1. Laurie Oakes worked in the Canberra Press Gallery from 1969 to 2017, covering the Parliament of Australia and federal elections for print, radio, and television.
16 Facts About Laurie Oakes
1. 2.
When Laurie Oakes was six years old, his father was transferred to Cockatoo Island, a small island off the coast of Derby, Western Australia, where there was an iron ore mine.
3.
Laurie Oakes later moved back to New South Wales and attended Lithgow High School.
4.
Laurie Oakes was an editor of the University of Sydney student newspaper Honi Soit in 1963.
5.
Laurie Oakes graduated in 1964 from the University of Sydney while working part-time with the Sydney Daily Mirror.
6.
Laurie Oakes has since written about politics for The Age in Melbourne and the Sunday Telegraph in Sydney.
7.
In 1997, Laurie 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.
8.
Laurie Oakes has been a weekly contributor to various Publishing and Broadcasting Limited owned media outlets, including the former Channel 9 television program, Sunday.
9.
Laurie Oakes has been a regular reporter for Nine News.
10.
Laurie Oakes wrote a weekly column for The Bulletin magazine until it ceased publication in January, 2008.
11.
Laurie Oakes announced his retirement date as 18 August 2017.
12.
Laurie Oakes has been nicknamed the "Sphere of Influence" by Crikey.
13.
In 1998 Laurie Oakes won the Walkley Award for journalistic leadership, and again in 2001 for television news reporting.
14.
Laurie Oakes claimed the Gold Walkley in 2010 for his reporting of Labor leaks during the federal election campaign.
15.
In 2010, Laurie Oakes won the Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year award.
16.
In 2011, Laurie Oakes was inducted into the Logie Hall of Fame.