Democracy's Watchdogs Bill Birnbauer

Adele Ferguson has exposed deceptions, scams and heartless profiteering by financial institutions and weak oversight by the nation’s regulators. Her work has led to hundreds of millions of dollars being refunded to bank customers and ripped-off workers, as well as a Royal Commission and other inquiries.

She has won more than 50 key journalism and other awards including the Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year, the top prize in the Walkley, Quill and Kennedy awards, a Logie, and was made a Member of the Order of Australia for her services to journalism.



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As an investigative reporter on The Age, Nick McKenzie has covered the local Mafia, allegations of war crimes, Crown casino’s links to criminal figures, political donations by Chinese interests, national security issues, foreign bribery by Reserve Bank and other companies, and much more.

The award-winning journalist’s work also is published in The Sydney Morning Herald, and his investigations have aired on the ABC’s Four Corners and Nine’s 60 Minutes.



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Bob Bottom risked his life fighting organised crime as a journalist, a source to other journalists and as an advocate for the creation of federal and state crime-busting commissions. In a role that is unique in Australian journalism, he often acted as a conduit between police intelligence units and reporters, exposing the Mr Bigs of the criminal underworld.



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Michael West is an investigative journalist who focuses on the rising power of corporations over democracy. He is best known for investigations into multinational tax avoidance by some of the world’s biggest companies, and exposing the influence of corporations on government policy. After eight years as a columnist and investigative reporter with The Australian and a similar stretch at the Sydney Morning Herald as a journalist and editor, West founded Michael West Media, which investigates tax avoiders, financial markets and the banking and energy sectors. His website attracts more than half a million views a month.



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Chris Masters reported about 100 episodes for the ABC’s Four Corners, exposing corruption and criminal behaviour at the highest levels of politics, the judiciary and police.



His reporting withstood waves of litigation and the test of time. Multi-award-winning and highly honoured, Masters is one of the giants of Australian investigative journalism.



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David Wilson led The Age’s Insight investigative team for a decade and was one of the first journalists in Australia to build vast databases of information that enabled him to expose dozens of criminals and organised crime figures.

Wilson helped reveal corrupt land deals in Victoria in 1970s and early 1980s, claiming the scalps of two state ministers and jail for a senior official. A series known as The Age Tapes in 1984 led to a controversial political-judicial crisis that reverberated for years, embroiling a High Court judge and sparking numerous inquiries including a Royal Commission.



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