Our Team

Joanna started her career as a cadet at News Corp’s local newspaper network, reporting mostly on crime and courts across Sydney’s suburbs. She then worked as a court reporter for the News Wire before joining The Australian’s youth-focused publication The Oz.

@JoannaPanagopo1

Latest

exclusiveIndigenous

Gene Blow performs an indigenous smoking ceremony to keep students safe as part of Harmony Day celebrations at Rangeville State School, Friday, March 20, 2015. Photo Kevin Farmer / The Chronicle

Voice call shows the need for Harmony

A prominent Indigenous leader says Harmony Week provides a ‘safe middle ground’ following a failed voice referendum.

Joanna Panagopoulos

Election 2025Nation

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (left), and NSW Premier Chris Minns shake hands after signing the Better and Fairer Schools Agreement during a visit to Carlton South primary School in Sydney, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. The Better and Fairer Schools Agreement (the BFSA) is a joint agreement between the Commonwealth, states and territories to help create a better and fairer education system for all students (AAP Image/Bianca De Marchi) NO ARCHIVING

Reason to smile: PM shakes on $4.8bn schools funding deal with Minns

Anthony Albanese says the extra commonwealth funding for NSW will be tied to ‘real reforms’ including phonics and numeracy checks; Queensland is now the only state in a stand-off with federal Labor.

Joanna Panagopoulos

EXCLUSIVENation

Yezidi community member Year 6 student Dleman Barakat shares her experiences at the Darling Heights State School harmony day celebrations, Thursday, March 21, 2024. Picture: Kevin Farmer

National days ‘not all about bigotry’

Multicultural leaders back ‘important’ Harmony Day after a racism watchdog said the event ‘hides systemic racism’.

Joanna Panagopoulos

Lisa Wilkinson offers congratulationsNation

NETWORK SPECIAL. MUST TALK WITH NETWORK PIC DESK BEFORE PUBLISHING. Brittany Higgins and David Sharaz as seen on recent social media posts

Brittany Higgins announces birth of baby boy

‘We’re both looking forward to getting to dote on the newest member of the family — forever grateful for all the love and support we’ve received,’ she said.

Joanna Panagopoulos

exclusiveHigher Education

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - NewsWire Photos JUNE 15 2024. Scenes of pro-gaza & Palestine tent camp on the lawn of Sydney University. The uni has ordered the pro-Palestinian encampment to pack up and leave campus eight weeks after the tent protest appeared on its lawns. Picture: NewsWire / Max Mason-Hubers

Fight signalled over uni anti-Semitism call

Muslim peak bodies and student associations have rejected a common definition of anti-Semitism approved by almost 40 Australian universities to be enforced on campuses to protect Jewish Australians.

Joanna Panagopoulos

EXCLUSIVENation

FEE APPLIES... A judge's hand striking a gavel over a table. Picture: Supplied By ? Nicolasjoseschirado - Fotolia.com

Adoption saga: boys not Indigenous under law, judge rules

Likely barriers to adoption for two boys by their long-term non-Aboriginal carers have been cleared after a NSW judge determined they were not considered Aboriginal, following their mother’s discovery of Indigenous heritage.

Joanna Panagopoulos

Senate estimatesNation

CANBERRA, Australia - NewsWire Photos - July 17, 2024: Former Australian Foreign Affairs Minister, Julie Bishop speaks at the commemoration marking 10 years since the downing of Flight MH17 will be at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

ANU contracts awarded to Bishop’s former staffer

Australian National University says its engagement of a consulting firm operated by chancellor Julie Bishop’s former political staffer is all above board, after the university’s awarding of contracts to the long-time adviser came under scrutiny.

Joanna Panagopoulos and Noah Yim

anti-SemitismNation

Sheikh Wesam Charkawi addresses the crowd - Ahmad Hraichie addresses the crowd at a Hizb ut-Tahrir hosting a rally outside Lakemba Mosque on Monday afternoon, on the anniversary of the October 7 attacks. Jane Dempster/The Australian.

Sheikh returns to school after student protest

School support officer and The Muslim Vote founder Wesam Charkawi, who was ordered to work from home after defending two nurses, has been ‘cleared to return’ to his position.

Joanna Panagopoulos

Education

EMBARGOED 26TH FEB, 2025. DO NOT USE WITHOUT PERMISSION. SPEAK WITH AUS PIC DESK. Professor Robert Park inspecting wheat varieties at the University of Sydney Plant Breeding Institute in Camden. Professor Park is a global leader in combating rust fungus in wheat. Picture: University of Sydney / Stefanie Zingsheim

Meet the 2024 Shaping Australia Award winners

Three winners were chosen from the categories of research, teaching and community service by a judging panel of eminent Australians, with another three winners chosen by the public.

Joanna Panagopoulos

Solutions summitPolitics

Former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney gestures during a discussion with former Australian Ambassador to the US Arthur Sinodinos and The Australian’s editor-in-chief Michelle Gunn at the Universities Australia conference in Canberra on February 25, 2025. Picture: Universities Australia / X

Former adviser’s White House intel on tariffs

Donald Trump’s first-term White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney has given hope on tariff exemptions, noting that the US Defence Department needs to buy raw materials from Australia.

Joanna Panagopoulos and Natasha Bita

Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/author/joanna-panagopoulos/page/5