The Pacific Magazines collective agreement is under renegotiation, after management put forward a proposal for the new agreement. To see the full proposal click here and fill in the survey here. For more information contact Claire O’Rourke on 02 9333 0935 or claire.orourke@alliance.org.au .

He lost three Walkley trophies when the Black Saturday bushfires destroyed his Kinglake home, but now The Australian’s Gary Hughes’ trophy case will be groaning after he took out the 2009 Gold Walkley and Best Print News Report for his accounts of the disaster. News Ltd also presented Hughes with three replacement trophies for those he lost. FoI campaigner Michael McKinnon was recognised for Journalism Leadership, and Tony Stephens for Outstanding Contribution to Journalism at the 54th Walkleys in Sydney last night. Get the details on all the winners here.

Federal Council, the decision-making body of the Alliance made up of 81 working members from all sections and from all around Australia, will in Sydney today and tomorrow to discuss ways to deal with the rapid changes reshaping the media and entertainment industries, and how we can turn these changes to the benefit of members. This follows two days of meetings by the different parts of the union. The Federal Council will hear from a range of guest speakers, including Minster for the Arts, Peter Garrett, this afternoon. For regular Federal Council updates go here.

The Media Alliance expresses its deepest sympathy to the families and colleagues of the media personnel killed in Mindanao and we invite to to send your condolences using our online form.

We would also like to extend our support to our colleagues working in the Philippines media and acknowledge the bravery and determination of the members of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines.

Your messages will be seen instantly by the NUJP and will be delivered by our Media Alliance delegation in the coming weeks.

Click here to send your message.

The Rudd Government must use every diplomatic avenue to pressure the Arroyo administration in the Philippines to order an immediate, independent investigation into the massacre in Mindanao this week of members of a 60 person convoy, among whom at least 32 were journalists. Identification of bodies continues. The Alliance has written to the minister for Foreign Affairs, Stephen Smith, asking him to urgently intervene to put pressure on the Philippines government to investigate these murders and to further guarantee the safety of media workers in the region. 

Australian star Peter Carroll will take the night off from performing in Company B’s Happy Days to accept the inaugural Equity Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by FOXTEL at an award ceremony in Sydney tonight. Carroll, a former member of the Sydney Theatre Company’s prestigious Actors’ Company, was nominated by Equity members and chosen by the National Performers Committee.
 

Sally Neighbour’s The Mother of Mohammed – the portrait of a matriarch among terrorists, Gerard Ryle’s Firepower – an investigation of the Firepower scandal and Graham Freudenberg’s Churchill and Australia – a study of Winston Churchill’s relationship with Australia, are all in the running for the prestigious Walkley Non-fiction Book Award. The three finalists, chosen from a field of more than 70, were announced at the Book Kitchen in Sydney’s Surry Hills this week. The winner will be announced at the Walkley Awards on November 26. More details at www.walkleys.com

Screen Australia staff have voted overwhelmingly in favour (105 for, one against) their new Enterprise Agreement, which improves pay, parental leave and brings all staff under one set of rates and conditions. The agreement, which the Alliance has been negotiating since the beginning of the year, has now gone to Fair Work Australia for final approval and once this process is complete, staff will receive their 3.5 per cent pay rise. Congratulations to all Alliance members who worked with their union throughout the long negotiation process.