Journalist Christian Kerr dies, aged 56
Christian Kerr, who penned columns for The Australian, Crikey and The Spectator Australia, has died aged 56.
Political journalist Christian Kerr, who penned popular columns for The Australian, Crikey, and The Spectator Australia, has died aged 56.
A brilliant writer and sharp political analyst, Kerr’s reporting at The Australian’s Canberra bureau was highly regarded. He was a regular Strewth columnist.
“When Kerr worked in the Canberra bureau of The Australian it was a time of important political impact and Christian, through his talent and contacts, contributed to the overall success of the bureau,” said Dennis Shanahan, who was his bureau chief, political editor and friend.
Kerr was an editor of news website Crikey when it launched more than two decades ago, and for several years wrote a gossip column in the online journal under the pseudonym Hillary Bray, named after a James Bond character.
The column was a must-read in Australia’s political circles, and Kerr managed to keep his identity as its author secret for four years.
On Thursday, Crikey founder Stephen Mayne posted on Twitter: “Vale Christian Kerr – a creative and political genius who was the single most important Crikey columnist/editor during the first 8 years until he went to Canberra with The OZ in 2008.”
Since 2016, Kerr was a contributor to the Flat White column for The Spectator Australia. He is survived by his two children.
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