World News – African Union – The Guardian Australia won Indigenous Affairs Walkley for the second year in a row

Lorena Allam and Kala Walkist were honored for their reports on Rio Tinto and BHP activity in the Pilbara area of ​​Washington

Guardian Australia won the Walkley Aboriginal Affairs Award, for the second year in a row, for its coverage of Rio Tinto and BHP miners destroying or threatening sacred sites in Pilbara.

Guardian Australia correspondent Kala Walchest and Aboriginal Affairs Editor Lorena Allam are honored for their reports on Rio Tinto’s destruction of sacred sites in Juukan Gorge in Western Australia and BHP’s plan to destroy at least 40 important indigenous sites in the Pilbara.

Rio Tinto blew up a cave that showed 46,000 years of continuous occupation and provided a 4,000-year-old genetic link to the current traditional owners.

The mining company received ministerial approval to destroy or destroy the area in 2013 under the Old Aboriginal Heritage Laws of Western Australia that were drafted in 1972 in favor of mining supporters.

Guardian Australia has also been reworked for its report on BHP’s plans to destroy at least 40 – and possibly as many as 86 – important indigenous sites in the central Pilbara region to expand the iron ore mining operation in South Flank, although traditional owners opposed this step.

The miner later pledged not to destroy the heritage sites without « more intensive consultation » with the traditional owners.

Congratulations to Calla Wahlquist (callapilla) and Lorena Allam, winners of the 2020 Walkley Prize for Indigenous Affairs, supported by pwc_au Indigenous Consulting, for their work as GuardianAus “Rio Tinto blasts Juukan Gorge, and BHP’s 24-hour backdown” #walkleys pic. Twitter. com / 3T8UFlHv1p

Walkie Jury Chair, Guardian Australia Editor, Lenore Taylor, praised the scope and depth of this year’s winning entries.

“During last summer’s fires, factual information sometimes made the difference between life and death,” she said Friday night.. Likewise, facts were the most important tool to curb the spread of the Coronavirus, and our audience seemed hungry for information..

Gold Walkley went to Mark Willacy and ABC Investments-Four Corners for Killing Field who uncovered alleged war crimes committed by Australian Special Forces in Afghanistan.

Samantha Maiden won the Year Award for her story in The New Daily about Scott Morrison’s vacation in Hawaii during the Summer Black Fire Crisis. .

Matthew Abbott was named Nikon-Walker Photographer of the Year for his work covering fires and the Covid-19 virus.

Lucy Morris Marr’s story about George Bell’s trial, Fallen (Allen & Unwin), wins a Walkley Book Award.

The 65th Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism this year were presented remotely for the first time due to coronavirus restrictions.

Guardian Australia also won the Indigenous Affairs Bell in 2019 for its landmark Killing Times report that charted 270 border massacres over 140 years in every state and territory. .

The project was a collaboration between Alam and University of Newcastle Professor Lyndall Ryan. Guardian journalists Nick Evershed, Paul Daly, Andy Paul, Carly Earl, and two interns, Kiran Omhoni and Jeremy Nader, contributed to the project..

Walkley Awards, Gold Walkley, Australia, Australian Broadcasting Corporation