Radio - Radio News Reporting - Winner

Rafael Epstein, ABC Radio, "Mohamed Haneef"

Rafael Epstein’s radio news coverage revealed a major mistake in the government’s case against terror suspect Dr Mohamed Haneef; the first in a string of mistakes which ultimately led to the collapse of the Government’s case against the Indian doctor. Epstein broke the news that Haneef’s SIM card, supposedly found in a burning car in Glasgow, was actually discovered hundreds of kilometres away and eight hours later in Liverpool.

It took a strong network of contacts handled with discretion and care for Epstein to confirm his lead with Scotland Yard and the Australian Federal Police. The story was picked up by other media outlets within Australia and even headlined overseas.

Epstein has been a reporter for the ABC for 10 years, working in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Darwin and South Asia. He has been the ABC’s Europe correspondent since early 2005. Epstein’s investigative coverage of police corruption in Victoria won him a Walkley in 2004.

Judges’ comments

Epstein broke a story that eluded many other journalists and tracked a lot of change. It’s a huge story, a great story that effectively turned around public sentiment. As a piece of reporting it had massive impact and ongoing repercussions for our nation. This story changed the nature of Australian politics.