Walkley Foundation announces new Directors and Judging Board appointments

The Walkley Foundation for Excellence in Journalism today announced the appointment of five new board directors, as well as five replacement members of its Walkley Judging Board.

These appointments bring fresh and exciting expertise and perspectives to the Foundation, and include Bridget Brennan, Nadine Garner, Nour Haydar and David Ross, who join the Foundation’s board of directors, alongside new Walkley Judging Board chair Ben Butler.

Journalists Mike Amor, John Paul Janke, Nick Miller, Kirsty Needham and Hugh Riminton also join the cohort of 10 senior journalists who are currently serving on the Walkley Judging Board.

The Foundation’s full board of directors is now: Michael Slezak, Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA) Media Federal President; Kasun Ubayasiri, MEAA Media Vice President; Bridget Brennan, Ben Butler, Nadine Garner, Nour Haydar and David Ross.

MEAA Vice President (media) Bianca Hall, who has served as a director since March 2025 will step down from that role, after helping lead significant reforms. The Walkley Foundation thanks Bianca for her thoughtful contribution to the board and looks forward to her continued involvement as a member of the company.

New directors

Bridget Brennan is a Yorta Yorta and Dja Dja Wurrung woman and co-host of News Breakfast on the ABC. An award-winning journalist and former foreign correspondent, she helped establish the ABC’s first Indigenous Affairs Reporting Team and has spent her career focusing on the stories of women and children.

Nadine Garner is one of Australia’s most celebrated screen and stage performers, with a career spanning more than forty years across all major companies and platforms. A Logie, Helpmann, AFI and Green Room Award winner, she brings to the board a deep commitment to Australian storytelling and is a fierce advocate for the support and funding of Australian creative work.

Nour Haydar is host and senior producer of Guardian Australia‘s award-winning daily news podcast Full Story. A former federal political reporter in the Canberra press gallery, she covered national politics for the ABC from Parliament House across television, radio and digital platforms including News Breakfast and Afternoon Briefing. Nour is committed to improving media coverage and reporting practices around gender-based and state-sanctioned violence.

David Ross is a journalist at The Australian covering business and finance, and has reported on some of Australia’s biggest commercial stories. Before joining The Australian he worked as a freelance journalist writing for local and international publications and at the European Parliament in Brussels. He is a passionate believer in the power of good journalism to inform and engage the public.

New Judging Board chair

Ben Butler is a senior investigative journalist who has worked at newsrooms across Australia, including the ABC, Guardian Australia, the Herald Sun, The Age and The Australian, specialising in the intersection of business and crime.
Investigations he has worked on include exposing the Commonwealth Bank for ripping off term deposit customers, revealing the complex financial engineering used by the owner of the collapsed “sorry business insurer” Aboriginal Community Benefit Fund, as well as the involvement of rich Australians in offshore tax schemes laid out in the Pandora Papers.
He has won two Walkley Awards at last year’s 70th gala event as part of a team reporting on Australia’s childcare crisis, three Melbourne Press Club Quills, two Kennedy Awards and a Citi Award.

New Judging Board members

Mike Amor is one of Australia’s most experienced broadcast journalists and is currently a presenter for Channel Seven Melbourne’s new service, having returned to Australia after 18 years as the network’s United States Bureau Chief.

John Paul Janke is from Wuthathi Country on Eastern Cape York Peninsula and from Mer (Murray) Island in Zenadth Kes (the Torres Strait). John the National Indigenous Affairs Editor at SBS and NITV and in his 9th season as the host of the channel’s flagship Indigenous news and current affairs show The Point. He has also been an ABC Radio Presenter on ABC 666 Canberra and has regular appearances on Insiders (ABC).

Nick Miller is live news editor (mornings) at Guardian Australia. Previous roles include seven years based in the UK as Europe correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, freelance news and features writer and production editor based in New York and arts editor, health editor and state news editor at The Age.

Kirsty Needham is Australia and Pacific Islands correspondent for global news agency Agence France-Presse. Among past roles she was China correspondent in Beijing for the Fairfax newspapers, and won the Walkley Award for Scoop of the Year in 2022 for her reporting on China’s push for Pacific security deals as a Reuters correspondent.

Hugh Riminton is a two-time Walkley winner with more than 40 years as an interviewer, foreign correspondent, political editor and presenter. He has reported from the frontlines of conflicts in some 50 countries, for the Nine Network, CNN and Ten.

Ben Butler and the five new members join the current Judging Board:

Christine Ahern, Nine; Gay Alcorn, Good Weekend Magazine; Tom Dusevic, The Australian; Richard Guilliatt, freelance journalist and author; Julie Lewis, The Sydney Morning Herald; Claire Mackay, ABC; Greg Muller, ABC; Jake Nowakowski, photojournalist, Herald Sun; Melanie Petrinec, The Courier-Mail & Sunday Mail; and Paul Williams, SBS.

Quotes

Michael Slezak, director of the Walkley Foundation, said:
“The Walkley Foundation is the most prestigious organisation that nurtures and celebrates journalistic excellence in Australia. And the Walkley Awards are the jewel in its crown. They are the gold standard for Australian journalism — they recognise the work that holds power to account, tells the stories that matter, and reminds Australians why a free and independent press is worth fighting for. I’m genuinely excited about the team we’ve assembled. Nour, Bridget, Nadine, David and Ben bring incredible depth of experience and a shared passion for the kind of journalism the Walkleys celebrate. I can’t wait to get to work with them.”

Erin Madeley, Chief Executive of MEAA, said:
“MEAA has been the backbone of the Walkley Awards since they started more than seven decades ago, created the Walkley Foundation, and as its ongoing custodian remains as committed as ever to its mission. Journalistic freedom and the conditions that allow journalistic excellence are fundamental rights at work for journalists. These appointments reflect the breadth and diversity of Australian journalism and storytelling today — from investigative reporting to screen and performance, from podcasting to foreign reporting. The Foundation is in excellent hands and the best is ahead of it.”

Shona Martyn, Chief Executive of the Walkley Foundation, said:
“The Walkley Foundation exists to celebrate and sustain excellence in Australian journalism, and that work has never been more important. I’m delighted to welcome such a talented and committed group of people to our board of directors and Judging Board. Their combined experience across every corner of the Australian media landscape will be invaluable as we look ahead to the 71st Walkley Awards and an exciting year of programs and events.”

About the Walkley Foundation
The Walkley Foundation for Excellence in Journalism champions the highest standards of journalism in Australia through the Walkley Awards, first distributed in 1956, industry events and training programs.
The Foundation is a company limited by guarantee which was established in 2000 by the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA). The Foundation is independently funded and registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission.
For enquiries contact:
James Gorman, Communications Manager, The Walkley Foundation
james.gorman@walkleys.com
0414 990 480