 Well, good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the 2019 Lowy Institute Media Award Dinner. I'm Michael Fully Love, the Executive Director of the Institute, and I acknowledge that we're gathered on the land of the Gadigal people, and I acknowledge all of their elders. Let me recognize some guests this evening. My board members, Stephen Lowy, Serangus Houston, Jim Spiegelman, Joanna Hewitt, Kenny Wensley, and Mark Ryan, who first suggested seven years ago that the Institute establish a media award. Thank you, Mark. Let me recognize our keynote speaker, the chair of the ABC, Ida Buttrows. Let me mention Rio Tinto's Vice President, Corporate Relations Australia, Brad Haines. Thank you very much to Rio Tinto for sponsoring this event, and to Brad for coming despite the rugby match that is going on as we speak. I will give some updates to the audience as the night goes on. Let me also recognize some of this year's judges for the award, and our four finalists, several of whom are here this evening. Most of all, let me recognize all of you, the journalists, editors, and producers who help explain the world to Australians. You are the whole point of the evening. Let me say there's a great feeling in the room tonight. There's always a great spirit in the room for the media award every night. I don't know what it is. I don't know if it's the fact that journalists like events where other people tell them how great they are. I don't know if it's the fact that this is a media award dinner where there is only one category rather than 57, or it could just be the free food and alcohol. I don't know what it is, but there's always a great feeling, and we want to make you feel very welcome, because you are the point of this evening's event. And you help Australians to understand the world. Now it's not always easy to understand the world these days. I don't know if anyone else feels that, but I feel it's very hard to understand, and it does feel that international news is speeding up. For example, take the Trump White House in just the past week. What happened in the past week? Well, first of all, President Trump vacated Northern Syria, allowing the Turkish armed forces, the Syrian regime forces, and the Russians to move in, and also making his impeachment by the House of Representatives much more likely. Then he realised he'd been duped, so he sent President Erdogan a letter. And what a letter. Don't be a tough guy. Don't be a fool, he said. I have spent, ladies and gentlemen, I have spent a great deal of my life in archives reading presidential correspondence. I have never seen a letter like this. Then the president realised that he'd been duped and he thought, I've got to pull this back. So then he tweeted that if Turkey did anything which Mr. Trump in his great and unmatched wisdom, which is a line I'm using around the Institute these days, if Turkey did anything which he considered to be off limits, he would totally destroy and obliterate the economy of Turkey, which is a NATO ally. Then on Thursday, on Thursday, there was a temporary ceasefire in the war that Mr. Trump had himself started, and he said he boasted that he had saved millions of lives. And on that same day, his chief of staff admitted the quid pro quo in the Ukraine matter, which the White House has been denying for weeks. And on that same day, the White House announced that after an extensive search around the United States in which they had scoured every conference centre, the best possible property for the G7 meeting next week is a Trump property in Florida. Ladies and gentlemen, in any normal administration, this would be an amazing day, a red letter day, a day that would be analysed for years to come, a day about which books would be written. But in the Trump era, this is just a Thursday. So ladies and gentlemen, this is the world that we are all called upon to explain and to understand and explain in our own different ways. We do it at the Institute with analysis, with rigorous analysis, but we rely very much on media organisations and journalists. We rely on you for the news on which we can base our analysis. We rely on you as an audience and as a megaphone to get our analysis through to the Australian people who ultimately we serve. And we believe that Australia needs media organisations and journalists on the global beat. We think that Australian journals see the Australian angle in stories in a way that foreign journals can't. We think that Australian journals bring their own sensibilities to the craft of reporting, including pragmatism, a lack of deference to authority and a sense of humour, as well as an understanding of Australia's interests. We love taking news from international wire services and all the rest, but for an Australian angle on the story, we need Australian journalists. The Institute established this award at Mark's suggestion in 2013 to recognise Australian journalists who have deepened the knowledge or shaped the discussion of international issues in our country. We can't alter the economics of the media industry at the Institute, but we can recognise effort and reward excellence, and by so doing, we can encourage proprietors and editors to continue to invest in foreign coverage. Ladies and gentlemen, let me tell you how the evening will proceed. In a moment, our main courses will be served. After that, the 2019 Lowy Institute Media Lecture will be delivered by Ida Buttrows. After the lecture, I will have a conversation with Ida on stage. We'll then hear from Brad Haynes from Rio Tinto with a vote of thanks. And then after dessert, we'll get to the business end of proceedings. I will introduce the nominees and announce the 2019 Media Award winner, who will receive a $20,000 cash prize. Now, given that we are in New South Wales Parliament House, I should clarify that the prize will not be handed over in an Aldi bag. But, ladies and gentlemen, before I get to that, I'd like to call on one of my board members, Stephen Lowy, to offer a welcome on behalf of the Lowy Institute Board. Stephen is a former co-CEO of Westfield, a former chairman of the FFA, and a former president of the Art Gallery of New South Wales. He's served on the Institute's board since our establishment in 2003. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming Stephen Lowy. Thanks, Michael. Looks like I'm going to have to be the straight man tonight. Can I echo also Michael's sentiment about the feeling in the room? It was a pleasure meeting a number of journalists outside before, and every one of them to a tee was very appreciative of this award, and particularly this evening and where it's come in the last seven years, and we feel at the Lowy Institute very proud of the work we do. We feel particularly proud of this idea and particularly of all those that are in the running and particularly the winners, so it's a great feeling here tonight. Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the Lowy Institute Board, I would like to welcome you all to our annual dinner, as Michael did before. It's a great pleasure to see so many distinguished business and media figures here tonight, and that's a testament to how the night is perceived. Let me recognize, as Michael has our fellow board members, Michael's mentioned them by name, but I might just digress for a moment and mention how proud we are to have them on our board. I think an institute is made up of a board and staff and the intellect that comes from both, and I don't think we could have a better board in our country, and I'll just take the moment to recognize them on behalf of my father, who's not able to be here tonight, but I think in this audience, it's really nice to recognize that, so thank you to all of our board members who have given an incredible amount of time and an incredible amount of wisdom to the activities of the institute. Thank you. Previous media lecturers have included former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Director General of the National Intelligence, Nick Warner, Robert Thompson of News Corp, Susan Glasser of The New Yorker, and a few years ago, Brett Stevens from The New York Times. Ida has held just about every big job in media in this country, and now she can have the Lowy Institute Media Lecture to her resume, so we're incredibly excited to hear you soon, Ida, so thank you very much for joining us tonight. Finally, let me also welcome, as Michael has, the award finalists and of course the judges. Ladies and gentlemen, my father and family established the Lowy Institute to broaden and deepen the conversation about international affairs in Australia. The institute is in a purple patch at the moment. We've had a very successful year culminating this month with just a few weeks ago, the 2019 Lowy Lecture by Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison. A very important speech just last week by Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rooter, and the official reopening of our beautiful headquarters just down the street at 31 Bly Street. And tonight, of course, we have the Media Award, so it's been incredibly busy lately for Michael and his team. At the institute, we recognise that we cannot deepen the conversation about the world without the media. Journalists are hugely important to the Lowy Institute, both as a source of information about the world, but also as an audience for our analysis and a means of distributing our analysis to the broader Australian public. If the Australian media is reporting less on the world, then Australians will be thinking less about the world. It is for this reason that the institute established the Annual Media Award to encourage Australian reporting on the big international issues shaping our future. We have had winners from all the major Australian media organisations, including the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Australian, The ABC and SBS. Over the past seven years, the dinner has become, as Michael said, a key night in the Australian media calendar as evidenced by the many hundreds of people in this room tonight. We are very happy that such a distinguished group has decided to come out on a Saturday night to recognise the outstanding Australian news coverage of the world. I want to thank the institute staff, particularly, who have been involved in organising tonight's dinner and managing the broader Lowy Institute Media Award process. It's a very rigorous process and one that we take very, very seriously. I would also like to thank our distinguished judge, all of our judges as well as Rio Tinto, who are the sponsors of tonight's event. Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the Lowy Institute, let me welcome you all very warmly and please have an enjoyable evening. Of course, we wish all the finalists lots of luck and please enjoy your meal. Bon appetit. Thank you. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. As you know, along with the media award, every year we have the Lowy Institute Media Lecture and this has become, over the years, a significant annual contribution to the national discussion about the media and the world. Stephen Lowy mentioned some of the important individuals who have given this lecture in the past, including very senior and distinguished journalists, a prime minister and a spook. But I don't think our previous lecturers would be offended if I said that none of them has had quite the place in Australia's cultural life as Ida Buttrows. Ida Buttrows, AC, OBE, is one of our great journalistic pioneers. Her career began early. By 15, she was a copy girl at the Australian Women's Weekly. She had her first byline at 17 as a cadet with the Daily Telly and the Sunday Telly. At 23, Ms Buttrows was appointed women's editor of the Telegraph. At the age of 29, she was appointed the founding editor of a new magazine for Australian women, Cleo. And when it was launched in 1972, the magazine became an instant hit and helped to bring women's issues into the Australian mainstream. From 1975 to 1980, Ms Buttrows served as editor of the Australian Women's Weekly. In 1981, she became editor-in-chief of the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph, the first female editor of a major metropolitan newspaper in Australia. Since then, Ida has been a health campaigner, author, publisher and TV host, and in February this year, she was appointed chair of the ABC. Ida's position in the Australian firmament is revealed in the fact that she has been played by Asher Kedde and serenaded by Cold Chisel. Some of you may have seen the yarn that when Mitch Fifield, the then communications minister, proposed Ida Buttrows as the new chair of the ABC, he said in passing, and she has the support of the Cold Chisel faction. And I'm sorry to say that some members of the Federal Cabinet didn't get that reference. And I know we talk about the churn in Australian politics demonstrating a problem, but to me, if the Australian Cabinet doesn't know one of the great Cold Chisel songs about one of the great pioneers, that's a bigger problem. Ladies and gentlemen, in a recent interview, Ida managed to enrage both the left and the right of politics when she said the media is both too white and too politically correct. And I think when you get both sides agitated, Ida, you're probably where you need to be in the debate. Ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted to welcome Ms Ida Buttrows to the lectern to deliver the seventh Lowey Institute Media Lecture. I'm told Mitch Fifield had to sing it to a couple of them. Really, I should send them an album. I'm very pleased to have been asked to present this year's Lowey Institute Media Lecture and I thank the Institute for their invitation to do so. I acknowledge the Institute's support and recognition of Australian journalism throughout tonight's media award. Congratulations to the nominees who come from across commercial and public print and broadcast media, and I wish you all well. But I do have a bias. I'm sure you'll understand. As our world becomes more closely entwined but perhaps more disparate, it is essential that Australians understand the global factors that affect our economy, our politics, our culture, and our environment. Quality journalism is a valuable asset in deepening our knowledge of the world around us and it is wonderful that the Institute provides a platform that recognises outstanding achievements in this form of media. In founding the Institute, Sir Frank Lowey's goal has been to inform debate, discussion, and policy about Australia's place in the world. As he put it, to help his fellow Australians better understand the myriad global forces that are increasingly shaping their lives. Sir Frank's other objective has been to promote Australia's distinguished service on the world stage, a force for good, for which