Q+A

Monday April 24, 2023

This week on Q+A… on the eve of Anzac Day, as the nation pauses to reflect on the sacrifice of generations past and present – has the true cost of war been forgotten?

The AUKUS pact is forcing Australians to confront the possibility of conflict, but what does the mythology and veneration of the Anzac spirit mean for how we as a nation imagine war? Are we too flippant about it? Veterans know the price that has to be paid – but are we listening? And what obligation do we have to future generations to avert war?

More turmoil for the Coalition, with a resignation and a front-bench reshuffle. Former Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews has quit the shadow cabinet, while other changes include high-profile “no” campaigner NT Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price becoming Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians. Will the changes be enough to keep party unity? Or will Peter Dutton’s leadership come under more pressure?

Meanwhile, Australia’s fractured relationship with China has taken a step forward, with tensions easing over the bitter trade dispute about barley – with winemakers now hopeful their trade barriers may the be next to fall.

But there is still scepticism about China’s motives – especially in cyberspace, with TikTok banned from government devices amid data security fears. Will the next battleground be virtual with cyber warfare a bigger threat than physical conflict?

Q+A is live from Sydney on Monday, April 24 at 9.35pm AEST.

On the Panel

  • Tim Ayres is the Assistant Minister for Trade and Assistant Minister for Manufacturing in the Albanese Labor Government.

  • Manager of Opposition Business in the House, Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy, and Shadow Minister for Science and the Arts, Paul Fletcher has been the Member for Bradfield since 2009.

  • Taylah Gray is a proud Wiradjuri woman whose campaigning efforts for Indigenous rights have made national headlines.

  • James Brown is the Chief Executive Officer of the Space Industry Association of Australia, who are working to enable space industry for Australia’s economy, security, international partnerships, and climate future.

  • Sophie Howe is a member of the Wales Committee of the Equality and Human Rights Commission and is Chair of the international Network of Institutions for Future Generations.

Corrections from ABC:

Q+A: During the 24 April episode of Q+A, a questioner incorrectly referred to himself as a Vietnam veteran. His description of an incident that was detailed during the program was inaccurate.

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Monday May 1, 2023

This week on Q+A… a health system at breaking point. Are we becoming a country of haves and have-nots, with top medical care only available to those who can afford it? Is seeing a GP becoming a luxury? And as Australia ages, can Medicare keep up?

Meanwhile… what does Scarlett O’Hara have to do with Donald Trump? And what’s the link between Gone with the Wind and the rioters who stormed the US Capitol on January 6?

Literature and culture expert Sarah Churchwell joins the panel to explain her take on one of America’s best-known novels – arguing that its denialism of the horrors of slavery and trumpeting of white nationalism are inextricably linked with Trumpism and the issues that continue to divide the US today.

Australia is also a nation becoming more polarised – along political, social and cultural lines. So what can we learn from the American experience?

And as the coronation of a new king approaches – what does the monarchy mean in modern Australia?

Q+A is live from Melbourne on Monday, May 1 at 9.35pm AEST.

On the Panel

  • Mark Butler has been the Labor Member for Port Adelaide and Hindmarsh in the Federal Parliament since 2007. He is the Minister for Health and Aged Care.

  • Bridget Archer is the Federal Member for Bass. She was elected to the House of Representatives for the north-east Tasmanian seat in 2019.

  • ANTHONY DILLON: Anthony is an Aboriginal affairs commentator, and an honorary researcher at the Institute for Positive Psychology and Education at the Australian Catholic University in Sydney.

  • Sarah Churchwell is Professor of American Literature and Public Understanding of the Humanities at the University of East Anglia. She writes regularly for New Statesman, The Guardian, and The Times Literary Supplement, among other publications.

  • MUKESH HAIKERWAL; GP and former President of the AMA

Update:

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Monday, May 8

This week on Q+A… 30 years after Irvine Welsh’s incendiary debut, Trainspotting, electrified the literary world and announced him as the voice of a generation – what has changed for those living on life’s fringes?

Back then, we were living in the American century – which has unravelled over the past three decades. Was Welsh’s vision not dystopian enough? And have the poorest paid the biggest price in a world that is ever more divided?

As the federal budget looms, with households hurting and no end in sight to the cost-of-living crisis, how much help will the government deliver to those who are most in need?

It appears a universal JobSeeker boost is off the table, but we’re being assured there will be some relief for struggling Australians. Will it be enough to make a difference to their lives?

Meanwhile, a new King is being crowned – so will Charles’ ascension inspire a renewed republican fervour? Or will the coronation draw people further towards the monarchy?

Q+A is live from Sydney on Monday, May 8 at 9.35pm AEST.

On the panel

  • Scottish playwright and novelist Irvine Welsh is the author of eleven previous novels (including Trainspotting, Filth and The Acid House) and four books of shorter fiction.

  • Nova Peris OAM is a descendant of the Gija people of East Kimberley, the Yawuru people of West Kimberley & the Gagudju people of West Arnhem Land.

  • Andrew Leigh is the Federal Member for Fenner in the ACT. Prior to being elected in 2010, Andrew was a professor of economics at the Australian National University. He holds a PhD in Public Policy from Harvard, having graduated from the University of Sydney with first class honours in Arts and Law.

  • Jacqui Lambie has fought tirelessly for more transparency in politics, veterans and Tasmania.Two of her biggest achievements so far has been getting Tasmania’s $157m housing debt wiped and establishing a Royal Commission into Defence and Veterans Suicide.

  • Caroline Di Russo is a practising lawyer, business owner and political commentator. Earlier this year, she was elected as the State President of the Liberal Party (WA).

