Spotlight on: Laura Murphy-Oates
“There are so many important stories that just aren’t being told — both in our news and in our history books.” Get to know the 2018 Young Australian Journalist of the Year.

Walkley Young Australian Journalist of the Year Award
Laura Murphy-Oates, The Feed, SBS Viceland and Dateline, SBS TV, “Young and black” “Kids of Kalgoorlie” “Vanished: Canada’s missing women”
Taking out two categories, for Public Service and Longform Journalism, Laura Murphy-Oates was the clear winner of this year’s Walkley Young Australian Journalist of the Year. Accepting the trophy at the awards ceremony in Sydney in July, Laura said: “I am incredibly lucky at 27 to have spent the past six years traveling around Australia and the world meeting First Nations people. It has made me a better journalist and a better person.”
Laura’s win was met with a warm outpouring of support from the community, while the judges praised the maturity of her winning body of work. “Laura’s impressive portfolio displays a maturity beyond her years. She has managed to tell three incredibly complex stories in a manner that is in parts shocking, sad and funny — and most importantly always powerful and engaging. In particular, the judges were impressed by her ability to ask tough questions and get telling insights from interview subjects. Equally impressive was the depth of her reporting and ability to engage the viewer for long periods of time. We can’t wait to see what she does next.”
How did you get started on “Kids of Kalgoorlie”?
As an Indigenous reporter I had been aware of racist online forums and anti-Indigenous vigilante behavior happening in country towns across Australia, including Kalgoorlie. I also got a tip off from my colleague Kylie Grey (who produced “Vanished”, the Dateline documentary that was part of the winning entry in the Public Service category) that a program was being launched in Kalgoorlie to teach the community how to use video and social media to document racial abuse.
Kalgoorlie has long been a town where racial tensions run high, and the death of 14-year-old local Indigenous boy Elijah Doughty shone a spotlight on division in the Western Australian mining community.
I pitched a story to The Feed where I’d spend a day in the life of Indigenous kids in the town. I wanted to look at this nationally important story through a different lens and show how the Indigenous kids of Kalgoorlie felt about their town, about justice, and about race relations in Australia. Ultimately, I wanted to give a voice to kids like Elijah.
For a month or so before the trip I set about investigating claims of vigilante behavior in the town- calling locals, monitoring a number of Kalgoorlie Facebook pages for violent threats and reaching out to the people involved for comment. I had planned an on-camera interview with one of the suspected vigilantes, but last minute he declined to be interviewed.
As an Indigenous journalist this story required tough skin — I wanted to include the views of non-Indigenous residents, some of whom had incredibly racist views. I wrote about that experience for The Guardian here.
This story also required high-stress field producing over the four days of the shoot. My co-producer, cameraman and editor Simon Cunich, who came on to the project a week before the shoot, assisted me on the ground. There was a tense atmosphere in the town with reports that protests may break out again.
The community was also very wary of speaking to the media, so it took sensitivity and persistence to get people from all sides to agree to go on camera. This required a lot of negotiation: approaching without cameras, asking permission and quickly fostering relationships in the community on the ground.
In the end we were one of only two crews given access to Elijah’s memorial and the only TV program to interview Elijah’s mother. We were also the only crew allowed unfettered access to Cop Watch.
First and foremost, this was a community and a family still grieving and I felt a strong responsibility not to interfere with that grieving, whilst still telling a story that would do justice to the issue at hand.
What impact did the story have?
After “Kids of Kalgoorlie” aired I heard from many members of the community who felt that the story gave their kids and their community a voice. I also heard from people around Australia about how this story shocked, educated and moved them.
Unfortunately the deep-seated issues I reported on in the community haven’t changed — the division, the vigilante behaviour and the ongoing grief. This month marks two years since the death of Elijah and yet there are reports that local, state and federal government has done very little for Indigenous kids in Kalgoorlie in that time.
What have you learned from reporting on indigenous communities?
Reporting in Indigenous communities has taught me that Indigenous people are bonded by resilience, the strength of community and respect. It’s also taught me that as a country we still have a long way to go when it comes to racial equality, and that journey starts with listening to Indigenous people and Indigenous stories.
What made you want to be a journalist?
I’ve always loved storytelling, and I’ve also been passionate about social justice. However I never envisaged myself working in TV — so I was very surprised when SBS picked me as a cadet in 2013!
My real passion for journalism was actually lit during that first year or so of reporting. Speaking to Indigenous people around Australia, I realised that there are so many important stories that just aren’t being told — both in our news and in our history books. Bringing those stories to light is an awesome privilege that motivates me everyday.
What are you most proud of about the stories you’ve told?
I’m proud to be able to tell Indigenous stories in a way that’s balanced, respects Indigenous communities, and teaches people about a history they may not be aware of.
What’s your message to Australians about why quality journalism needs their support?
If we want to see an Australia where dominant narratives continue to be interrogated, where different voices are heard and where injustice is brought to light, we need quality journalism and we need places (like SBS and NITV) for young journalists from different backgrounds to grow.
I’m incredibly lucky to work in a team for a public broadcaster that strives to represent diverse communities and gives young journalists a chance to prove themselves. A workplace like this is hard to find in the Australian media landscape, and getting harder!
The best thing about receiving this award, and what are you looking forward to about the trip you’ve won to the US newsrooms?
The pay raise! (Jokes, that hasn’t happened… Yet).
So many families and communities have opened their hearts and their homes to me over the past few years, despite an ingrained distrust of institutions and the media. That requires a lot of trust and bravery! The best thing about receiving this award has to be the recognition that Indigenous stories matter. I’m also hoping to see a lot more First Nation journalists take my place in the years to come!
In the US I’m looking forward picking the brains of some of the brightest people in the industry.
I often look to longform reporting in the US across TV, print and radio (especially podcasts) for inspiration, so being able to hear from some of these journalists firsthand is incredibly exciting!
Laura Murphy-Oates is a 27-year-old Ngiyampaa Wailwan woman, who grew up on Darkinjung land on the central coast. She is a presenter and producer on the daily current affairs show The Feed on SBS VICELAND. Over the past six years, Laura has worked across SBS and NITV as a video journalist, news reporter and documentary producer, travelling to Indigenous communities all around Australia. Her work at NITV earned her a Logie nomination in 2017 and a NSW Multicultural and Indigenous Media Award in 2016.
Follow her on Twitter: @lauramoates
See all the winners of the Walkley Mid-Year Awards here.
*Interview by Gemma Courtney, The Walkley Foundation
The Walkley Young Australian Journalist of the Year Award is supported by the Jibb Foundation.
Thanks to the support of the Jibb Foundation, Laura will fly to the USA to undertake two weeks’ worth of work experience with BuzzFeed, The New York Times, Columbia Journalism Review, Twitter and Quartz. All category winners will also receive mentoring from senior journalists.
The Public Service category is supported by News Corp Australia.
The Longform Feature or Special category is supported by Fairfax Media.