Australia is not always fully recognised. From its earliest days, the ABC has looked outwardly to report on the world around us and to advance the standing of Australia as a prominent global citizen. In December, we mark 80 years since Australia began to broadcast to the world. At the inauguration of the service on the 20th of December of 1939, Prime Minister Menzies declared, the time has come for us to speak for ourselves. Of course, there was no coincidence in the closeness in timing between the commencement of international broadcasting and the declaration of war in September of that year. Australia was speaking for itself for very strategic purposes. Menzies told the nation that he was convinced that in the Pacific, Australia must regard herself as a principal, providing herself with her own information and maintaining her own diplomatic contacts with foreign powers. Without wanting to draw too many parallels between 1939 and 2019, I think we can agree that today we live in fractious and uncertain times and as then, international media has become an effective tool for nation-states primarily to exert influence and promote ideas as a function of soft power. While Britain may be taking Churchillian inspiration to again stand alone and President Trump muses about a currently unconstitutional third term emulating Franklin de Roosevelt, the comparison I would like to draw between that time and now in regard to the ABC's commitment is in international broadcasting. In the pre- and post-war period, the ABC used the most effective technology available, shortwave, to reach its near neighbors. Critically, we also broadcast in other languages of the region as well as English. Following the war through Radio Australia, the ABC enhanced a positive view of Australia and its democratic institutions in neighboring countries, provided a dependable and independent news service and encouraged English language learning. This was an incredibly valuable service to the region and to Australia's interests as countries across the Indo-Pacific made the transition to self-determination and democracy in a post-colonial world. On a trip to Australia in 2002, former Indonesian President Abdul Rahman Latwahi told a function in Sydney that he and many of his fellow students learned English by listening to Radio Australia. It was not just the language, however, but the content that gave a strong sense of Australian society and democratic values that he and many other future leaders came to admire. The sound of the ABC's majestic fanfare was a clarion call of trusted, reliable news, information, and entertainment from a respected friend and neighbour. Today, the ABC's international services are delivered via various multimedia platforms to the region and beyond, again making use of the most effective technologies to reach the widest audience. Through our TV service ABC Australia, which broadcasts in 40 territories across the Indo-Pacific region, through Radio Australia, which transmits on a network of FM transmitters across the Pacific as well as the world online. Through our international app, podcasts, and the multitude of social media networks, the ABC continues to connect the world with Australia. We continue to produce content in languages other than English, but regrettably not at the same levels that we have been able to do so in the past. What has changed most fundamentally and must continue to evolve is the conversations we have through international broadcasting. Throughout the Indo-Pacific, we have mature, sophisticated countries that are economically and culturally diverse and who engage in complex and multilateral global arrangements. Australia's relationships with its neighbours is more nuanced than ever, and so naturally must be our conversations. This type of engagement requires a high degree of expertise, investment, infrastructure, and above all, commitment. Reporting international news back to Australia requires the same level of commitment. While the news media might enjoy a sugar hit delivered by the Trump bump and with thoughts ahead to the 2020 US primaries and presidential election, what of the foreign correspondence reporting from our own region, the Prime Minister recently described as vital to our future, including India, Indonesia, Japan, and Vietnam. The importance of journalism to our country's Asia-Pacific interests cannot be underestimated, and I believe a renewed ABC focus on international broadcasting would greatly benefit Australia. In the future, which news organisations will be in a position to support foreign correspondents based in Port Moresby, Jakarta, or New Delhi? How will commercial media justify to their shareholders their investment in international reporting as in the national interest when it is not in their financial interest? And all resources are needed in the domestic market to stave off the digital giants, which with the addition of Disney we might call the mouse with fangs. The outlet which maintains the largest on-the-ground presence of correspondents of any regional broadcaster remains the ABC. Our international network of journalists allows the corporation to provide comprehensive news reporting from and for the region. As always, however, ABC correspondents are on the ground reporting from the world's flashpoints, including Hong Kong and the Middle East, as well as in Japan, following the recent typhoon. In addition to the ABC's news-gathering capabilities in the Indo-Pacific region, the corporation has also established a dedicated Asia-Pacific newsroom of 46 staff who provide and produce multilingual cross-platform programming, including Pacific Mornings, Pacific Beat, and Wontock for ABC Radio Australia, and both Chinese and Indonesian language services for domestic and international services. Of course, everyone here knows, following the termination of the Australian network contact tract, the ABC's commitments to international broadcasting are not what they once were. And while we may not face identical challenges to commercial media, fundamentally we experience the same problem. There is no magic pudding. I applaud the initiative of the Judith Nielsen Institute for Journalism and Ideas and its commitment to support quality journalism and more informed intelligent reporting on Asia. The Institute has already committed funding to support coverage by the Australian of China and for both the financial review and the Guardian to establish foreign correspondence in the region. The ABC has also received a grant but for domestic purposes to fund the extension of our existing regional schools digital media literacy program to the most remote parts of Australia. While philanthropic funding and journalism is a fundamental part of the American system, in places like the UK and Australia with well-established public broadcasters, it is a relatively new phenomenon. The recent ACCC report made recommendations that would encourage this model, and I'm sure we will all watch with interest to see if philanthropy can exist in the long term as a sustainable source of funding for news reporting in Australia. As I suggested earlier, international broadcasting is not just about reportage of Australia to the world and the world back to Australia. It is an acknowledged soft power mechanism. The ability to report critically on our own political system is a powerful demonstration of democratic values, particularly to countries