Meet the author - Nick McKenzie
6pm, Wednesday 26 July 2023
ANU/The Canberra Times Meet the Author series
Manning Clark, Kambri Cultural Centre
Australian National University
153 University Avenue, Canberra ACT 2600
Nick McKenzie will be in conversation with Karen Middleton on Nick's new book Crossing the Line, revealing the explosive inside story behind the Ben Roberts-Smith headlines and a testament to the power of investigative journalism.
In mid-2017, Walkley Award-winning journalist Nick McKenzie. McKenzie and veteran reporter Chris Masters began an investigation that would not only reveal shocking information about Australia's most famous and revered SAS soldier but plunge the two reporters into the defamation trial of the century.
This fight to investigate allegations of war crimes and murder took McKenzie across Australia and to Afghanistan, and from the newsroom to the courtroom. It would see him sued for defamation by Ben Roberts-Smith, who denied the allegations. The reporter had to confront the powerful forces that could destroy his career and silence brave SAS soldiers who were prepared to speak up.
An enthralling and meticulously researched book, Crossing the Line tells the untold story of how a small group of brave soldiers and two determined reporters exposed one of the greatest military scandals in Australian
Nick McKenzie is one of the nation's most decorated investigative journalists, being named Australian Journalist of the Year on four separate occasions. Over two decades, he has worked for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Four Corners program, Nine's 60 Minutes and The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapers. His reporting spans politics, defence, foreign affairs, the criminal justice system, corporate crime and social affairs. He has been awarded the Walkley, Australia's highest journalism award, a record fourteen times.
Karen Middleton is The Saturday Paper's chief political correspondent and a regular media commentator. Her first book, An Unwinnable War - Australia in Afghanistan was published in 2011 and her second Albanese - Telling it Straight in 2016. She was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Canberra in 2020.
John Blaxland is Professor of International Security and Intelligence Studies in the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre (SDSC), Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, ANU. He is a former Army officer, editor of Niche Wars: Australia in Afghanistan and Iraq 2001-2014 and occasional media commentator.
This event is in association with Harry Hartog Bookshop. Books will be available for purchase on the evening in the Cultural Centre foyer. Pre-event book signings will be available from 5.30pm, and available again after the event.
