 2019 WALKLEY AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM BUSINESS JOURNALISM SCOOP OF THE YEAR

CROWN UNMASKED Two years of investigation and source cultivation went into this joint production, the first HOW TO SELL A MASSACRE This report was the result of a three-year undercover investigation, and its impact was by 60 Minutes, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. After obtaining tens of thousands significant and immediate. Al Jazeera producer Peter Charley constructed a pro-gun Nick McKenzie, of documents and internal files from Crown, investigative reporter Nick McKenzie and Al Jazeera Investigations Unit organisation, Gun Rights Australia, and appointed Rodger Muller as its “founder producer Grace Tobin interwove the data with interviews and film techniques to create and president” in an effort to infiltrate the National Rifle Association in the United Nick Toscano Al Jazeera Media Network an engaging television piece about one of the country’s most powerful companies. States. Muller used concealed cameras to film meetings within the US gun lobby and Grace Tobin The impact of “Crown Unmasked” has been significant and ongoing: the group. Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party was shown to have sought up to $20million The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald Attorney-General ordered the federal corruption watchdog to probe Crown’s abuse from the gun lobby and to have indicated that, in return, it would do its best to water and 60 Minutes, Nine of the visa system; the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission announced down Australia’s gun laws. a multi-agency probe; Victoria Police launched two inquiries; and the Victorian gaming Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit was founded in 2011 and since then its documentaries minister ordered the state regulator to launch an inquiry. have won more than 30 international awards. Executive producer Peter Charley Nick McKenzie is an investigative reporter with The Age and The Sydney Morning formerly worked for The Sydney Morning Herald and SBS, and edited the ABC’s . Herald. A journalist since 2002, he has worked with teams from Four Corners and 7.30 Charley was a joint winner of the 2000 Walkley Award for International Journalism. to broadcast major investigations. This is McKenzie’s eighth Walkley Award. He reported “How to Sell a Massacre” and produced it alongside Claudianna Blanco; Nick Toscano is a business journalist with The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. the editor was Brisbane resident Adrian Billing. KENZIE, GRACE TOBIN AND NICK TOSCANO NICK AND TOBIN GRACE KENZIE,

He won the 2017 Grant Hattam Quill for Investigative Journalism and is the author c of The Woman Who Fooled the World. This is his third Walkley Award. JUDGES’ COMMENTS Grace Tobin joined 60 Minutes in 2013, after working as a reporter in regional A great sting that had impact on several fronts, both in Australia and in the US with Queensland for the WIN Network and Seven Local News. She won a Walkley in 2017 the revelations about the NRA. Three years of work, then that investigation went off (with Tara Brown and Sean Power) and is the author of Deal with the Devil. like a gunshot. Some critics were uncomfortable with producer Peter Charley’s use of hidden cameras and the subterfuge involved in nailing down the story. The judges JUDGES’ COMMENTS acknowledged these concerns but felt there was an overriding public interest in the “Crown Unmasked” combined bravery in taking on one of Australia’s most powerful report, which could not have been told effectively any other way. The ramifications

business dynasties with skill in reporting and presenting a complex investigation. M NICK LEFT: TOP FROM CLOCKWISE BLANCO, CLAUDIANNA AND BILLING ADRIAN MULLER; RODGER CHARLEY; PETER LEFT: TOP FROM CLOCKWISE were immense and the public interest undeniable.

64 Walkley Yearbook 2019 Walkley Yearbook 2019 65 2019 WALKLEY AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM PHOTOGRAPHIC ESSAY

THE END OF THE CALIPHATE After months of fighting, the Kurdish-led and American-backed Syrian Democratic Forces declared, on March 23 2019, the “100 per cent territorial defeat” of the self- Chris McGrath styled Islamic State. The group once held vast areas across Syria and Iraq, controlling Getty Images a population of up to 12 million in a “caliphate” that drew tens of thousands of foreign nationals to join its ranks. Chris McGrath’s images show masterly use of composition, natural light and range of angles. His photographic essay is of stunning quality, edited to explore how daily life continues amid the devastation of the conflict. Alongside brutal images of death and destruction are glimpses of everyday lives: kids selling cigarettes, a brass band looking miserable, women and children fleeing.

JUDGES’ COMMENTS An extremely strong body of work; raw and emotive. Chris McGrath captures the scale of war, and the different groups of people affected, with painterly use of natural light. The composition is artistic and the details are human and memorable.

