Ross Coulthart, who has won five Walkley awards (including the top Gold Walkley) during his career as a journalist, can now add another prize to the list – the Australian Skeptics Bent Spoon award.
The Spoon is given annually to the perpetrator of the most preposterous piece of pseudoscientific or paranormal piffle. The Spoon has been given every year since 1982 … except for 1988, which was apparently the year when nothing happened.
Coulthard was the unanimous choice of Skeptics groups across Australia. He joins such past winners as former celebrity chef Pete Evans (who has actually won twice!), the ABC, SBS, former MP Craig Kelly, the Australian Vaccination Network, and a psychic dentist.
Tim Mendham, executive officer of Australian Skeptics, said “Coulthart won for his recent espousal of UFO conspiracy theories and claims that alien bodies and wrecked spacecraft are being held in secret by various government across the world – claims he makes based on hearsay with no evidence, no bodies, no space junk.”
“Coulthart’s award-winning career as an investigative journalist is obviously no defence against belief in unsubstantiated claims. In fact, he has several times rejected the need for evidence to support his claims, complaining ‘You can just hear them now, the bleating debunkers … This constant line, ‘where’s the evidence’. And you know what? I don’t give a fuck what they say.’” (tinyurl.com/TrueCosmo)
Among the claims Coulthart has supported are the Vatican’s involvement in shipping alien bodies to the US, a long-running cover-up by governments of alien visitations, and the concealment of large alien craft in huge buildings, all without any evidence.
“Coulthart won’t say where these buildings are, except that they’re not in the USA,” Mendham said, “which probably makes him part of the cover-up.”
He says that there will be a big reveal in 12-18 months, which is something UFO supporters have been saying for 70 years.
“We’re not holding our breath,” Mendham said.
Dishonourable mentions for the Spoon went to Senator Gerard Rennick, naturopath Barbara O’Neill, and the SBS (again).
Merit awards
The more positive Skeptic of the Year award went to blogger Paul Gallagher, whose Losing in the Lucky Country blog represents consistent and dedicated research into the machinations of anti-science and pseudomedicine organisations, especially the anti-vaccination lobby and its consistently poor performance in taking people to court to stop vaccinations.
Skeptic of the Year is awarded occasionally – not every year – to someone who has close ties with the Skeptical movement and has been particularly active over the past year.
The Barry Williams Award for Skeptical Journalism is awarded for journalistic work that critically analyses or exposes issues related to pseudoscience or the paranormal. The winner is judged by a panel of Walkley award-winning journalists (but not Ross Coulthart). In addition to a commemorative certificate, $2000 is awarded to the recipient or to a charity or cause of their choice.
This year the award went to the ABC’s Media Watch for its expose of Coulthart’s claims (again), Robert Kennedy Jr’s conspiracy theories, and the anti-COVID garlic endorsed – if only temporarily – by the Doherty Institute.
The Thornett Award for the Promotion of Reason acknowledges a member of the public or a public figure who has made a significant contribution to educating or informing the public regarding issues of science and reason. Like the media award, it includes a $2000 prize.
This year the award went to Nathan Eggins, Brisbane-based musician, songwriter, science communicator, not to mention skeptic who, under the ‘band’ name of Conspiracy of One, promotes a critical view of the paranormal and pseudoscientific claims.
The awards were announced at the gala dinner of the Australian Skeptics national convention in Melbourne on December 2.
