Peter began his career as a cadet at the Sydney Daily Mirror before landing a job at the ABC.
He worked as the head of TV news and current affairs in Victoria, before becoming the ABC’s Washington bureau chief and the founding editor of Lateline Business, which later became The Business.
In 2017, Peter won the Walkley Award for his coverage of the Commonwealth Bank scandal, which exposed deposit machines being used by drug syndicates to launder millions of dollars.
His coverage contributed to the calling of the banking Royal Commission.
In 2018, he was the National Press Club Finance Journalist of the Year.
He was also awarded the Order of Australia Medal in 2022 for his service to journalism.
Peter was a senior business correspondent from 2016 until he retired in June.
Peter moved into palliative care and wanted to spend more time with his wife Mary Cotter and daughter Charlotte.
Following his retirement, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said: ‘Peter Ryan is an absolute legend.
‘Every day as you wake up and you think about what’s happening in the economy, if you only needed to listen to one voice to be sure that you got its essential elements, it would be Peter’s.’