Clockwise from above: Syrian boys sell cigarettes on the roadside; civilians arrive at a Syrian Democratic Forces position on the outskirts of Baghouz, Syria, on February 12 2019, after walking hours to flee fighting; an SDF fighter walks down an empty street amid the destruction in Al-Susah, Syria; civilians who have fled Baghouz board trucks Nikon is a proud supporter of the after being screened by the SDF on February 9 2019; people stand amid rubble on a Walkley Award for Photographic Essay street in Hajin, Syria; SDF members occupy a building near the front line in Baghouz. and congratulates this year’s winner.

66 Walkley Yearbook 2019 Walkley Yearbook 2019 67 2019 WALKLEY AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM TV/VIDEO: TV/VIDEO: CAMERAWORK NEWS REPORTING

SYDNEY STABBING With most news events, the cameraman goes to the story. But this story came to SYDNEY STABBING RAMPAGE It was the biggest TV story of the year, and owned it on the day and in Paul Walker, in the most dramatic way. Walker and crime reporter Andrew Denney the days that followed. With the crime unfolding before them, skilled camera operator Paul Walker were stuck in city traffic, returning from another story, when a man ran past, bloodied Seven News Sydney Team Paul Walker and reporter Andrew Denney seized the moment. They captured the and waving a knife. Walker grabbed his Sony PXW-X400 camera and joined the chase, Seven News Sydney distressing event in all its rawness, including exclusive on-the-scene interviews with Seven News filming as he went, to capture this extraordinary footage. He followed the pursuit for the men who stopped the attacker. six minutes until the attacker was subdued by city workers and firefighters. Then he Including Mark Ferguson, the team was on air within minutes, from used a GoPro camera to film the attacker inside a NSW Police caged truck. the scene. In what became three hours of rolling coverage, senior crime reporter Walker is a senior cameraman with Seven News. In his 35-year career, he has Robert Ovadia worked contacts to get facts from investigators. Reporters Bryan chased stories all over the globe, including conflicts in Fiji, Israel, Iraq and Afghanistan, Seymour and Cameron Price were quick to the scene and first to report that a young catastrophic weather, royal weddings and even the Backstreet Boys. This is his first woman had been murdered in the rampage and another woman stabbed in the street. Walkley Award. Chief correspondent was able to allay speculation by confirming it was not a terrorist attack and later tracked down key witnesses. JUDGES’ COMMENTS In the days that followed, the Seven News team continued to lead with exclusives, It’s a once-in-a-lifetime story that would be the high point of most people’s careers, including CCTV vision of the attacker during his rampage and the failure of mental and Paul Walker was right there to get the footage everyone wanted. Luck might have health services to treat the offender in the days before the attack. played a part, but he had seconds to react and every instinct in his body was spot-on. He was decisive in picking the camera gear he needed and shot with presence of JUDGES’ COMMENTS mind and steadiness amid the adrenaline, unable to know the full extent of the Channel Seven’s coverage of the Sydney stabbing incident is an excellent example of danger. The pictures and reactions were amazing and he was extraordinarily brave. gripping news reporting. The entry demonstrated the team had the skill and dedication to take the story beyond the headlines. No other coverage could match it.

Paul Walker Seven News

68 Walkley Yearbook 2019 Walkley Yearbook 2019 69 2019 WALKLEY AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM TV/VIDEO: CURRENT AFFAIRS SHORT TV/VIDEO: CURRENT AFFAIRS LONG (LESS THAN 20 MINUTES) (MORE THAN 20 MINUTES)