with limited press freedom. As a statutory independent broadcaster, ABC has a reputation throughout the region for its credible, frank and impartial coverage of our own backyard. Effective public diplomacy extends beyond the boundaries of news content. English language learning and children's programming both make significant contributions to the fostering of strong international bonds as does the broadcasting of other cultural assets like sports, music and drama. Alongside its international media services, the ABC maintains an international development team which serves as a very effective vehicle for regional soft power. Primarily funded through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the team works with partner media organizations in the Indo-Pacific to support them to build sustainable media infrastructure. I particularly like the Women in News Sports Program, appropriately nicknamed WINS. It uses the ABC's special expertise in sports broadcasting to support women journalists in the region as they join the traditionally male-dominated world of sports media. More than 100 women from 10 countries have worked with the ABC's best female broadcasters, journalists and trainers to build their skills and networks. Five of them ended up commentating on the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, while another seven have produced the first Women's Sports podcast of its kind for the Pacific. This has clearly been an effective demonstration of soft power, but it is much more than that. The Women in News Program has been truly empowering for all involved and has supported powerful cultural change. Realizing the importance of soft power, the government's 2017 foreign policy white paper committed to a review of the nation's soft power strengths and capabilities. This is timely, considering Australia's relative decline in this area in recent years. According to the University of Southern California's Centre for Public Diplomacy Soft Power 30 Index, while Australia is still in the top 10 and is well regarded globally, it has moved down from sixth to tenth place since 2015. It's no coincidence that the five countries recognize as being effective in soft power diplomacy, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the United States and Japan, recognize the potential value of international media for advancing their soft power agendas and fund these services accordingly. Along with China, the heaviest investor in international broadcasting, many of these countries compete with Australia for influence and engagement. It is notable that in assessing the UK as number one on the list, the index characterized the BBC World Service as the world's most trusted news provider and as a valuable soft power asset for the UK. And it's also telling that in 2015, the British government's National Security Strategy, Strategic Defence and Security Review recommended enhancing the UK's soft power activities to promote British values and to tackle the causes of security threats. An outcome of that review was an additional injection of 34 million pounds in 2016-17 and 85 million pounds each year from 2017-18 in the BBC's International Digital, Television and Radio Services, being the total annual expenditure for the BBC World Service to more than 333 million pounds. While we await the outcome of the DFAT soft power review, I am hopeful that it will play a similar emphasis on investment in international broadcasting as a valuable source of soft power. The ABC mission to the review puts the case that at a time when Australia is realizing the need to better project its influence in the Pacific, the ABC is a key soft power asset available to the nation. The ABC is Australia's trusted voice in Asia and the Pacific. It has a proud record of achievement having told Australian stories, reported fairly and fearlessly, taught generations to speak English, and delivered critical information in times of crisis for 18 years. With additional support, the ABC could expand its ability to reach out and share Australian perspectives with the world and enable Australians to better understand their Pacific neighbours. I have been heartened by the Prime Minister's commitment in his recent address to the Lowy Institute annual dinner that Australia is committed to building a secure, prosperous and inclusive Indo-Pacific of independent, sovereign and resilient states, and that through the Pacific step up, Australia's national security and that of our Pacific family are entwined. As we all know, a fundamental part of any successful and well-functioning family is an understanding of each other's needs, priorities and feelings and open and honest two-way communication. International broadcasting is one of the ABC's bedrock charter responsibilities. But beyond that, whatever budgetary constraints we may face, the ABC is committed to it because we recognize its intrinsic public and national value. With continued limited funding, we have to be creative, innovative and in the words of a former Prime Minister, agile in our approach. Collaborations and partnerships with other media organisations play a part in this strategy. For example, Radio New Zealand Pacific replays Radio Australia's one-top program and also carries stories from our Pacific beat on a state-owned Pacific program. In the future, there may be opportunities for greater sharing of in-language programs with other broadcasters. In keeping with our commitment to continually adapt our international services to suit audience's needs, I'm pleased to announce that at the end of this month, the ABC will launch an international version of iView, ABC Australian iView. This project has been a priority for us for some time and has come to fruition through much hard work, negotiation, cooperation and goodwill. Because of the expense of rights costs, we won't be able to offer the full library available on our domestic servers. So for now, ABC Australia iView will include selected episodes from dozens of iconic ABC titles, including Australia Story, Four Corners, Gardening Australia, well, of course. Walsing the Dragon, Foreign Correspondent Q&A and an NGO Blockstream of ABC News Channel. The availability of this service will open up a variety of outstanding Australian content to audiences around the world, as well as to the more than 1 million Australian expats who live, work or are travelling overseas. ABC Australia iView is an example of how, with determination and drive, we can deliver great value for international audiences, Australian taxpayers and the national interests. As we approach the 80th anniversary of the beginning of our international media services, the ABC plans to celebrate this milestone with a number of events and programs, including a special Q&A from Fiji in Suva on the 2nd of December that will discuss issues relevant to the Pacific and Australian audiences. Through cooperation between Government and the ABC in 1939, Australia's voice was heard loud and clear across the Pacific, countering the growing din of a world in conflict. While that voice has diminished in recent years, I am optimistic that with a renewed focus and a commitment from all, it can be amplified to advance Australia once again. That is the ABC's goal and we are committed to achieving it. Thank you. Well, I'm here. Thanks. Well, thank you, Ida Buttros, for those very interesting remarks. Thank you for giving such a