Monday May 15, 2023

This week on Q+A… a one-on-one special with Treasurer Jim Chalmers. After a year in government, Labor is handing down its second Budget – but just how much help will there be for Australians struggling to make ends meet?

The Treasurer is spruiking a $4 billion surplus – the first in 15 years – but there is more pain to come. And in the scheme of the overall budget, it’s a drop in the ocean. Is the much-hyped surplus more about the politics than the economics?

We know already that the single parent payment cut-off is being lifted from eight to 14 and there will be a modest boost to JobSeeker – but with the stage three tax cuts still in the mix, how much difference will the changes make?

Will this be a budget that cements Labor’s claim to be good economic managers, or will it just postpone some of the difficult decisions that have to be made as the global economy continues to falter?

Q+A is live from Sydney on Monday, May 15 at 9.35pm AEST.

Monday May 22, 2023

This week on Q+A… the Class of 22. One year on from the election that changed Australia’s political landscape, five first-term parliamentarians join the panel. So just how different is the reality of a political career to what they imagined?

With an economy under pressure amid fears of a global recession, a worsening housing crisis and the approaching winter putting more strain on energy supplies – how much impact can one politician have on the problems Australians are facing?

The Senate is proving pivotal to the government’s legislative agenda, and independents Tammy Tyrell and David Pocock have been making their presence felt. From securing commitments on social housing to putting more scrutiny on economic inclusion, these first-time senators are fighting for the issues they’re passionate about.

In the lower house, Max Chandler-Mather was swept in on Brisbane’s Green wave. A renter throughout his adult life, he has made housing his priority, but is his party’s refusal to pass the housing future fund bill helping or hurting the very people living through housing stress?

Labor’s Michelle Ananda-Rajah – who turned one of Melbourne’s premier blue-ribbon seats red – hasn’t been shy about putting her views forward, including calling for an increase in JobSeeker. And Zoe McKenzie held off a Teal challenge in her Liberal Victorian seat – so what does she make of the Coaliton’s post-election woes?

What does the Class of 22 make of being inside the “Canberra bubble”?

Q+A is live from Melbourne on Monday, May 22, at 9.35pm AEST.

On the Panel

  • Michelle Ananda-Rajah made history as Higgins’ first Labor Member in the seat’s 73-year history. A clinician-scientist, infectious disease specialist and general physician for 13 years at Alfred Health, Michelle achieved her MBBS from the University of Sydney in 1996, and her PhD in 2016.

  • Zoe McKenzie was elected as Member for Flinders on 21 May 2022. Prior to her election to the House of Representatives, Zoe ran a small business international trade and was a board director, living on the Southern Mornington Peninsula.

  • David Pocock, Independent Senator for ACT. Having migrated from Zimbabwe with his family as a teenager, David went on to captain the Wallabies and Vice-Captain the Brumbies as part of a stellar rugby career in which he has been awarded for leadership on and off the field.

  • Tammy Tyrrell has lived on the North-West Coast of Tasmania almost her entire life. She’s worked in paddocks, fields, factories, offices, employment services and as Office Manager for Senator Jacqui Lambie.

  • Max Chandler-Mather, Greens Member for Griffith. Max is the recently elected Federal MP for Griffith, and the Greens spokesperson for Housing and Homelessness. A renter his entire adult life, Max currently rents in Woolloongabba.

Leigh to replace him I wonder? Would be a good step for the show imo

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Statement from ABC, Director News Justin Stevens

Some remarks directed at Stan in the wake of the coronation incident were definitely racist and they are to rightfully be condemned, a lot of the criticism though was justified and certainly not done with any racist intent (and purely based on the appropriateness of his commentary in the forum it was presented).

However, this does seem as though Stan in this instance is unwilling to reflect on how his commentary could have been seen as inappropriate to some, which is very disappointing to see.

‘Consequence culture’ should apply equally to all, regardless of their background.

Edit: Having said this though, I can understand how this and the general debate around the Voice, amongst other things, would have taken it’s toll on him given it is a subject matter that he is extremely passionate about, so I completely understand his decision to step away from the air for a while and I wish him nothing but the best in getting himself back to a better headspace.

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Just cut this crap from the air. I mean it died years ago, funeral was years ago. Would free up some funding to put into other areas in the news portfolio.

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I think she’ll be content with 60 minutes of work a week for Australian Story.

Sadly, there were a lot of trolling in recent weeks towards Stan Grant on social media. But some comments by Grant were a bit of the “trolling side” too, including that on the Coronation night.

Q&A should be axed by years end. It’s been “dead” since Tony Jones left.

If ABC still wants a weeknight Q&A type show, they can always have an “Insiders Special” where the audience can ask questions via a website or video call etc?

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But also depends on what the network want her to be doing. If they can justify her salary on 60mins of work a week, sure. But they may want more

If the ABC absolutely wanted to troll, do exactly this, but call it Outsiders :wink:

ABC should divert the funds away from a 9.35pm show to have more Australian shows in earlier timeslots where they have either repeats or overseas dramas.

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He’s definitely copped a lot of shit but he also has a habit recently of getting a role and not keeping it longer than 6-12 months before changing it again.

He definetly seems like acting a child at the moment . Temper tantrum, making everybody feel guilty for being white and then having the goal to disrespect the royal coronation with his spray.

I think Stan crossed the line from being a journalist to being a part anizing dickhead in the space of a year . No big loss for the ABC nor for Q and A.

The question is now whether is Q and A should just be buried along with Stan’s “journalism.”

Stan Grant had a problem reading the room i
For the royal king coronation , I dare say there was some throwback behind the scenes and he didn’t like it. So what does he do best ? Chucks a wobble. Doesn’t do his cause justice.

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