Political cartoonist Cathy Wilcox leaves the Sydney Morning Herald

Veteran political cartoonist Cathy Wilcox is leaving The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian reports.

Wilcox, 63, recently applied for a voluntary redundancy, as Nine's publishing division undergoes a restructure, it's reported. She could be leaving her role as early as this week.

Her career spans almost four decades. In that time, her cartoon commentary has become instantly recognisable to Australians. Wilcox, also a prolific book illustrator, has won four Walkley Awards.

On her website, the cartoonist says that after Art College and time in Paris, “Eventually the Sydney Morning Herald took pity on her and gave her her own blank spaces to fill.”

Her profile description continues, "And here she is, churning out cartoons almost daily since 1989, pausing only to procreate, make cups of tea and collect cartooning awards.

“She has cocked her skeptical eyebrow and poked her inky nib at pretty much any subject you care to name."

An example of Wilcox's witty political commentary. Image: Cathy Wilcox

Cathy Wilcox's Royal Commission cartoon controversy

Mediaweek reported in January that Nine issued a formal apology for publishing a controversial cartoon by Wilcox, acknowledging the distress it caused members of the Jewish community following the Bondi Junction attack, while defending the role of editorial independence and free expression across its mastheads.

The cartoon implied that people wanting a royal commission into antisemitism following the December 14 terrorist attack at Bondi Beach, were heavily influenced by ­Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, senior members of the legal profession, and various ­Coalition figures.

In a statement, Nine said the cartoon, which ran on January 7, had prompted significant hurt, particularly among Jewish readers, despite the company’s intention to scrutinise what it described as the rapid politicisation of the tragedy.

“We have heard their distress, and for this pain, we sincerely apologise,” Nine said.

“As the nation continued to mourn, we began 2026 with an editorial calling on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese ‘to announce a Commonwealth royal commission that investigates every aspect of the events leading up to Bondi, with the scourge of antisemitism front and centre’,” the statement said.

“For decades, the Herald’s cartoonists have held up a mirror to reflect hypocrisy in public life,” Nine said, describing cartoons as opinion pieces intended to offer “a first impression of major news events".

Nine said Wilcox’s intention was to interrogate what it characterised as the immediate politicisation of the attack, not to cause harm to the Jewish community.

“Many of our readers found the cartoon thought-provoking,” the statement added. “It is undeniable, however, that many others in the community, particularly Jews, were deeply hurt and offended by it.”

On July 10 Mediaweek reported that The Australian Press Council found The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald breached its Standards of Practice by publishing the cartoon, as it encoded antisemitic tropes, and ruled the publications failed to take reasonable steps to avoid causing substantial offence, distress, and prejudice.