Mary-Louise O’Callaghan

Mary-Louise O’Callaghan lived and reported on the Pacific as a foreign correspondent with Australian metropolitan daily newspapers for more than two decades. In 1997 she won the Gold Walkley for Excellence in Journalism for her investigative reporting exposing the PNG’s Government ill-conceived decision to hire foreign mercenaries to end a war for secession on the island of Bougainville. Her book Enemies Within, Australia, PNG and the Sandline Mercenary Affair, was published the following year.

In 2006‐2013 she joined the Australian‐led, international intervention force, RAMSI (Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands) as Public Affairs Manager until 2013. Returning to Australia, she joined the country’s leading humanitarian agency, World Vision Australia where she leads the Public Affairs team.