Mary Louise O'Callaghan is an Australian journalist and author best known for her investigative reporting on the Sandline Crisis. Her career in international journalism spans several decades, with a focus on the South Pacific region.
From 1983 to 1985, O'Callaghan worked as a stringer for The Guardian. In 1987, she became the South Pacific correspondent for Fairfax Media, a role she held until 1995. She then joined The Australian, continuing her regional coverage until 2004. Over the course of her career, O'Callaghan has reported extensively on Pacific geopolitics, civil conflicts, and regional diplomacy.
In February 1997, O'Callaghan broke a major investigative story in The Weekend Australian, revealing that the Papua New Guinean government had contracted foreign mercenaries to intervene in the Bougainville Civil War. The exposé uncovered the covert involvement of the British-based private military company Sandline International, igniting a national scandal that became known as the Sandline Crisis.
Her in-depth reporting on the incident earned her a prestigious Gold Walkley Award, one of Australia's highest journalism honors. In 1998, she published Enemies Within: Papua New Guinea, Australia, and the Sandline Crisis: The Inside Story, offering a comprehensive account of the events leading up to and following the controversy.
