I congratulate Peter Ker and Irene Sarwindaningrum, the recipients of the Elizabeth O'Neill Journalism Award for 2025-26.
They have each demonstrated a strong commitment to growing their understanding of Indonesia and Australia.
Mr Ker is a journalist at the Australian Financial Review with over 24 years’ experience in print journalism. He reports on natural resources, finance, energy and mining and hosts the AFR’s decarbonisation podcast TechZero. With the award, Mr Ker intends to explore Australia and Indonesia’s energy transition relationship.
Ms Sarwindaningrum is a journalist at Kompas Daily Newspaper and winner of Indonesia’s prestigious Adinegoro Award for investigative reporting. Ms Sarwindaningrum’s reporting has examined the Australia-Indonesia relationship across areas such as tourism and geopolitics. With her award, she intends to cover issues affecting both countries, including digital security, AI governance and public health.
The Award will support Mr Ker and Ms Sarwindaningrum undertake a two-week program in Indonesia and Australia respectively to build a stronger understanding and appreciation of the range of issues facing contemporary Indonesia and Australia.
The Award commemorates the distinguished career of Elizabeth O'Neill OAM, who died while serving her country in Indonesia on 7 March 2007. It continues the legacy of Ms O'Neill, who was passionate about fostering mutual understanding of Australia and Indonesia through informed media coverage.
The Award is open to high-achieving journalists from print, radio, television and online media organisations across Australia and Indonesia.