Guardian Australia’s Queensland correspondent, Ben Smee, has been named joint winner of the Queensland journalist of the year award at the annual Clarion awards, alongside a team from SBS. The top prize was awarded for their joint investigation, In the Box: Inside the Isolation Cells where Australian Kids are Imprisoned, which exposed the detention of children in police watch house facilities designed for adults.
The investigation, by Smee and SBS journalists Jennifer Luu, Jodie Noyce and Chloe Angelo, documented children as young as 11 being held in small, freezing isolation cells without mattresses, toilets or windows. The Clarion judges praised the work for reflecting “the core values of investigative journalism”, highlighting its compelling vision, high production values and impactful storytelling.
Smee also won two additional awards at the ceremony on Saturday night. His entry in the social issues reporting category was successful, with judges noting his persistence in scrutinising youth crime and systemic failures in Queensland. He also claimed the commentary, analysis, opinion and critique category for his coverage of the Queensland election, commended for his “clear, elegant style”.
Guardian Australia reporter Ella Archibald-Binge won the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues reporting award for her work at the ABC on Queensland’s truth-telling inquiry and stolen wages. This year marked the 30th anniversary of the Clarion awards, which received more than 330 entries across 28 categories, celebrating fearless reporting and public interest journalism.
