2009 Walkley Awards welcome address

Welcome to the 2009 Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism. the Walkleys endure as the pinnace of excellence in journalism in Australia. The Media Alliance has been the proud custodian of the Walkley Awards since 1956. Tonight, once again, we come together to celebrate the very best of our craft.

I’d like to acknowledge the traditional owners of this land, the elders past and present of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation.

I’d alsolike to give an especially warm welcome to June Andrews, representing the family of the late Sir William Gaston Walkley, whose vision we continue to respect tonight as we celebrate those journalists whose work defines the best of what we do:

Journalists who have shone a light into the dark corners of the world, who have scrutinised the powerful and upheld the public’s right to know, journalists whose work has changed a law or made a difference, journalists whose work has shocked us, comforted us, brought us together.

I want to thank all the walkley judges. you are the people whose rigour and professionalism give these awards their prestige. I know that judging Walkley entries can involve months of work but it means that whoever wins a Walkley tonight will know that their work has been judged as excellent by a jury of their peers. so thanks for all your efforts.

I want to thank our partner organisations. The Walkley Foundation is fortunate to enjoy the enthusiastic and generous support of some top-drawer partners who make a night like tonight possible, and we look forward to our relationships growing stronger in years to come.

Both our craft and our industry are undergoing immense change.

There’s a lot to be excited about in that change. As we’ll see tonight, new technology is being enthusiastically taken up by journalists around Australia. it’s helping us tell our stories more vividly, more quickly and to bigger audiences than ever before.

And across the craft, there’s a confidence and a willingness to learn and experiment that’s evident at every level as we adapt the craft of journalism to the future.

At the same time, there is immense uncertainty about who will pay for quality journalism.

This uncertainty has led to upheaval in our industry. we have seen the loss of hundreds of jobs – all of them valued parts of the fabric of our craft.

We all know friends and colleagues whose skills, experience, and wisdom have been lost. Every journalist job that disappears means fewer professionals covering important issues, undermining the public’s right to know. Each redundancy diminishes us as an industry.

there has been some good news this year, in the laws that shape – yet too often restrict – what we do. Most importantly, we’ve seen reform of freedom of information laws at both the national and state levels – and just this afternoon the legislation to create the office of the information commissioner and the freedom of information commissioner was introduced into the parliament. We have fought hard for these changes that promise a greater open-ness in our society. and Now it’s up to us as working journalists to seek to redeem that promise in our work.

Tonight is all about celebrating journalism through the work of those talented, hardworking people that has been judged the finest of the past 12 months.

In recognition of the dynamic and changing nature of our industry, this year we have made several changes to the award categories. We’ve brought in a new category which specifically recognises excellence in online journalism, while scoop of the year and best continuous coverage of a news event have also been designed to encourage online entries.

This review of the awards categories will continue as we enhance the ways in which the Walkley Awards celebrate – and foster – excellence in Australian journalism.

Sometimes journalism comes at a cost, but none so dear as in the Philippines where at least 27 of our colleagues were massacred in the most horrific attack ever on media workers.

The Alliance, through its safety and solidarity appeal, has helped establish a safety office in that country that has long been one of the most dangerous places for journalists. but sadly the targeting of journalists goes on. our thoughts go out to the national union of journalists of the Phillipines and the family and friends of our murdered colleagues. Next week Alliance President Ruth Pollard will lead an international solidarity mission to support the journalists community there as it seeks ways of protecting journalists.

The Arroyo administration must act to end the culture of impunity that allows the murderers of more than 100 journalists since 1986 to go unpunished. and the Australian government must pressure them to act quickly.

Journalists are increasingly being targeted around the world, simply for the work they do. we are overjoyed at the news today that Australian photographer Nigel Brennan and Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout have been released after 15 months in captivity in somalia. we wish them well as they recover from their ordeal.

Tonight, we also mark the continuing campaign for justice for our six colleagues murdered in East Timor in 1975.

This year, there’s been some movement – both in the dramatic representation in the film Balibo and in the report that the Australian Federal Police are – even if belatedly – taking up the report of the NSW Coronor and investigating possible war crimes charges against those responsible.

it’s 34 years since they were murdered. the media alliance has never stopped fighting for justice and there’s a clear message in this that I hope is understood: our union, our journalists’ community, will never let go.