ALL HAIL THE ALGORITHM Ali Rae filmed, edited, produced and presented the series “All Hail the Algorithm” for ORPHANS OF ISIS Suzanne Dredge has been a producer with ABC Investigations for eight years. Prior to Al Jazeera English, with the aim of helping audiences understand algorithms as this, she worked at Koori Radio in Sydney. This is her second Walkley Award. Ali Rae a part of our modern infrastructure. Suzanne Dredge, Dylan Welch is a reporter for ABC Investigations. Previously, he was a journalist The series tackled some big challenges in making complex content accessible and at 7.30, chief correspondent in Afghanistan for Reuters and national security Al Jazeera English Dylan Welch, engaging for TV and online audiences. How do you film a story that makes the correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. This is his first Walkley Award. invisible visible? Rae filmed all the interviews herself and used a DJI Osmo camera David Maguire and David Maguire is an award-winning cinematographer with more than 30 years’ to shoot pieces to camera in a vlogger style, breaking down the barriers between Janine Cohen experience as a director of photography in documentaries, drama, reality TV and presenter and audience. She also worked with an animator to present abstract film. He has most recently worked with Four Corners and ABC Investigations in Syria. concepts clearly in visual form. Four Corners, ABC TV Janine Cohen has helped create hundreds of Four Corners episodes over 25 years with Ali Rae is a multimedia journalist and filmmaker at Al Jazeera English. She has the show. She produced the Walkley Award-winning “Who Killed Mr Ward?” (2009). covered stories in Latin America, Southern Africa and the Middle East. Rae is the presenter of “All Hail the Algorithm”, a five-part series exploring the impact of JUDGES’ COMMENTS algorithms, biometrics and big data on our everyday lives. “Orphans of ISIS” was a genuine scoop that used exclusive access and footage to document a desperate journey. The fact these orphans were eventually rescued and JUDGES’ COMMENTS allowed to return to Australia is testament to the story’s impact. An expertly crafted series that explained very complex issues in an engaging and informative way. The use of animations and graphics, and the way Ali Rae delivered her pieces to camera using an Osmo camera in a “selfie” style, made the stories accessible and interesting to a wide audience. Rae managed to bring together complex and apparently disparate topics into a global perspective for maximum impact — clear storytelling revealing her deep investigation into the world of the algorithm. DYLAN WELCH, JANINE COHEN AND DAVID MAGUIRE DAVID AND COHEN JANINE WELCH, DYLAN DREDGE, SUZANNE LEFT: TOP FROM CLOCKWISE

Ali Rae

70 Walkley Yearbook 2019 Walkley Yearbook 2019 71 2019 WALKLEY AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM COMMENTARY, CARTOON & ANALYSIS, ARTWORK OPINION AND CRITIQUE

THE FRANT Recognising that social media is where younger audiences get their news, Jan Fran CHRISTCHURCH FERN Pat Campbell had already drawn an editorial cartoon on the day of the Christchurch created “The Frant” as an online opinion and analysis series that lives on the internet. mosque massacre, Friday March 15. But thinking ahead to his Monday cartoon, Jan Fran It tackles social and political issues with a deft mix of research and comic timing, Pat Campbell he was struck with an idea. He chose the silver fern as a symbol of New Zealand and aimed at an engaged millennial audience. For these videos, often turned around replaced the individual pinnae of the frond with silhouettes of people. The Feed, SBS VICELAND and The Canberra Times associated social media channels within a single day, she is the sole writer and also directs performance, delivery, pace, Campbell described his process: “The image evolved to depict all of the victims visuals, graphics, framing, music and the overall edit. in peaceful stages of prayer. Initially, I drew 49 silhouettes to represent each of the In her entry, Fran’s three pieces tackle the gender pay gap, the merit myth, and victims and to provide a visual depiction of the number of dead. When a further biased reporting after the Christchurch massacre. The latter was viewed five million victim died from their wounds, I added an additional figure to the image.” Another times on social media. person has since died and Campbell plans to present a revised image recognising Jan Fran is an award-winning journalist and TV presenter best known for hosting this in March 2020. The illustration went viral on social media, shared extensively The Feed on SBS VICELAND, Medicine or Myth? on SBS, The Project on Network Ten around the world and throughout Islamic communities, and Campbell was contacted and the podcasts Sexism and the City and The Few Who Do. Fran has shot and produced by international media organisations for comment. documentaries from all over the world for TV networks and brands and has appeared Pat Campbell is a cartoonist and illustrator who has worked for The Canberra Times, as a commentator on Q&A, , , Studio 10, The Latest, Fairfax Media and Australian Community Media for more than 20 years. Campbell The Today Show, Insiders, The Drum and Triple J’s Hack. has won seven Stanley Awards and the Bill Mitchell Memorial Award. This is his second Walkley Award; he won the Cartoon category in 2013. JUDGES’ COMMENTS Smart, original and brave commentary. Jan Fran’s online opinion videos, known as JUDGES’ COMMENTS “The Frant”, are original, engaging and daring. She has met her audience of engaged The sombre simplicity of this complex drawing is striking and it’s a stunning tribute young people where they live — on social media — and is arming them with the facts to those lost in Christchurch. Beautiful, simple imagery that’s rich in pathos, every they need to build a better world. It’s thought-provoking and refreshing. detail amplifies the inclusive message of this illustration. No words are needed; the image says everything. An extraordinary work of both art and political commentary.

Jan Fran, The Frant IF A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS, IT’S WORTH PRINTING ON EPSON.