positive and optimistic account of the ABC's commitment to international coverage. I think that will be welcome to everyone here and thank you also for the announcement about Australian iView when I met you. You promised me an announcement, but I didn't have the courage for delivering on that. You said I couldn't come if I didn't give you. Well, okay, maybe that's what I said, I think. So, thank you for those comments. I want to ask you for about 10 minutes. I want to ask you some questions. I'm going to touch on some of the themes that you discussed, but I also want to go a little bit broader, if I may. So let me begin. You've been at the ABC as the chair, I think for about six months now. Eight months. Eight months, okay. What has surprised you? Nothing really. I've got to understand, I know this organization really well. My father worked there for so many years and I grew up with the ABC. I've been at ABC, even though I've worked for commercial networks, I have grown up with the ABC and I've watched the ABC and listened to the ABC just about all of my life. So, is anything... No, I'm not surprised by the great talent we have at the ABC. And I'm not surprised with all the people who've stopped me in the street and tell me something about the ABC or give me their support. And I think the people who work for us who are passionate about public broadcasting and the Australian public who love the ABC are two of our greatest strengths. You find any larricans in the corridors of the ABC? I'm sure they're there. I just have a habit of frightening people when they see me in the lift, but they'll get over that. I'm just new to the lift. When they see me there a few more times, I'm sure the larrican element will bust out. OK, but you got some coverage recently, didn't you, by bemoaning the decline of larricanism. And I think you made some comments about how the kind of the workplace had changed from the days of Sir Frank Packer and so on. What did you mean then? Well, I mean that when I worked for Sir Frank, the sort of conversation I would sometimes have with him and, well, Sir Kerry, were not the kind of conversations that are in a workplace today, for instance, because you'll ask me. When I started Cleo, Sir Frank wasn't very certain about the new progressive woman that we said Cleo was for. He hadn't really come to grips with women's liberation and what was happening, but he realized he had to get to know her because Cleo was such a fantastic success. And so he thought he would do this by reading the copy of the new magazine for 12 months. So every time before I published, I would have to send down carbon copies, as they were on Thursday, of the material. And all went well with this new arrangement for about three months when I got the call to go down. And I went down and I could see that he was reading Cleo's material and I knocked on the door, he said, come in and he asked me where I'd got this information and this story, what turns a man on? He went like this, where did you get this information that kissing a man's armpits turns him on? It doesn't. It doesn't. And I said it doesn't and he said, no, it doesn't and I know more about these things than you do. Well, there were things you did not argue with Sir Frank about. I took his word for it. That sort of conversation. Could you imagine having that kind of conversation today? No, of course you couldn't. They're not the kind of conversations as Chair of the ABC you anticipate having. No, but I wouldn't mind if we did. I'm not going to be embarrassed. Do you think something has been lost? I mean, obviously, it's... No, in the sense that it's great that there are many bad things that have been removed from the workplace, which is fantastic. But I think you are making a point that maybe in that transition we've also lost something. I think that men and women should be able to freely talk about whatever. We all know the rules. We all have our own boundaries over which we should not stray. But I think it's a shame that we can't make a joke sometimes or have some fun together without anyone getting offended about it. You know, when I went back to work after having Cleo six weeks after my son was born and I was waltzing down the corridor in a new dress thinking I looked pretty fantastic, Kerry came out and said, oh, welcome back new dress. And I said, yeah, it looks nice, isn't it? He never carried it well. He got his money out and peeled it off. He said, here, take this. Go buy yourself a new dress. That one's hideous. Now, you see what I mean? I wasn't offended. I took the money, gave the dress to McCusson. She loved it and I bought a new one. It was easy. You see, it's fun. You can actually have a lot of fun with, you know, different sorts of conversation. Now, talking of different sorts of conversation, I hate to leave Kerry and Sir Frank and dresses, but let me ask you some other questions. Let me ask, let me go back to the ABC. You mentioned the ACCC report. One of the things that the ACCC report said was that stable and adequate funding should be provided to the public broadcasters. Have you spoken to the PM about this? I certainly spoke to the minister. I have not spoken to the Prime Minister about this. He hasn't been here much. But I certainly spoke with the communications minister and we consistently talk about funding. You know, we've had an efficiency review. The ABCC has many reviews. I did suggest to Mitch, I feel that perhaps a fewer reviews would give them a little bit more money. But, you know, looking at the efficiency review, you know, there are suggestions in it. Most that we don't necessarily agree with. I made the board, I asked the board to read it and we've all discussed it. I've written a letter to the communications minister outlining other evidence that we would like to have a look at. But that doesn't mean we couldn't find a cut, an efficiency review cut somewhere. But it doesn't necessarily have to be people. You know, sometimes we own a lot of real estate. Exactly what we own and how much they're all worth. Please don't get any ideas. We're not selling anything. We're just investigating. We need to know all of the assets and we need to know they're all worth. How would you characterize the relationship between the ABC and the Morrison government at the moment? Because as you know, that's often been a fraught issue for the ABC and some conservatives refer to the ABC as our enemies speaking to our friends. How do you feel the relationship is at the moment? With the relationship that I have with the prime minister and the communications minister is very good. I had a good relationship with Mitch Shifield. I don't have a problem with the government at all and I think we just rise above the criticism. There will always be criticism of the ABC. It doesn't matter which side is in government. Just as there are of the commercial media, I've dealt with government criticism in all the organizations for which I've worked, especially in News Limited. No one is immune from criticism from government. You learn to live with it and you address it. You listen and you think, is there any merit in what they're saying? Have we done something? Could we improve? You take it on board, you discuss and you make a decision. Let me ask you about the broader media landscape if I can. In some ways, these are strange times for the media because on the one hand the big players have formed this unprecedented coalition to fight for press freedom and at the same time some have suggested that there's never been a more unpleasant time between media organizations and often between journalists themselves. Do you think that has it all got too personal? I mean should the media forget all that sort of stuff and focus on their audience and focus on winning scoops? Do you think? I'm not unaware of unfriendly relationships between journalists and all media organizations. That's not come across, I don't have a problem with it. I think that's a bit of a furfie. You don't get a sense in the newspapers and on social media that media organizations have had each other. There's always one or two. But there always have been one or two. I've been working in the media for 60 years. I'm used to this. It's part of the course. You can either let it wound you or you think, oh yeah, he's at it again or she's at it again and carries right on. