Former head of ABC News Peter Manning dies aged 81 after illness - ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Peter Manning was the ABC's head of TV news and current affairs from 1989 to 1993. (ABC News: Kathleen Calderwood)

Peter Manning, credited with rejuvenating ABC's Four Corners from 1985 to 1989, has died aged 81.

His daughter confirmed he died on Monday at Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital after an illness.

Last year, Manning won a Walkley Award for Outstanding Contribution to Journalism for a long and decorated career.

Former head of ABC news and current affairs Peter Manning has been lauded as a "colossus" of investigative journalism after his death at the age of 81.

Manning was credited with rejuvenating ABC's Four Corners when it faced the axe, leading it through a golden age from 1985 to 1989 as executive producer.

His daughter, Thea Burke, said he died on Monday morning at Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital after an illness.

"Dad was an incredible journalist, but he was an even better man," Ms Burke said.

"He embodied joy, love and laughter and taught us the meaning of living a big and full life with those you love.

"We are so proud of everything he was and carry that with us forever in how we navigate and see the world. We are filled with gratitude today to have had him as ours."

Last year, Manning received the Walkley Award for Outstanding Contribution to Journalism for a long and decorated career that exposed some of Australia's biggest scandals.

Thea Burke with her father Peter Manning.  (Supplied)

In a statement, ABC managing director Hugh Marks said Manning was "one of the great names in ABC journalism and leadership".

"His name is synonymous with independence, integrity, courage and journalistic excellence," Mr Marks said.

"His legacy endures in the generations of journalists and leaders he mentored and in the standards he set for public interest journalism.

"He remains a beacon for all of us who believe in the vital role of independent, fearless and principled reporting."

Walkley Foundation CEO Shona Martyn said Manning was regarded by his peers as a "colossus of Australian investigative journalism".

"Generations of journalists have been inspired by his visionary leadership during a career that spanned TV, print and journalism education over more than 60 years," she said.

"He was known for his integrity, incredible news instinct and for a steadfast determination to back his troops to get the stories out."

Peter Manning was lauded as a "colossus of Australian investigative journalism". (Supplied)

Manning was the driving force behind Chris Masters's 1987 story The Moonlight State, which revealed institutional corruption under Queensland premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen.

The story led to the Fitzgerald inquiry and the jailing of the Queensland police commissioner Terry Lewis.

Masters said Manning was a close friend and his most important mentor, who taught him the "heart of investigative journalism".

"Peter had great instincts. I used to call it his 'over-the-horizon radar'. He just seemed to sense that there was a big story there," Masters said.

He attributed Manning's "terrific grounding in the news business" to newspapers such as the Leichhardt Local and his "people-oriented" personality.

"It was almost like journalism was the wrong calling. I used to joke that he was actually a Catholic priest with a pen and a notepad in his hand," Masters said.

"He had a strong moral core as well."

Peter Manning won an award for his contribution to journalism in 2025. (Supplied: Walkley Foundation)

Masters pointed to the story on the sinking of the Greenpeace protest ship Rainbow Warrior in Auckland as an example of Manning's "over-the-horizon radar".

"Not many people saw that it was important at the time. Nobody knew that the French Secret Service was behind it," Masters said.

"But Peter was the one who said, 'No, look, go to New Zealand and have a look at that'. I thought it was one of the great calls."

Kate McClymont, the Sydney Morning Herald's chief investigative reporter, began working for Four Corners as a researcher a few weeks before The Moonlight State went to air.

"I honestly thought I had died and gone to heaven, the excitement of coming to work at a place like this," she said.

"Working for [Manning] and working at the ABC was what launched me on the path of pursuing investigative journalism.

"You make 100 calls and 10 might be valuable, but you've got to do the hard yards in order to have your story stand up.

"I just think he taught me the importance of … keeping your mind open. Do not go into a story with a set idea of outcome, because you have to prosecute it from all sides."

Manning's ABC career began in 1971 on the current affairs program This Day Tonight after a cadetship at the Sydney Morning Herald.

After a stint away from the public broadcaster, he returned to produce Four Corners, going on to head news and current affairs from 1989 to 1993.

Programs he created included Lateline, Foreign Correspondent, Landline and the Labor in Power series.

He led Radio National and started the station's breakfast program, then launched the ABC's multimedia unit in 1995 and oversaw its first online output.

Mr Marks said Manning's leadership and vision was "immeasurable".

"Not only on the ABC, but on Australian journalism more broadly," he said.

Veteran journalist Kerry O'Brien described Manning as a pioneer of television journalism and a manager who righteously backed his staff.

"Peter didn't only defend his journalists against outside attack. He was prepared on occasion to take on top management if he thought their judgements were wrong," O'Brien said.

"He was a fierce defender of journalistic excellence and put his own career on the line multiple times in support of his reporters."

Manning's son, Paddy, followed in his father's footsteps and became an investigative journalist for the ABC, based in Hobart.

Manning is also survived by his other daughter Megan Manning, his partner Carole, and his four grandchildren.