Investigative journalist Charlotte Grieve and media lawyer Dean Levitan discuss the first successful use of the new public interest defence to defamation. Charlotte and other Nine journalists were sued by high-profile orthopaedic surgeon Dr Munjed Al Muderis over stories about his patient care. A Federal Court judge concluded the stories were in the public interest and dismissed the case. The surgeon has appealed in a case that will further test a defence that could boost investigative journalism in Australia.
Indie Watchdogs - Claire Stuchbery
Indie Watchdogs - Michael West
Indie Watchdogs - Richard Baker
Indie Watchdogs - Anthony Klan
Indie Watchdogs - Wendy Bacon
Indie Watchdogs - Bob Burton Tasmanian Inquirer
Indie Watchdogs - Bill Birnbauer - Intro
Peter Bartlett is one of the most experienced media lawyers in Australia. He has acted for the media against defamation writs, demands to reveal sources and suppression orders. Bartlett has been involved in some of the most controversial stories published in the past 50 years. He is a mighty advocate for the public’s right to know and free speech.
Hedley Thomas’s journalism has a huge impact, often resulting in charges, inquiries and reforms. He has a unique style of in-depth immersion aimed at finding justice, most recently, for the relatives of unsolved murder cases.
Thomas, a multi-award-winning journalist, moved from print journalism to producing investigative podcast series that have achieved record audience numbers. The Teacher’s Pet, Shandee’s Story, The Night Driver and Bronwyn have attracted more than 100 million downloads.
Adele Ferguson has exposed deceptions, scams and heartless profiteering by financial institutions and weak oversight by the nation’s regulators. Her work has led to hundreds of millions of dollars being refunded to bank customers and ripped-off workers, as well as a Royal Commission and other inquiries.
She has won more than 50 key journalism and other awards including the Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year, the top prize in the Walkley, Quill and Kennedy awards, a Logie, and was made a Member of the Order of Australia for her services to journalism.
As an investigative reporter on The Age, Nick McKenzie has covered the local Mafia, allegations of war crimes, Crown casino’s links to criminal figures, political donations by Chinese interests, national security issues, foreign bribery by Reserve Bank and other companies, and much more.
The award-winning journalist’s work also is published in The Sydney Morning Herald, and his investigations have aired on the ABC’s Four Corners and Nine’s 60 Minutes.
Bob Bottom risked his life fighting organised crime as a journalist, a source to other journalists and as an advocate for the creation of federal and state crime-busting commissions. In a role that is unique in Australian journalism, he often acted as a conduit between police intelligence units and reporters, exposing the Mr Bigs of the criminal underworld.
Michael West is an investigative journalist who focuses on the rising power of corporations over democracy. He is best known for investigations into multinational tax avoidance by some of the world’s biggest companies, and exposing the influence of corporations on government policy. After eight years as a columnist and investigative reporter with The Australian and a similar stretch at the Sydney Morning Herald as a journalist and editor, West founded Michael West Media, which investigates tax avoiders, financial markets and the banking and energy sectors. His website attracts more than half a million views a month.
Chris Masters reported about 100 episodes for the ABC’s Four Corners, exposing corruption and criminal behaviour at the highest levels of politics, the judiciary and police.
His reporting withstood waves of litigation and the test of time. Multi-award-winning and highly honoured, Masters is one of the giants of Australian investigative journalism.
Gerard Ryle led worldwide teams of journalists who worked on investigations such as Offshore Leaks, the Panama Papers, Paradise Papers and Implant Files, producing the biggest cross-border collaborations in journalism history.
Their award-winning stories helped bring about the downfall of three world leaders – the prime ministers of Pakistan, Iceland and Malta – and prompted government inquiries and legislative reform in more than 70 countries.
David Wilson led The Age’s Insight investigative team for a decade and was one of the first journalists in Australia to build vast databases of information that enabled him to expose dozens of criminals and organised crime figures.
Wilson helped reveal corrupt land deals in Victoria in 1970s and early 1980s, claiming the scalps of two state ministers and jail for a senior official. A series known as The Age Tapes in 1984 led to a controversial political-judicial crisis that reverberated for years, embroiling a High Court judge and sparking numerous inquiries including a Royal Commission.
As executive producer of the ABC’s Four Corners, Australia’s premier investigative reporting program, Sally Neighbour continues a long tradition of award-winning exposés of injustice, corruption, and abuse of power. As a reporter, Neighbour dug deeply into the untold stories behind Islamic terrorism.
While editing The National Times, Brian Toohey published some of the most controversial and bold investigative journalism of the 1980s. As a reporter and author, he broke numerous stories about national security and politics, regularly receiving leaks that enraged and embarrassed politicians and governments.
Richard Baker is a multi-award-winning investigative journalist and podcaster at The Age. He has exposed a broad range of issues including the payment of bribes to foreign officials by subsidiaries of the Reserve Bank of Australia, and Chinese influence in Australian politics. His podcasts have explored the death of a young woman in a garbage chute, the suspected murder of an Indigenous couple, and a bungled heroin smuggling operation. A skilled listener, thoughtful and curious, he has delved deeply into stories that might otherwise not have been told.