Samantha Maiden has been named the 2021 Australian Journalist of the Year for coverage of abuse in Parliament House published by news.com.au.
The award was presented at the 2021 Quill Awards for Excellence in Victorian Journalism at Crown Palladium on 18 March 2022.
Full judges' citation
'In breaking the story of Brittany Higgins' alleged rape in Parliament House, Samantha Maiden was central to one of the defining moments of 2021. The story put the treatment of women squarely in the spotlight, and was to have enormous political consequences for the Morrison government.
In the fine tradition of Graham Perkin, Maiden was dogged and courageous in pursuing and breaking numerous other related stories over the course of the year, sometimes in the face of intimidation from those in power.
Maiden's body of work has helped bring about significant improvements in the way women are treated in Parliament House, and in workplaces around the country.'
The winning entry
Samantha Maiden, news.com.au, for coverage of abuse in Parliament House
'Young staffer Brittany Higgins says she was raped at Parliament House', News.com.au, 15 February 2021
'Parliament office "steam cleaned" after alleged attack', News.com.au, 15 February 2021
'Minister Michaelia Cash’s voicemail message to Brittany Higgins', News.com.au, 17 February 2021
'Why Peter Dutton's office was tipped off when Brittany Higgins tried to speak to police after she quit her job at Parliament House', News.com.au, 24 February 2021
'Female Labor staffers warn male MPs they will ‘no longer keep their secrets"', News.com.au, 15 March 2021
Other 2021 Perkin award finalists
Gerard Ryle, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, for originating and leading the Panama Papers story
Sally Sara, ABC News, for coverage of the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan
Read more about 2021 Perkin award finalists and their entries