We are pleased to announce the inaugural Voiceless Media Prize winners for 2009.

The $5,000 cash prize, kindly sponsored by Bryce Courtenay and Christine Gee, will be awarded for the entry determined by the Judging Panel to be the most intelligent, insightful and effective story addressing animal protection in Australia.

The 2009 judging panel was composed of: JM Coetzee, 2003 winner of Nobel Prize for literature and Voiceless Patron; the Honourable Bob Carr, former Premier of New South Wales; Emeritus Professor David Weisbrot AM, President of the Australian Law Reform Commission; and Brian Sherman AM & Ondine Sherman, Voiceless Managing Directors.

Winner

This powerful, well-constructed exposé of the cruel treatment of pigs on a Tasmanian farm generated outrage and lengthy public debate in the state and around the country. It forced Woolworths to revise its purchasing practices, and resulted in a cruelty conviction for the farm owner.

To read the transcript of this segment, please visit the Stateline Tasmania website.

Amount: $5,000 kindly sponsored by Bryce Courtenay and Christine Gee

Paul Sheehan, ‘A bloody mob of hypocrites’, Sydney Morning Herald, The Age & National Times Online,
19 October 2009

Highly Commended

This poignant piece furthered the debate on the treatment of kangaroos in Australia, contributing to greater understanding of these sentient beings. It was reprinted across Fairfax publications and generated a large volume of letters to the editor and online discussion.

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