Annika Smethurst – $80K

Annika Smethurst is not afraid to get down and dirty for her profession. She even had her home raided in 2019 by the Australian Federal Police due to a 2018 report she wrote about plans for greater surveillance of the Australian public. She was the political editor of Sydney’s The Sunday Telegraph at the time.

She graduated from Monash University with an honors degree in journalism. She started a traineeship at News Corp Australia and worked across many publications, including Bendigo Weekly. She also won several accolades, including two Walkley Awards. In 2020, the high court ruled that the warrant for the search of Smethurst’s home was invalid.