Laurie Oakes
Encyclopedia
Laurie Oakes is an Australia
n political journalist
, commentator, and media personality. Since 1966, he has worked in the Canberra Press Gallery
, covering the Parliament of Australia
and federal election
s.
High School (of which he was the dux
in 1961) and graduated in 1964 from the University of Sydney
while working part-time with the Sydney Daily Mirror
.
At the age of 25 he was the Melbourne Sun
s Canberra Bureau Chief and while working for that paper he began providing political commentaries for the TV program, Willesee
at Seven. In 1978 he began The Laurie Oakes Report, a televised political journal. In 1979 he joined Network Ten
and worked there for five years. He has since written about politics for The Age
in Melbourne
and the Sunday Telegraph
in Sydney
. He has commentated for several radio stations.
In 1980, he obtained a draft copy of the Australian federal budget, before it was tabled in Parliament.
ignored warnings from four key departments about its Fuelwatch scheme.
Oakes has been a weekly contributor to various Publishing and Broadcasting Limited (PBL)
owned media outlets, including the former Channel 9
television program, Sunday. He has also been a regular reporter for Nine News. He wrote a weekly column for The Bulletin
magazine until it ceased publication in January, 2008. Oakes now writes for Sydney's The Saturday Daily Telegraph. He now presents politics for Weekend Today
with hosts Cameron Williams
and Leila McKinnon
.
used to boycott the program every now and again; not because he thought I was a Liberal but because he thought I wouldn’t toe the line. Paul believed in rewards and punishment."
Oakes's nickname was said by Mark Latham
in his book The Latham Diaries
to be "Jabba the Hutt
".
for journalistic leadership, and again in 2001 for television news reporting. He claimed the Gold Walkley
in 2010 for his reporting of Labor leaks during the federal election campaign.
In 2011, Oakes was inducted into the Australian Logies'
Hall of Fame.
He delivered the 2011 Andrew Olle Media Lecture
.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n political journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, commentator, and media personality. Since 1966, he has worked in the Canberra Press Gallery
Canberra Press Gallery
The Canberra Press Gallery, officially called the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery, is the name given to the approximately 180 journalists and their support staff, including producers, editors and camera crews, who report the workings of the Australian Parliament...
, covering the Parliament of Australia
Parliament of Australia
The Parliament of Australia, also known as the Commonwealth Parliament or Federal Parliament, is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It is bicameral, largely modelled in the Westminster tradition, but with some influences from the United States Congress...
and federal election
Elections in Australia
Australia elects a legislature the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia using various electoral systems: see Australian electoral system. The Parliament consists of two chambers:...
s.
Early career
Oakes was educated at LithgowLithgow, New South Wales
Lithgow is a city in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia and is the centre of the local political division City of Lithgow. It is located in a mountain valley named Lithgow's Valley by John Oxley in honour of William Lithgow, the first Auditor-General of New South Wales.Lithgow is...
High School (of which he was the dux
Dux
Dux is Latin for leader and later for Duke and its variant forms ....
in 1961) and graduated in 1964 from the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
while working part-time with the Sydney Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror (Australia)
The Daily Mirror was an afternoon paper established by Ezra Norton in Sydney, Australia in 1941, gaining a licence from the Minister for Trade and Customs, Eric Harrison, despite wartime paper rationing. In October 1958, Norton and his partners sold his newspapers to the Fairfax group, which...
.
At the age of 25 he was the Melbourne Sun
The Sun News-Pictorial
The Sun News-Pictorial, commonly known as The Sun, was a morning daily tabloid newspaper in Melbourne, Australia established in 1922 and closed in 1990.It was part of The Herald and Weekly Times Ltd stable of Melbourne newspapers...
s Canberra Bureau Chief and while working for that paper he began providing political commentaries for the TV program, Willesee
Mike Willesee
Michael Willesee is an Australian television presenter.Mike Willesee came to prominence in 1967 as a reporter for the ABC's new nightly current affairs program This Day Tonight , where his aggressive style quickly earned him a reputation as a fearless political interviewer.-Career:Willesee figured...
at Seven. In 1978 he began The Laurie Oakes Report, a televised political journal. In 1979 he joined Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
and worked there for five years. He has since written about politics for The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
and the Sunday Telegraph
Sunday Telegraph
The Sunday Telegraph is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961. It is the sister paper of The Daily Telegraph, but is run separately with a different editorial staff, although there is some cross-usage of stories...
in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. He has commentated for several radio stations.
In 1980, he obtained a draft copy of the Australian federal budget, before it was tabled in Parliament.
