For almost two decades, Peter Barnett covered international affairs with an effortless authority and access to power that made him a role model for a generation of broadcast journalists who followed.

Barnett died four weeks ago in Melbourne, aged 90. His death was marked with a condolence note from the ABC's director of news, Gaven Morris, and mourned by the small group of journalists still alive who worked with him, including Ray Martin, Tim Bowden and Helene Chung, the ABC's first female foreign correspondent.