The team that won the Gold Walkley, Australia’s most prestigious journalism award, for exposing the construction union’s deep links to organised crime has paid tribute to the sources and whistleblowers who risked everything to bring the story to light.

The Australian Financial Review’s workplace correspondent David Marin-Guzman joined veteran investigative reporter Nick McKenzie, The Age’s Ben Schneider and 60 Minutes producer Amelia Ballinger on stage to accept the award at a ceremony on Tuesday night.