Nine News journalists have been stripped of a prestigious journalism award after the network settled high-profile defamation proceedings with former federal MP Andrew Laming earlier this year.
Peter Fegan and Rebeka Powell won the 2021 Walkley Award in the Television/News Reporting category for a series of three reports titled The Investigation of Andrew Laming.
Dr Laming launched defamation action in the Federal Court of Australia against Nine over one of the reports, which aired on March 27 last year, alleging he had taken a lewd photo of a woman in her workplace without her knowledge or consent.
He was never charged by police.
The defamation case was settled earlier this year under confidential terms. Nine was also ordered by the court to issue an apology to Dr Laming.
"On 27 March 2021, 9News Queensland broadcast a report about Dr Laming who was at the time a member of federal parliament," the apology from Nine said.
"Serious allegations were made about Dr Laming in that report and he sued Nine because of it.
"9News has now seen material which indicates that the photograph Dr Laming took was not lewd in nature.
"9News unreservedly withdraws those allegations about Dr Laming and apologises to him and his family for the hurt and harm caused by the report.
'Award could not be maintained'
After seeking legal advice, the directors of the Walkley Foundation said on Tuesday they decided to withdraw the award.
"The directors appreciate that parties settle defamation proceedings for any number of reasons," the statement said.
"The Federal Court proceeding settling on confidential terms and the limited apology by Nine was not decisive by itself to justify the withdrawal of the award, but in all the circumstances the board resolved the award could not be maintained in respect of the third report.
"The first two reports in this series contained allegations that were very serious and raised important issues of public interest, but the award could not be maintained solely upon those allegations."
The statement from the Walkley Foundation noted defamation proceedings were "not an exhaustive fact-finding inquiry, or the foundation's chosen vehicle through which to assess journalistic merit".
The foundation said it also would not give the award to either of the other finalists in the category.
In the wake of the settlement between Nine and Dr Laming, the Walkley Foundation said a panel of "senior independent experts" would review the organisation's complaints mechanisms.
'Extremely disappointing' decision
In a statement to the ABC, Nine's director of news and current affairs Darren Wick said the decision by the Walkley Foundation was "extremely disappointing" and set "a very concerning precedent".
"Nine stands by the journalists involved and the importance of the work they produced, and as an organisation will not be deterred from pursuing challenging journalism that serves and informs the community," the statement said.
"The current state of defamation law in Australia poses a significant threat to public interest journalism.
"Decisions about the settlement of legal proceedings are not always a reflection of the journalistic merits of a story.
"These reports were important examinations of the conduct of a politician, which contributed to a broader social discourse about what standards the community expects from its elected leaders."
Dr Laming said he welcomed the decision by the Walkley Foundation.
"While Nine may not like how the defamation laws work in this country, these laws are there for a reason," he said.
"There were hundreds of journalists who played by the media code, reported fairly and gave me my right of reply."