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72 Walkley Yearbook 2019 Walkley Yearbook 2019 73 2019 WALKLEY AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM WALKLEY WALKLEY BOOK DOCUMENTARY AWARD AWARD

ANY ORDINARY DAY As a journalist, Leigh Sales often encounters people experiencing the worst moments THE AUSTRALIAN DREAM The remarkable story of Indigenous AFL player is at the heart of The of their lives in the full glare of the media. In this wise and layered book, Sales Australian Dream. Writer and the filmmaking team use Goodes’ experience Leigh Sales brilliantly intertwines stories of people who have endured unimaginable circumstances Stan Grant as the prism through which to tell a deeper and even more powerful story about race, with in-depth and groundbreaking research into how human beings react — GoodThing Productions, identity and belonging. Reflecting in detail on the 2013, 2014 and 2015 AFL seasons, Penguin Random House Australia and adapt — to change. She combines her journalistic inquiry with reflection on Passion Pictures UK and ABC and the events that led Goodes to leave the game, the documentary asks fundamental a terrifying ordeal of her own in a book that resonates powerfully with readers. questions about the nature of racism and discrimination in society today. Any Ordinary Day has sold more than 100,000 copies in Australia. Stan Grant, a proud Wiradjuri man, has more than 30 years’ experience in radio Leigh Sales AM is the anchor of the ABC’s flagship current affairs program,7.30 , and television news and current affairs. Grant spent 10 years as a senior international and presents the ABC’s federal election and budget-night broadcasts. She has also correspondent for CNN in Asia and the Middle East. He won the 2015 Walkley served as the network’s Washington and national security correspondents. This is Award for Coverage of Indigenous Affairs and his book,Talking to My Country, won the Sales’ third Walkley Award. 2016 Walkley Book Award.

JUDGES’ COMMENTS JUDGES’ COMMENTS In a writing world steeped in memoir, Leigh Sales turned her personal story into The Australian Dream is exceptional because it confronts sports-obsessed white Australia journalism. Any Ordinary Day takes her own traumatic moment as a starting point, with both its overt and subconscious racism. The documentary exposes the context in using it to inform these remarkable conversations about loss, grief, faith, trauma, which white Australians, thinking they were merely barracking robustly for their footy resilience and the simple power of indefatigable humanity. team, were unaware of what had actually influenced their words and actions. Stan Grant’s own profound insights as an Indigenous Australian have helped enable this documentary to confront non-Indigenous Australia with its wilful ignorance. It makes an inspiring contribution to reconciliation.

Banki Haddock Fiora is a proud supporter of The Walkley Foundation CONGRATULATIONS and the work it does TO ALL WALKLEY AWARD WINNERS AND FINALISTS promoting excellence in journalism. From the NSW Government, proud partner of the 2019 Walkley Awards in New South Wales.

74 Walkley Yearbook 2019 Walkley Yearbook 2019 75 2019 WALKLEY AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM

ue Spencer’s career embodies an Always committed to the finest traditions of revelatory enduring commitment to truth, journalism, Spencer has been a tenacious leader but also rigour, integrity and fairness over a lifetime in journalism. an inspiring mentor. She has been a talent-spotter, Her years as executive producer of the ABC flagship building the careers of young journalists and supporting Four Corners, from October 2007 to March 2015, produced the transition of print journalists to television. She story after story challenging entrenched power. When she ensured Four Corners was in powerhouse form when she retired as EP, Spencer had led the program for seven-and- passed the baton in 2015. a-half years that can only be described as a golden period of But this is only part of her story. As a documentary maker, investigative journalism, recognised with 15 Walkley Awards, Spencer pioneered a new form of political journalism, including three Gold Walkleys, and five Logie Awards. producing and directing the groundbreaking 1993 ABC Under Spencer, Four Corners delivered some of the most series Labor in Power with Philip Chubb. Drawing back groundbreaking journalism in its history, including programs the veil on Labor treachery “in their own words”, it won the Left: Sue Spencer on on immigration, sexual abuse, Aboriginal deaths in custody, Gold Walkley. In 2008, Spencer conceived and executive- the set of Exposed: the live cattle trade and myriad miscarriages of justice. produced the sequel, The Howard Years. The Case of Keli She led the program in its exposés of shocking practices In 2015, she was the EP and driving force behind the Lane in 2018. From in the banking industry, leading to the Hayne Royal lacerating saga The Killing Season, which analysed the turmoil top: Spencer, with Commission. She also oversaw the greyhound racing of the Rudd and Gillard Labor governments. This trilogy British High exposé, sparking multiple inquiries, leading to hundreds won the Logie for Most Outstanding Public Affairs Report MOST OUTSTANDING Commissioner of criminal charges. and the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Alastair Goodlad Starting out as a researcher, then producer, at Four Corners Award for Best Documentary Series. CONTRIBUTION TO JOURNALISM (left) and ABC in 1985, Spencer built a career that was a masterclass in In 2018, Spencer produced Exposed: The Case of Keli Lane, chairman Donald uncompromising journalism. As a producer in the , again showcasing new techniques. The three-part series was McDonald in 2000, she worked on stories ranging from the blue asbestos mine nominated for a Logie and two AACTAs and was the first Sue Spencer was awarded the in Wittenoom to exposés on . ABC program to be nominated at the international Content UK’s Chevening From her earliest days, Spencer never shied away from Innovation Awards. Scholarship; the fearless journalism, shining a light into the darkest corners As a woman in a world once dominated by male Exposed team (from of power. Behind an unassuming personal style — and producers, Sue Spencer has broken through every barrier left) Susan Cardwell, always shunning the limelight herself — she epitomises while maintaining the highest ethics as a leader and program Elise Worthington, hard-driving reporting. She is a top-flight journalist in every maker. A standard-bearer for the axiom “speaking truth to Caro Meldrum-Hanna way, often personally obtaining raw material for some of power”, she has had an enormous impact on our industry. and Spencer. PHOTOS: BEN LAWRENCE AND ABC ARCHIVES BEN LAWRENCE PHOTOS: Four Corners’ most confronting programs. Her contribution to journalism is truly outstanding.