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't look at it and just think about it and then probably dismiss it. But you know, you just... You know, it's fine. It's good. It's good that we're all robust. But at the end of the day, you're absolutely right. The media organizations in this country are united about press freedom, about taking the heat off whistleblowers, about unwinding the confused and logged up Freedom of Information Act. And we at the ABC would like to know if our two journalists are going to be prosecuted or not. And we think they've been under pressure long enough and it's time a decision was made. Well, let me ask you a couple of questions about the freedom of speech issues, freedom of the press issues if I may. Yesterday, the federal court rejected moves by the ABC to challenge the validity of the police raids. So given that setback and given that the Attorney General, Mr Porter, has said there'll be in future there'll be no prosecution of journalists without his express approval, do you worry that the press freedom campaign has run out of steam a bit? No, I don't. Do the attorneys... That's good. I'm getting a sense of how the ABC board feels at the moment during meetings. Do the Attorney General's assurances give you any comfort? No, they didn't. Why not? Because I don't think one man should be responsible. It has to be uniform across. That's where we stand. It's not one bloke that should be deciding this. No, I'm not happy with that at all. And I don't think anybody else is either. And I was trying to get my head around the judge's decision yesterday and I got the feeling that he was saying, and maybe I misinterpreted, that he was saying that the ABC had enough ways of putting out in the public arena how it felt about the raid on us. And he didn't want to delay... He didn't want to delay the main court case where we go back to court on October 28. So I think we can let it run until then and see what happens on October 28 because otherwise, if that October 28 date was delayed, then a decision about everything would be further down the track next year. So I think you just see where that takes us. I mean, October 28 is very close. But no, we definitely have not run out of steam. Any of this. Okay. Let me ask you. Earlier this year, the Herald Sun published a cartoon you might recall where the cartoonist, Mark Knight, compared the AFP raids of the ABC with the Tiananmen Square massacre. I don't know if you remember that cartoon. I didn't see it. Do you ever get the sense that journalists are too precious on this issue? Is there a sense? What about the need to balance the press' right to report and the public's right to know with the right of everybody, including the government to have secrets, especially when the government is trying to keep us safe? Well, if you think that we're not responsible people and we don't know when we shouldn't publish, well, maybe that's a good idea, but look, a lot of material comes to all of us that we don't publish because we are responsible and we do know what we can and can't publish. You know, it's insulting to suggest that any of us, any of us in a responsible role in media don't know what not to publish in the national interest. What needs to be clearly defined is what is in the national interest and what is the public's right to know. And unless we can come to some sort of agreement about that, unless we can find some way through, then we're going to continue to have a problem. We've always respected items of serious national security. Every single media organization in this country does that. Let me finish back on the topic of tonight's award, and that is foreign reporters and foreign correspondents. Your dad was a war correspondent in Java during the Second World War. And I think the Duchy Cindy's. Yes. Now what did he tell you stories about those days? Did you... No. Like everybody that went to the war, World War II, he didn't talk about it. We found his medals once and he didn't really tell us about it, but I know that he was a war correspondent for that. And he was there when I was born. He didn't meet me until I was six months old because he was up there reporting and he did cover the Owen Stanley Rangers campaign, which is Kokoda, and I have one of his stories out of the herald where he reported on a great Australian victory and the Japanese that were killed on the hill that he was looking at. And it's really weird, but many, many years later when I was a reporter just out on the road, I went to Fairwater and Saguari Fairfax was there. And do you know what the first thing he said to me was he said, how do you do? He said, your father left me. And he was, because towards the end of the war, Dad was there to about 44. Toward the end of the war, he was seconded to the Australian government and he went to America in the news and information bureau. And all Saguari could remember was that Dad left, had left him. And the media proprietors were exactly like that. That's the sort of thing Sir Frank would have said to somebody. They were really in a class all of their own, those guys. Well, ladies and gentlemen, I think it's been, I think you'll agree it's been a fascinating discussion. In the words of the noted philosopher James Barnes, how could I not believe when Ida tells me so. In a few minutes, we're going to serve dessert. I will return for the business end of the proceedings, and I will be the board winner. But for now, to move a formal vote of thanks to Ida Buttrose for her fantastic lecture and for this conversation. I'd like to call on an old friend of mine, Brad Haines, who from Rio Tinto. Brad is very knowledgeable on the topic of foreign news because he was an advisor as a young man to Australia's longest serving Foreign Minister Alexander Downer. And probably Brad was as surprised as I have been in the last few weeks to have this vast left-wing conspiracy on behalf of various deep states to bring down Mr Trump. Brad Haines from Rio Tinto. Well, thank you, I think, Michael, for that tremendous introduction. Ida Buttrose, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, it really is a privilege and an honour to deliver the vote of thanks on this occasion. And this is a great event, I agree with all of the speakers earlier today. First of all, I would like to thank Ida for sharing her insights with us tonight. They were candid, funny and engaging and we're very lucky to hear them firsthand. There is perhaps no one better placed