2026 Festival

Speaker Profile

Louise Milligan

Louise Milligan is a multi-award-winning investigative journalist for ABC TV’s Four Corners. She is the bestselling author of Cardinal and Witness, both honoured with major awards including the Walkley Book Award and Davitt Award. Her journalism has driven national inquiries and law reform. A former High Court and political reporter, she lives in Melbourne. Louise’s fiction debut is the novel Pheasants Nest

In Conversation: Louise Milligan

Saturday April 25
Hotel Sorrento (Cooper Room)
2.30pm / 60 mins

Louise Milligan with Jo Dyer

Multi-award winning investigative journalist Louise Milligan has just published her second novel. So how does one of Australia’s most prolific reporters find time to make up stories, invent characters and create imaginary worlds? 

Fault Lines: Journalism’s role in a fractured world

Sunday April 26
The Ballroom, The Continental
1.30pm / 60 mins

Monica Attard, Jon Faine and Louise Milligan with Ranald Macdonald  

Modern media is suffering a crisis of public trust and an increasingly diverse and fragmented market. Meanwhile, star journalists and commentators too often  focus on the brand rather than the story. Yet good journalism still has immense capacity to scrutinise, reveal and hold institutions and individuals to account.