INTERVIEW: Jo Chandler: Gender, human rights and power investigations in Papua New Guinea

INTERVIEW: A series of stories on the complexity and contradictions of Papua New Guinea, Australia’s closest neighbour, has won the 2013 George Munster award for independent journalism. The award is presented by the George Munster Trust and the Australian Centre for Independent Journalism (ACIJ) at the University of Technology, Sydney. Freelance journalist and former senior writer for Fairfax Media, Jo Chandler won the award for her Papua New Guinea articles, published in 2013 in the now defunct online publication The Global Mail. Covering issues such as health and human rights; violence and justice; aid and development; gender and power, the stories illustrate the complexity and contradictions of PNG, Australia’s closest neighbour. These stories included ‘It’s 2013, And They’re Burning Witches’, an article which received more than one mil­lion page views, and the personal ‘TB and me’. Each story demonstrated strong investigative skills, rigorous fact checking and quality writing. At the award presentation on 17 March 2014 at UTS, Chandler took part in a conversation with ACIJ director associate professor Tom Morton about her stories, how and why she covered them and what continues to motivate her. The George Munster Award recognises excellence in journalism and commemorates George Munster, freelance editor, journalist and writer.Caption: Figure 2: These men call their gang ‘Dirty Dons 585’ and admit to rapes and armed robberies in the Port Moresby area. They say two-thirds of their victims are women. © Vlad Sokhin