Later career
In 1997, Oakes used leaked documents to report on abuse of parliamentary travel expenses, which ended the careers of three ministers, several other politicians and some of their staff. More recently he used leaked documents showing the Rudd GovernmentRudd Government
The Rudd Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia of the Australian Labor Party from 2007 to 2010, led by Kevin Rudd as Prime Minister. The Rudd Government commenced on 3 December 2007, when Rudd was sworn in along with his ministry...
ignored warnings from four key departments about its Fuelwatch scheme.
Oakes has been a weekly contributor to various Publishing and Broadcasting Limited (PBL)
Publishing and Broadcasting Limited
Publishing and Broadcasting Limited was one of Australia's largest companies, with interests primarily in media and gaming. The company demerged in late 2007, spinning out its gaming interests into Crown Limited...
owned media outlets, including the former Channel 9
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
television program, Sunday. He has also been a regular reporter for Nine News. He wrote a weekly column for The Bulletin
The Bulletin
The Bulletin was an Australian weekly magazine that was published in Sydney from 1880 until January 2008. It was influential in Australian culture and politics from about 1890 until World War I, the period when it was identified with the "Bulletin school" of Australian literature. Its influence...
magazine until it ceased publication in January, 2008. Oakes now writes for Sydney's The Saturday Daily Telegraph. He now presents politics for Weekend Today
Today (Australian TV program)
Today and Weekend Today are Australian breakfast television programmes, the show is often referred to as The Today Show. The show has been broadcast live by the Nine Network each morning since 1982...
with hosts Cameron Williams
Cameron Williams
Cameron Williams is an Australian journalist.Williams is currently co-host of Weekend Today alongside Leila McKinnon.- Career:Williams's journalism career began 1984 with a cadetship at The Courier-Mail newspaper in Brisbane. From there he moved to The Australian offices in Melbourne, where he...
and Leila McKinnon
Leila McKinnon
Leila McKinnon is an Australian journalist.McKinnon is currently co-host of Weekend Today an is also a reporter and fill in presenter for Nine News and A Current Affair.-Career:...
.
Personal politics
In a 2004 interview, Oakes said: "My personal politics are pretty much in the middle, I would think. I’ve voted both ways at various times. I don’t know if perceptions about my politics influence whether people will be interviewed. [Paul] KeatingPaul Keating
Paul John Keating was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1991 to 1996. Keating was elected as the federal Labor member for Blaxland in 1969 and came to prominence as the reformist treasurer of the Hawke Labor government, which came to power at the 1983 election...
used to boycott the program every now and again; not because he thought I was a Liberal but because he thought I wouldn’t toe the line. Paul believed in rewards and punishment."
Oakes's nickname was said by Mark Latham
Mark Latham
Mark William Latham , an author and former Australian politician, was leader of the Federal Parliamentary Australian Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition from December 2003 to January 2005....
in his book The Latham Diaries
The Latham Diaries
The Latham Diaries is a political memoir by the former Federal Parliamentary Australian Labor Party leader, Mark Latham. The book, published in 2005 by Melbourne University Press, attracted a great amount of criticism...
to be "Jabba the Hutt
Jabba the Hutt
Jabba the Hutt is a fictional character in George Lucas's space opera film saga Star Wars. Designed as a large, slug-like alien, his appearance has been described by film critic Roger Ebert as "Dickensian," a cross between a toad and the Cheshire Cat....
".
Awards
In 1998 Oakes won the Walkley AwardWalkley Awards
The annual Walkley Awards, under the administration of the Walkley Foundation for Journalism, are presented in Australia to recognise and reward excellence in journalism. Finalists are chosen by an independent board of eminent journalists and photographers. The awards cover all media including...
for journalistic leadership, and again in 2001 for television news reporting. He claimed the Gold Walkley
Gold Walkley
The Gold Walkley is the most prestigious of the Walkley Awards for Australian journalism. It is chosen by the Walkley Advisory Board from the winners of all the other categories...
in 2010 for his reporting of Labor leaks during the federal election campaign.
In 2011, Oakes was inducted into the Australian Logies'
Logie Award
The TV Week Logie Awards are the Australian television industry awards, which have been presented annually since 1959. Renamed by Graham Kennedy in 1960 after he won the first 'Star Of The Year' award, the name 'Logie' awards honours John Logie Baird, a Scotsman who invented the television as a...
Hall of Fame.
He delivered the 2011 Andrew Olle Media Lecture
Andrew Olle Media Lecture
The Andrew Olle Media Lecture was established in 1996 by the presenters and staff at 702 ABC Sydney to honour the memory of ABC Radio broadcaster Andrew Olle, who died in 1995 of a brain tumour.The Andrew Olle Lecturers have been:...
.
Books
- The Making of an Australian Prime Minister (1972, co-author)
- Whitlam P.M (1973)
- Grab for Power (1974, co-author)
- Crash through or Crash (1975)
- How Will I Vote (1984)
External links
- Oakes Report - ninemsn.com.au