Union civil war engulfs Walkleys

‘The name ‘Walkley’ is synonymous with journalism excellence in Australia. If you change the name, you’ll kill the awards,’ said one Walkley insider.

Bianca Hall, Michael Slezak and Kasun Ubayasir have been appointed to lead the media arm of the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance.

The dramatic leadership shake-up at the top of Australia’s media union has prompted industry concern “extremist” viewpoints held by the new trio of office-bearers are at odds with the core principles of mainstream newsrooms, amid startling claims plans are afoot to change the name of the annual Walkley Awards due to the event founder’s links to fossil fuels.

On Friday, the powerful media section of the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance announced ABC environment reporter Michael Slezak as its new federal president, with The Age environment and climate reporter Bianca Hall and Griffith University senior lecturer and director of communication and journalism Kasun Ubayasir to serve as federal vice-presidents.

The trio are also automatically elevated to the six-person board of the Walkley Foundation, which appoints the judges of the awards, sets the criteria for prizes, and makes decisions on the event’s sponsorships.

Last year, the Walkley Foundation altered its donations policy to exclude award sponsorships from companies which “offer no tangible benefit to humanity”, and in doing so ended a 68-year partnership with its biggest commercial partner, Ampol.

There is now widespread speculation within the MEAA’s media section the new leadership will look to change the name of the Walkley Awards, which were established in 1956 by William Gaston Walkley, the managing director of Ampol, who wanted to create an Australian version of the Pulitzer Prizes.

Said one insider at the Walkley Foundation who asked not to be named: “The name ‘Walkley’ is synonymous with journalism excellence in Australia. If you change the name, you’ll kill the awards.”

The Australian asked Slezak if, as MEAA Media president, he would be raising the issue of a name change.

“Suggestions about changing the name of the Walkley Awards is not one I’ve engaged with,” he said, adding his first priority “will be to obtain a full briefing on the operations of the foundation”.

The three independent directors on the board of the Walkley Foundation, journalists Sally Neighbour, Victoria Laurie and Adele Ferguson, recently sought to loosen the MEAA’s stranglehold over the Walkley Foundation by securing another board seat for an independent director, but were rebuffed.

Neighbour, Laurie and Ferguson declined to comment.

It is understood the MEAA itself is now considering claiming a fourth seat on the board of the Walkley Foundation, as it is entitled to do (but has never previously done) under the terms of the organisation’s constitution.

Such a move would give the MEAA — which is affiliated with the Labor Party — clear control over Australia’s premier journalism awards.

“You shouldn’t have any political party anywhere near journalism awards,” another source at the Walkley Foundation said.

In November 2023, Slezak moved a motion at a meeting of the MEAA’s federal council calling for the union’s endorsement of the controversial “pro-Palestine letter”, which demanded all Australian newsrooms treat unverified information from the democratically elected government of Israel and terror group Hamas with the same “professional scepticism”.

The union-backed petition, signed by more than 160 media figures including Hall and Ubayasiri, sparked outrage across the media industry, with senior editors from several media outlets expressing fierce opposition to the campaign because it was divisive and contravened accepted principles of journalism.

Nine Newspapers’ editorial leadership team banned any reporters who signed the letter from reporting on the Israel-Hamas conflict, while ABC news director Justin Stevens warned staff in an email: “You should not sign any ­petition that may bring into question your impartiality or that of the ABC’s coverage.

“Maintaining trust and credibility as an ABC staff member means you forgo the opportunity to share your opinions about stories on which you report or may be involved in.”

Most of the signatories to the petition were not attached to mainstream media organisations.

MEAA insiders have told The Australian in recent days while they accept Slezak, Hall and Ubayasiri were legitimately appointed to the union’s executive, the trio’s views are not representative of the wider MEAA membership, which itself has dwindled in recent years.

“They’re extremists,” one union insider told The Australian.

Slezak said he was focused on “standing up for the independence of journalists in reporting without fear or favour”.