Walkley Awards hose down Ampol boycott
The body behind journalism’s most prestigious awards has brushed off a boycott by some of the nation’s most celebrated cartoonists and journalists because of its strong ties to Ampol.
The body behind journalism’s most prestigious awards has brushed off a boycott by some of the nation’s most celebrated cartoonists and journalists because of its strong ties to petroleum company Ampol.
The Walkley Foundation pointed to the fact there were more entrants this year than last, including an equal number of entrants in the cartoonist category, amid growing pressure for it to find a new major sponsor.
Cartoonists Fiona Katauskas, David Blumenstein and Glen Le Lievre withdrew their entries after colleague Jon Kudelka wrote a blog post on August 30 titled “Why I’m not entering the Walkleys this year”.
“The guts of it is that Ampol, a well known fossil fuel company, is a sponsor of the Walkleys,” the dual Walkley-winner wrote. He also noted an unsuccessful call for a climate reporting category.
Others such as Matt Golding, David Rowe and First Dog on the Moon also said they would not enter the prize, which closed for applications on August 31.
Journalists also “stood by the cartoonists” and withdrew their entries, including two-time Walkley award-winning documentary filmmaker Olivia Rousset, science writer Jack Ryan and Guardian politics columnist Greg Jericho, who frequently writes about climate change.
Science Vs podcast producer Joel Werner quit his judging role, saying “Ampol’s sponsorship was a conflict of interest” to his frequent reporting on climate change.
Several of the cartoonists are members of the Australian Cartoonists Association.
Three-time Walkley winner and ACA president Cathy Wilcox said the association was not taking a stand but she together with Canberra Times cartoonist David Pope had called for the Walkley Foundation to “break the bond” with Ampol.
She said she “reserved the right to withdraw” her Walkley entry as she waited to see how the foundation responded to the appeals from herself and her colleagues. “Unfortunately, boycotting it, which is a legitimate action to bring attention to an important issue … undermines the whole award for everyone else,” she said.
In a statement, the foundation “noted the concerns of some cartoonists and journalists about sponsorship of the Walkley awards” while chief executive Shona Martyn said she “respects the right of all media professionals to decide which awards they wish to enter”.
A spokesman for Ampol pointed to a blog post on the Walkley Foundation website from November 16, 2022, which outlined the history of the Walkley awards, started by the managing director of Ampol Petroleum William Walkley.
“This year (in 2022), the company became a major sponsor of the Walkley Foundation, a step Matthew Halliday, Ampol’s CEO and managing director, describes as a logical progression in the rebranding process,” a story by Helen O’Neill reads.
It followed quotes by Mr Halliday. “It is about recognising the history of the founder of Ampol. (Fossil) fuel is going to disappear over the next couple of decades.
“The role governments will need to play – and companies – in shaping what society is going to look like over the next 10, 20, 30 years, you need to have a very independent and capable media to … arbitrate that debate effectively.”
BHP is also a “gold” sponsor of the foundation.
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