in Australia, in the Australian media to deliver the 2019 Lowey Institute media lecture. As Michael noted, Ida, your career has spanned all elements of the media across every medium and the universal network. Ida, I am very proud to be here today to share with you what I have been doing for you, unites both the commercial and public broadcasting communities. The Prime Minister was proud to describe your appointment as one of his key picks as chair of the ABC. I also have another little note for you on this. You'd probably be Rio Tinto's pick for them on behalf of our employees. What this room may not be aware of, I think, is the public broadcasting community contribution. The response to your talks, both in Perth and Brisbane, was tremendous. After the event, all our employees were spontaneously posting on the internal network, high praise for your talk, high praise for you. And even high praise in terms of your title. You weren't described as the chair of the ABC on these. We've heard tonight. So with your wealth of knowledge and experience, I guess tonight the bigger challenge was what not to include in the lecture, because clearly you have such a wealth of experience. You also clearly chose well this evening. Your themes tonight span decades, but the strategic essence of them remain consistent and powerful to everyone in this room. The impact and importance of the Australian media to the world, the need for a new focus by the Australian media on the Asia Pacific, the role of a frank and rigorous and in times challenging coverage in actually presenting us off power and the cultural change that that can bring about. And the activities, of course, to the ABC in supporting this and your passion for your organisation, too, was I think telling to everyone in the room. On a Larracan's note was I don't think we can ever unsee the Clio discussion again with you and Frank Packer. And for that we are also grateful. But on a more serious note, the reason why we're here and we sponsor this event is we understand well how the rise of Asia has drawn Australia closer to the wider global strategic challenges. The overwhelming demand for our products from Australia means that we, like Australia, are inextricably linked to the fortunes of the region. In this context, the role of the media in reporting foreign affairs is more important than ever. Tonight we will hear about some amazing reporting and analysis on global issues by Australian journalists, photographers and television crews scattered across the very corners of this globe. And this reporting underscores why it's crucial to all through Australian eyes for Australian audiences. It is why we're such proud sponsors of this event and we congratulate Lowy for its leadership in sponsoring and hosting it as well. And I can potentially see a few skeptical faces in the room and we may not always agree with every story or every angle that's presented but we will always value the craft and capability that brings them to life. And the public interest objective that underpins the leadership role in our media community. And as we have seen Ida's exalted status goes way beyond her current role. Her three letter name, no honorifics or surname required, carries with it a gravitas and exudes determination, dignity and class. And all of these qualities combined with an inherent wit, as we have seen tonight, and candor as we have seen tonight and a natural instinct for curiosity to stay out of template for the modern journalist. I'm sure everyone here tonight will agree and with that could you please join me in thanking Ida Butt-Rose for her address and discussion tonight. Ladies and gentlemen, now we come to the reason we're here this evening and that is to tell you about the finalists and the winner of the 2019 Lowy Institute Media Award. Stephen Lowy mentioned earlier that we have a very rigorous process for deciding on this award. And it's a bit different from some of the other processes of other awards. It's not a nominating process. The way it works is that Lowy Institute research staff go through a long process of viewing pretty much everything that has been published and broadcast on the topic of international news in Australian media outlets over the course of the financial year. So we come up with a long list of maybe 16 or 20 stories that they regard as really outstanding. We talk to other staff within the Institute. We then appoint a very distinguished judging panel to decide on the media award and we send that long list to the judging panel and we also invite the judging panel to nominate to put forward their own nominations and vote. And that judging panel decides on a short list and it decides on a winner. Each year we assemble a distinguished judging panel and many we've had many distinguished characters on that panel over the years, high commissioners and former foreign ministers and former DFAT secretaries and story journalists and excellent people. This year the media judging panel comprise Chris William, former editor-in-chief of the Australian who's with us here this evening, Mary Louise O'Callaghan, former foreign correspondent and former head of public affairs for Ramsey, the regional assistance mission in the Solomon Islands and World Vision. We had Louise Williams, author and former foreign correspondent Mark Ryan, one of my board members and me. And I'd like to thank all of our fellow judges who always take their role in the process over lunch and we are not easy on the wine because we like to get to a consensus decision and we find that alcohol sometimes can be helpful in that process. This is the seventh year of the Lowy Institute Media Award and we have had a formidable roll call of winners to date. In 2013 John Gano of Fairfax took out the inaugural award for his reporting from China. 2014's winner was Hayden Cooper of the ABC for his foreign correspondent report on Peter Grestner's trial and conviction. In 2015 the winner was Paul Maley of the Australian for his reporting on foreign fighters. In 2016 Fairfax's Jewel Toppsfield won for her reporting on life in Indonesia under Jacqui as well as the highs and lows of the bilateral relationship. In 2017 the ABC's Matt Brown won the prize for his coverage of the Middle East and last year Evan Williams from SBS won for his remarkable film on the mass exodus of the Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar. Ladies and gentlemen, this year the judges selected four finalists for the 2019 award. Matthew Carney for an episode of ABC's foreign correspondent leave no dark corner on China's social credit issues. Thank you. Kate Garity for a selection of her incredible photography in the Sydney Morning Herald and the age. Angus Greig, Lisa Murray, Jonathan Shapiro and Edmund Tadros for a series of articles on Paladin in the Australian Financial Review. Got a lot of support in the house. And finally Nick McKenzie and Sascha Koloff for interference, a joint event investigation on the role of the general, the age and four corners into Chinese political influence. And we've put together a short video to give you a sense of the fine work of our finalists. Ladies and gentlemen, it's now my honour to present the 2019 Lowey Institute Media Award. This year as you just saw we had an extremely strong field of nominees and all the discussion of the world. But unlike the judges at the Booker Prize at the Lowey Institute we don't squib