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Congratulations TO ALL THE FINALISTS AND WINNERS To the winners and finalists OF THE 2019 WALKLEY AWARDS of the 2019 Walkley Awards

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76 Walkley Yearbook 2019 Walkley Yearbook 2019 77 2019 WALKLEY AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM ALL THAT GLITTERS MORE THAN 40 YEARS OF GOLD WALKLEY WINNERS

1978 Catherine Martin 1993 Philip Chubb and Sue Spencer 2007 Hedley Thomas The West Australian ABC TV The Australian 1979 Ron Tandberg 1994 Peter McEvoy 2008 Ross Coulthart and Nick Farrow The Age ABC Radio National Sunday 1980 Leslie Grant Heading 1995 David Bentley 2009 Gary Hughes ABC Hobart The Courier-Mail The Australian 1981 John Lewis 1996 Peter Hartcher 2010 The Newcastle Herald The Australian Financial Review Nine Network 1982 Kerry O’Brien 1997 Mary-Louise O’Callaghan 2011 Sarah Ferguson, Michael Doyle CONGRATULATIONS ATN Channel 7 The Australian and Anne Worthington 1983 and Alan Hall 1998 Pamela Williams Four Corners, ABC TV TO ALL WALKLEY AWARD WINNERS AND FINALISTS Four Corners, ABC TV The Australian Financial Review 2012 Steve Pennells 1984 Jan Mayman 1999 Richard Ackland, Deborah The West Australian Freelance Richards and Anne Connolly 2013 Joanne McCarthy 1985 Media Watch, ABC TV Newcastle Herald and Bruce Belsham 2000 2014 Adele Ferguson, Deb Masters Four Corners, ABC TV Dateline, SBS TV and Mario Christodoulou From the NSW Government, proud partner of the 2019 Walkley Awards in 1986 Ron Tandberg 2001 Andrew Rule Four Corners and Fairfax Media New South Wales. The Age The Age 2015 Caro Meldrum-Hanna, Sam Clark 1987 2002 Anne Davies and Kate McClymont and Max Murch

The Courier-Mail The Sydney Morning Herald Four Corners, ABC TV 1988 Norman Swan 2003 Richard Moran 2016 Andrew Quilty

ABC National Nine News Freelance/Foreign Policy 1989 Alan Tate and Paul Bailey 2004 Neil Chenoweth, Shraga Elam, 2017 Michael Bachelard and Kate Geraghty The Sydney Morning Herald Colleen Ryan, Andrew Main Fairfax Media 1990 Janet Hawley and Rosemarie Graffagnini 2018 Hedley Thomas and Slade Gibson Good Weekend The Australian Financial Review The Australian 1991 Monica Attard 2005 Tim Palmer 2019 Anthony Dowsley ABC ABC Radio and Patrick Carlyon 2006 , Lin Buckfield 1992 Jenny Brockie Herald Sun and Peter Cronau ABC TV Four Corners, ABC TV

1978 1982

2017 1982 1991 1979

2016 2015 2008 1985

Walkley Yearbook 2019 Walkley Yearbook 2019 78 Cast & Crew of ABC’s Employable Me 2. Image: Jeremy Simon © Northern Pictures 79 SUPPORTING PRESS FREEDOMS NOW. ENABLING RETIREMENT FREEDOMS TOMORROW.

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