Media Statement

12 June 2000

For immediate release:

WINNERS OF WALLACE AWARDS ANNOUNCED

A Wellington film-maker, Tony Sutorius, has been given an award by the Electoral Commission in recognition of an outstanding contribution to the public understanding of electoral matters.

The award was for his 87-minute cinema documentary feature, Campaign, which recorded the electoral contest for the Wellington Central electorate during the 1996 general election.

The award is among seven Wallace Awards announced today by the Electoral Commission.

The award for a community organisation which has run a significant and successful public programme to promote participation or awareness of electoral matters went to the New Zealand Film Archive for audio-visual exhibitions in both Wellington and Auckland.

The public exhibitions profiled the changes in parliamentary electioneering over the years and were called Kissing Babies: 60 Years of Spin.

The award for an individual print journalist went to John Armstrong, Political Editor of The New Zealand Herald for a series of pre-election feature articles in the publication.

Highly commended certificates for the same category were awarded to Helen Bain of The Dominion and Bernard Steeds of the New Zealand Press Association.

The broadcasting award for a journalist in the electronic media was given to the TV3 newsreader, Carol Hirschfield, for a network television news feature highlighting the disparity between women’s knowledge of the electoral system as compared to men.

Massey University lecturer Richard Shaw received a highly commended certificate for the academic paper, monograph or book category for a published paper on the future of parliamentary representation.

The annual awards are named after the independent agency’s inaugural President, Sir John Wallace QC, who chaired the 1985—86 Royal Commission on the Electoral System.

ENDS

Further information:

Douglas Eckhoff
Phone: (4) 474 0671
Cellphone: 021 441 405
Email: eckhoff@elections.govt.nz

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