Publication
ABC Podcasts & ABC TV
Year
2018
Category
All Media: Coverage of Indigenous Affairs
The “Blood on the Tracks” investigation into the 1988 death of Aboriginal teenager Mark Haines in regional NSW has had a huge impact on multiple platforms. The longform read had over 250,000 views on the day it was published; the Australian Story almost 2 million views; the seven-part podcast over 100,000 downloads per episode; and a 360-degree video topped more than 111,000 views across social media. Unravel cracked wide open the cold case of Indigenous teenager Mark Haines’ death. It uncovered a confession, and prompted the NSW police to place a full-time detective on the investigation. These stories asked the broader question: “Does Australia have an appetite to rewrite historical wrongs?”
Allan Clarke is a Muruwari man and an award-winning investigative journalist, producer and presenter. He has previously worked for BuzzFeed, SBS and NITV.
Yale Macgillivray is a proud Kalkadoon, Australian South Sea Islander and Scottish woman. She has worked as a digital producer for ABC Regional & Local, ABC News and Foreign Correspondent.
Judges’ comments:
““Unravel: Blood on The Tracks” is a compelling, revealing and instructive case study of how justice has sometimes been denied to Aboriginal communities. Allan Clarke tells the story of Mark Haines’ death, which was at first dismissed as suicide, and reveals error after incompetence followed by coverup. In this highly personal investigation, Clarke asks the bigger questions about how Australia faces its past and whether we are prepared to accept our mistakes.”