Sean Christopher Dorney (born 8 March 1951) is an Australian journalist, foreign correspondent, and writer with an extensive career covering the Pacific with a particular focus on

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

. He was the Pacific and PNG Correspondent of the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

on and off from 1975 to 2014.Voiceless in the South Pacific
By Daniel Flitton, 28 August 2014, ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

''A tribute to Sean Dorney
Tess Newton, 27 February 2018,

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

Development Policy Centre

Early life and education

Born in 1951, Dorney was brought up in a strong Catholic household in Townsville, the fourth of six children. His father was a surgeon who served with the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

including in

. He then attended

St Joseph's Nudgee College St Joseph's Nudgee College (commonly referred to as Nudgee College or simply Nudgee) is an independent Catholic primary and secondary day and boarding school for boys, located in Boondall Boondall ( ) is a northern suburb in the City of Bri ...

in Brisbane from 1964 to 1968 and then studied economics at

James Cook University James Cook University (JCU) is a public university in North Queensland, Australia. The second oldest university in Queensland, JCU is a teaching and research institution. The university's main campuses are located in the tropical cities of Cair ...

in 1969 to 1970.

Professional career

Dorney was an editor of the

student newspaper which secured him a cadetship at the

. He then worked at the former

National Broadcasting Commission The National Broadcasting Commission is the broadcast regulator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The commission was set up on August 24, 1992, by Decree 38 of 1992 later amended as an act of the National Assembly by Act 55 of 1999 and now known ...

in Port Moresby. In 1984, Dorney was deported by the Papua New Guinea Government for his role in the

Four Corners Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. Most of the Four Corners regio ...

interview of James Nyaro, a West Papuan rebel commander fighting the Indonesian Government. In 1985 Dorney left the

to work as a

press secretary A press secretary or press officer is a senior advisor who provides advice on how to deal with the news media and, using news management techniques, helps their employer to maintain a positive public image and avoid negative media coverage. Dutie ...

in the

Northern Territory Government The Northern Territory Government is the executive branch of the Northern Territory. The Government of Northern Territory was formed in 1978 with the granting of self-government to the Territory. The Northern Territory is a territory of the Co ...

for 18 months. In 2009 Dorney was deported from

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

for his reporting on

Frank Bainimarama Josaia Voreqe "Frank" Bainimarama (; born 27 April 1954) is a Fijian former politician and naval officer who served as the prime minister of Fiji from 2007 until 2022. A member of the FijiFirst party, which he founded in 2014, he began his c ...

's abrogation of the country's constitution. Dorney served as an

election monitor Election monitoring involves the observation of an election by one or more independent parties, typically from another country or from a non-governmental organization (NGO). The monitoring parties aim primarily to assess the conduct of an elect ...

with the Commonwealth Observer Group during the

2017 Papua New Guinean general election General elections were held in Papua New Guinea between 24 June and 8 July 2017. The writs for the election were issued on 20 April, and candidate nominations closed on 27 April. Michael Somare, the first Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, ret ...

. He is a Nonresident Fellow of the

Lowy Institute for International Policy The Lowy Institute is an independent think tank founded in April 2003 by Frank Lowy to conduct original, policy-relevant research regarding international political, strategic and economic issues from an Australian perspective. It is based in S ...

Rugby career

Dorney played halfback for

and later the Brisbane

Wests Rugby Wests Rugby Union Club or Wests is an Australian rugby union club, based in Toowong, Queensland, Toowong, that competes in the Queensland Premier Rugby competition. The bulk of Wests' players are drawn from the western suburbs of Brisbane wh ...

. Dorney was a member of the

Papua New Guinea national rugby league team The Papua New Guinea national rugby league team represents Papua New Guinea in the sport of rugby league football. In Papua New Guinea, Rugby League is a highly popular sport and is regarded as the country's national sport. The national side ar ...

in 1975 and 1976 including serving as its captain in his last game in 1976.

Awards and recognition

Dorney was awarded a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in 1990 by the Papua New Guinean Government for his reporting on the

Sandline affair The Sandline affair was a political scandal that became one of the defining moments in the history of Papua New Guinea, and particularly Bougainville conflict. It brought down the government of Sir Julius Chan, and brought Papua New Guinea to th ...

. He won a

Walkley Award The annual Walkley Awards are presented in Australia to recognise and reward excellence in journalism. They cover all media including print, television, documentary, radio, photographic and online media. The Gold Walkley is the highest prize and ...

for his coverage of the Aitape tsunami in 1998. Also in 1998, the Pacific Islands News Association awarded Dorney Pacific Media Freedom Award. Dorney was recognised as a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in 2000 for "For service to journalism as a foreign correspondent". The

Australian Council for International Development The Australian Council For International Development (ACFID) is an independent national association of Australian non-government organisations (NGOs) working in the field of international aid and development. ACFID was founded in 1965, with Syd Ein ...

awarded Dorney their inaugural Media Award in October 2012. In 2018 he was awarded a

Walkley Award for Most Outstanding Contribution to Journalism The Walkley Award for Outstanding Contribution to Journalism, formerly Walkley Award for Most Outstanding Contribution to Journalism, is one of the prestigious Australian Walkley Awards, and "recognises the achievements of a person or group for ...

. Dorney was recognised as a Fellow of the

Australian Institute of International Affairs The Australian Institute of International Affairs (AIIA) is an Australian research institute and think tank which focuses on International relations. It publishes the '' Australian Journal of International Affairs''. It is one of the oldest act ...

in November 2018.

In April 2019, the Walkley Foundation created "The Sean Dorney Grant for Pacific Journalism" which gives a reporter in the Pacific region up to $10,000 to cover a project the reporter has in mind. In 2019, the

Government of Papua New Guinea The politics of Papua New Guinea takes place in a framework of a Parliamentary system, parliamentary Representative democracy, representative democratic multi-party system, whereby the List of Prime Ministers of the Papua New Guinea, prime min ...

recognised Dorney as a Companion of the Star of Melanesia. In the 2020 Queen's Birthday Honours, Dorney was appointed an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

for "distinguished service to Australia-PNG relations".

Personal life

Dorney married Pauline Nare, a radio journalist from

Manus Island Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth-largest island in Papua New Guinea, with an area of , measuring around . Manus Island is covered in rugged jungles w ...

. He is suffering from

motor neurone disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, terminal neurodegenerative disorder that results in the progressive loss of both upper and low ...

.Acclaimed correspondent Sean Dorney returns to PNG for Foreign Correspondent

RN Breakfast 21 August 2018

Published books

*''Papua New Guinea: People, Politics and History since 1975'' (1990) *''The Sandline Affair: Politics and Mercenaries and the Bougainville Crisis'' (1998) *''The Embarrassed Colonialist'' (2016)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorney, Sean 1951 births Living people Australian television newsreaders and news presenters Officers of the Order of Australia Members of the Order of Australia Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire James Cook University alumni People from Townsville People educated at St Joseph's College, Nudgee