The Gold Walkley is the major award of the Walkley Awards for Australian journalism. It is chosen by the Walkley Advisory Board from the winners of all the other categories (excluding the Journalism Leadership and Most Outstanding Contribution to Journalism awards). It has been awarded annually since 1978.
List of award winners Order Year Recipient(s) Program / Title Location / Publisher Story / Issue Reference 1. 1978 Catherine Martin The West Australian Perth The impact of asbestosrelated diseases on the mining community in Wittenoom Gorge 2. 1979 Ron Tandberg The Age Melbourne Cartoon: The public and the real Malcolm Fraser 3. 1980 Leslie Grant Heading ABC Hobart 1980 Ash Wednesday bushfires 4. 1981 John Lewis Newcastle Herald Attempted takeover of NBN Television. (10 October 1981) Journalism award to two staff members, The Canberra Times. Retrieved 8 April 2019. 5. 1982 Kerry O'Brien ATN Channel 7 Sydney Circle of Poison, an investigation into adverse health affects arising from the usage of popular chemicals in Australia 6. 1983 Mary Delahunty and Alan Hall Four Corners ABC TV 7. 1984 Jan Mayman The Age Melbourne (freelance) Death of John Pat, a 16-year-old Aboriginal Australian youth who died in police custody 8. 1985 Chris Masters and Bruce Belsham Four Corners ABC TV Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior 9. 1986 Ron Tandberg The Age Melbourne Cartoon highlighting the demarcation dispute between Bob Hawke and Paul Keating 10. 1987 Phil Dickie The Courier-Mail Brisbane Corruption in the Queensland Police Service which led to the Fitzgerald Inquiry 11. 1988 Norman Swan Radio National ABC Radio Allegations of scientific misconduct against Foundation 41 founder William McBride 12. 1989 Alan Tate and Paul Bailey The Sydney Morning Herald Sydney 13. 1990 Janet Hawley The Good Weekend Fairfax Media 14. 1991 Monica Attard ABC Radio 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt 15. 1992 Jenny Brockie ABC TV Cop It Sweet, a documentary investigating the police treatment of Indigenous Australians in Redfern 16. 1993 Phillip Chubb and Sue Spencer ABC TV Labor in Power, a documentary series about the inner workings of a governing political party 17. 1994 Peter McEvoy Radio National ABC Radio Investigation into air safety following the Monarch Airlines disaster, near Young 18. 1995 David Bentley The Courier-Mail Brisbane The Helen Demidenko literary scandal 19. 1996 Peter Hartcher Australian Financial Review 20. 1997 Mary-Louise O'Callaghan The Australian The Sandline Crisis: How the PNG government hired a mercenary group in an effort to crush the Bougainville rebels 21. 1998 Pamela Williams Australian Financial Review A plan to smash a union: The dispute involving Patricks' stevedores questioned the role of the Federal Government and the Maritime Union 22. 1999 Richard Ackland, Deborah Richards and Anne Connolly Media Watch ABC TV Cash for comment: Exposed Alan Jones, John Laws, and Radio 2UE's cash for comment affair 23. 2000 Mark Davis Dateline SBS TV Timor Intelligence: How much Australia's intelligence services knew about the violence surrounding East Timor's independence election 24. 2001 Andrew Rule The Age Melbourne Geoff Clarke: Power and rape: Allegations of sexual abuse by ATSIC chairman Geoff Clarke 25. 2002 Kate McClymont and Anne Davies The Sydney Morning Herald Sydney Bulldogs salary cap scandal: Overpayment of Bulldogs' players led to a corruption inquiry by the NRL 26. 2003 Richard Moran Nine News Nine Network Canberra Bushfires: Filming of the firefighting process of the ACT fires, while still managing to help evacuees 27. 2004 Neil Chenoweth, Shraga Elam, Colleen Ryan, Andrew Main, and Rosemarie Graffagnini Australian Financial Review Rivkin's Swiss Bank Scandal: The unknown business dealings of Rene Rivkin 28. 2005 Tim Palmer ABC Aceh Tsunami and Jakarta Embassy Bomb: Extensive, innovative and courageous coverage of South Asia 29. 2006 Liz Jackson, Lin Buckfield, Peter Cronau Four Corners ABC TV Stoking the Fires: Arming of a civilian militia in East Timor after the country's independence process "Four Corners: Stoking the Fires" 30. 2007 Hedley Thomas The Australian Dr Haneef: Arrest of Gold Coast doctor Muhamed Haneef 31. 2008 Ross Coulthart and Nick Farrow Sunday Nine Network Butcher of Bega: Investigation of a doctor's alleged malpractice and incompetence in 32. 2009 Gary Hughes The Australian The Black Saturday bushfires 33. 2010 Laurie Oakes Nine News Nine Network Labor leaks during the 2010 election campaign 34. 2011 Sarah Ferguson, Michael Doyle and Anne Worthington Four Corners ABC TV A Bloody Business: Cruelty inflicted on Australian cattle exported to Indonesian abattoirs Four Corners: "A Bloody Business" 35. 2012 Steve Pennells The West Australian Perth Coverage of Gina Rinehart's feud with her children and an asylum seeker boat tragedy 36. 2013 Joanne McCarthy Newcastle Herald Sex abuse in the Catholic Church in the Hunter region 37. 2014 Adele Ferguson, Deb Masters and Mario Christodoulo Four Corners ABC TV Banking Bad: Financial planning and advice offered by the Commonwealth Bank and other organisations 38. 2015 Caro Meldrum-Hanna, Sam Clark, Max Murch Four Corners ABC TV Making a Killing: Live baiting in the Australian greyhound industry39. 2016 Andrew Quilty Freelance The Man on the Operating Table 40. 2017 Michael Bachelard and Kate Geraghty The Age Melbourne Surviving IS: Stories of Mosul 41. 2018 Hedley Thomas and Slade Gibson The Australian (podcast) The Teacher's Pet 42. 2019 Anthony Dowsley and Patrick Carlyon Herald Sun Melbourne Lawyer X Informer Scandal43. 2020 Mark Willacy and the ABC Investigations-Four Corners Team Four Corners ABC TV Killing Field: an exposé into alleged Australian war crimes in Afghanistan 44.2021Samantha Maidennews.com.auOpen secret: The Brittany Higgins story45.2022Anne Connolly, Stephanie Zillman and Ali RussellFour CornersABC TVState Control: report on Queensland's Public Guardian and Trustee system46.2023Edmund Tadros and Neil ChenowethAustralian Financial Review"PwC Tax Leaks Scandal'47.2024Nick McKenzie, David Marin-Guzman, Ben Schneiders, Garry McNab, Amelia Ballinger and Reid Butler60 MinutesNine Network"Building Bad"48.2025Adele Ferguson and Chris GillettFour CornersABC TV"Childcare Crisis’ portfolio"
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