things by awarding two prizes. We make the hard decision to select one winner every year. It is a very hard decision and we had a long discussion but I'm delighted to announce that the winners of the 2019 Lowey Institute Media Award are Nick McKenzie Koloff. Ladies and gentlemen, the rise of China is the story of our times and I do think that along with President Trump, China is the biggest international story in our press every day whether it's Hong Kong or Xinjiang or the trade war or the detention of Australians in China or the bilateral relationship or political donations or indeed PRC political interference in our country. So, Nick McKenzie, illuminates this question of how we should manage a relationship with a giant, a regional giant and economic giant that is run by a Leninist political party. So, Nick and Mackenzie, Sashka and please come on, come up. Firstly, a great thanks to the Lowey Institute. I'm pretty sure I'm the only person to win a Lowey Award and be sued by Mr. Lowey for defamation. The award is the one to go for. On a more serious note, I thought about if we were lucky enough to win amongst this amazing bunch of journalists who are also finalists, what I might say. The Lowey family story is not dissimilar to my story. My grandfather was interred in Russian labour camps as a Polish Jew with my grandmother and came to Australia after the war and brought my mother and he had two goals in life. His job was he would stuff sausage skins, fattened sausage skin so he never got to realise his goals. His goals were number one that Yiddish would be taught in every Australian school and every young person would learn Yiddish. It was a bold goal. And his second goal was to have a place for debate and discussion about international politics and he chose his local cafe to do that. But had he the means he would have dreamt of starting The Low Institute which is guiding light for journalists and for the community to understand what's happening in our world and it certainly aids us in doing our job. My job is I'm on the same tram as The Low Institute as well trying to teach me on the heroes of journalism though aren't the journalists. This award should go to those in our program. Xiaolu a broadcaster on Chinese language radio in Melbourne he was sacked because he did criticise the Chinese Communist Party on air and not only was he sacked but him and people around him were brave enough to make sure their story was told at great risk to himself he probably can never go and see his ageing mother in China Marie Ma of The Vision Times was on camera telling her story about the pressure that's been placed upon her again imperiling her ability to visit her family back home and perhaps putting them in all sorts of danger Yang Hengjun we told his story he remains detained in China and it's a case that has no hopeful end in sight unfortunately and his partner was extremely brave extremely brave going on camera the most critical source for Sascha and I I can't say his name the first time I met him was in a couple of years ago for the first foreign interference Chinese government story we did I met him in a hotel he or she wore a smog mask took me to a hotel room they had booked took my phone out removed the battery wrapped it in foil and after an hour I did ask him to remove the fog mask which he did do he didn't tell me for about three weeks three years later he's remained a very he or she has remained a great source and again taking a huge risk in helping us do our job to tell Australians what's what's going on I definitely want to watching the other work amazing work I really want to pay tribute to those other finalists Kate Garrity at the moment especially Kate she's in Syria right now putting her life on the line to tell Australians about what's going on in Syria she's an absolute tour de force I really want to thank Four Corners and Sally neighbour Sally had the guts to back the China government interference story despite significant risks and blowback and especially defamation risks we continue to be in the courts as we speak and unfortunately losing in the courts due to our notorious defamation system in Australia but Sally back our initial reporting and then kept backing our reporting in the years afterwards which talk a great deal of courage the same has to be said for my editors at the agency Morning Herald led by James Chessel again this is expensive costly work and they've absolutely backed it so I'm absolutely indebted to then I want to thank John Gano as well he's been a massive source of inspiration for me he's copped a lot of flak from people like the odious Bob Carr and he stood strong and I think helped many journalists understand a bit more about the China government story in Australia and that's taken a lot of courage for John to do that and I think that's everybody thank I'd love to welcome Sascha to the stage as well very quick thank you just a very quick acknowledgement of course television happens with a whole cast of people behind us there's crews, editors executive producer, second in charge and our researchers of course what we do alone behind us there's a whole team and I'd like to acknowledge them as part of this success tonight particularly our Chinese researchers none of whom were on the credits for the program of course for fear of retribution and that remains real to them so thank you ladies and gentlemen if you ever wanted evidence of the independence and fearlessness of the Lowy Institute Media Award judging panel I think that that mixed defamation history gives it to you I wish someone had advised me of that beforehand no I'm joking I'm joking no congratulations to Nick and to Sascha and in particular to Nick because I might say Nick has been nominated a number of times there's a second or third time that he's been nominated and the reporting that Nick and Angus and Lisa and others many others are doing on China on this incredibly complicated question for our country is really really admirable and you're doing a national service for us so thank you very much yes thank you ladies and gentlemen thank you for joining us this evening I want to thank again Ida Buttros for her outstanding media lecture which will be available on the institute website shortly and also for schooling me in the Q&A thank you very much let me congratulate all the other finalists tonight let me thank again the sponsor of the 2019 award Rio Tinto and thank Brad Haynes for being here and finally ladies and gentlemen I'd like to thank all the Lowy Institute staff who've worked on this award as Stephen mentioned this has been a hugely busy period for us we've hosted 2 p.m. in the last few weeks including Mr Morrison we've had our Rothschild fellow Nick Burns many of whom many of you have interviewed I should say now we have this dinner so it's been very busy for a small team and I'd like to thank all the colleagues who've been involved in this award from the preparation of the first long list of nominees to the preparation of the room for tonight's event and in particular let me thank the major domo of the media award Erin Bassett as well as Andrea, Jen, Allie, Sophia, Sarah, Sam, Dan and Alastair thank you very much ladies and gentlemen that concludes the formalities of the evening please feel free to stick around for a drink but not a long one we have the place till 10 but until then please have a drink and have a chat, thank you