He may hate Crikey but unlike Glenn Milne, we’re prepared to act professionally. Which is why Milne wins the Scoop of the Year category for his story that revealed John Howard’s secret deal with Peter Costello to hand over the Liberal leadership after two terms as Prime Minister. Not only did Milne have the story, he also revealed the existence of a meeting in 1994. Witness to the meeting, former Liberal minister Ian McLachlan called it a “cast-iron, concrete contract” and Milne revealed the note that McLachlan wrote about the meeting that he carried around in his wallet. It was a genuine scoop that altered the power dynamic of the Liberal Party and therefore Australian politics, forcing Howard to remove any time limit on his plan to remain PM. Great scoop, pity about the scooper.

2005 Winner: Joint winners — The Financial Review for its Robert Gerard tax expose and ABC TV’s Lateline for its Vivian Solon scoop.