8.30pm for Thursday April 1 has been a TBA in the guide for over a week, going by this post of the schedule.
Given how the ratings have been recently though, I think there would be some concern at the ABC about Q&A’s performance on Thursday nights. Mind you, I’m not at all surprised this serious panel discussion program has rated poorly against content on the commercial networks (Thursday Night Football, Gogglebox) which radiates a true “almost the weekend” feel!
Check out the ABC TV Guide for the next week and it is back - clearly just taking a break for the day before Good Friday. The show is also in the schedule for the 2 weeks after that.
An ABC source has reportedly told The Australian that due to the ratings fall
The Federal Government’s so-called “women’s ministry” meets for the first time this week in an attempt to drive action when it comes to the treatment of women. Will it be enough to turn the Prime Minister’s fortune around?
The government has been under mounting pressure over allegations of sexual assault and harassment for weeks, since former staffer Brittany Higgins alleged she was raped in a minister’s office, in March 2019.
The Government is also trying to turn around its vaccine rollout, as it fails to reach its targets. Some medical experts are warning further delays to the rollout could increase the likelihood of more lockdowns and further delays to international travel. The number of medical centres delivering the jab will double this week but what else can be done to accelerate and restore confidence in the process?
And this week another Indigenous Australian died in custody, the fifth death since the start of March. Almost thirty years on from the Royal Commission’s Aboriginal Deaths in Custody report, how do we turn the tide against Indigenous disadvantage and stop our First Nations people dying in prison?
Trent Zimmerman, Liberal Member for North Sydney; Trent Zimmerman was elected as Member for North Sydney at a by-election in December 2015.
Anika Wells, Labor Member for Lilley; Anika Wells became the youngest woman in the House of Representatives when she took over the seat of Lilley from Wayne Swan following his retirement at the 2019 Federal Election.
Martyn Iles, Martyn Iles is the Managing Director of the Australian Christian Lobby - one of the nation’s largest political movements of more than 170,000 people.
Antoinette Lattouf, Co-founder, Media Diversity Australia; multi-award winning journalist and a diversity advocate.
Teela Reid, Lawyer; activist, storyteller and proud Wiradjuri and Wailwan woman, born and raised in Gilgandra western NSW.
With a live performance from singer-songwriter Robbie Miller
I have no idea why the ABC thought moving Q&A to Thursday nights would be a good idea considering it’s now going up against Thursday night NRL (and early in the season, AFL) games
Not a defense but an explanation: They were trying to spread their available programming over more nights, by moving a 9:35 pm program to an earlier timeslot. ABC have said that with their current funding they can’t afford put premium programming past 9:30 pm.
How is Q&A considered to be premium programming?
Putting aside my dislike for the program… it’s a studio-based panel show. Hardly an expensive commission compared with a local drama or an investigative reporting series.
I understand the reasoning behind the decision. However, putting Q&A on Thursday nights not only doesn’t make sense logically but it was always going to fail.
TVTonight has introduced an article discussing this:
I think half the issue is the guests. It’s usually a panel of boring or based on topics mainstream audiences don’t give two hoots about. Like does Paul from Penrith care that the show has a panel from the Melbourne Writers Festival?
Sticking controversial figures on there gives it newsworthy comment like the time Pauline Hanson and Sam Dastiari were together on the panel or Bob Katter and Josh Thomas also together. Jackie Lambie is also good value.
Rob’s verdict.
Thursday 15 April
The Federal Government has scrapped its targets for the nationwide rollout of Covid-19 vaccines, after new medical advice derailed the rollout. More doses of the much-needed Pfizer vaccine have been ordered, taking the total number to 40 million. But of that, only about one million has arrived on our shores.
So, when will Australians be fully vaccinated? And how quickly can the government get the program back on track?
The delay has some experts questioning when Australia’s international borders will reopen. It’s a stark contrast to China, which despite being the origin of the virus, continues to recover strongly, with its economy surging at the start 2021.
The relationship between Australia continues to sour over the fallout of its push for an international investigation into Covid-19. Exporters and business leaders are bearing the brunt and fear it could spell potential economic disaster.
How can the relationship be repaired? Does having a trade relationship with China mean we have to stay silent on human rights issues?
Norman Swan, Presenter RN and Coronacast
James Paterson , Liberal Senator for Victoria
Katy Gallagher, Shadow Minister for Finance
Vicky Xu, Journalist and researcher
David Olsson , President, Australia China Business Council
Rob is on the Money. They are only bringing up Regional Figures because the show is in trouble. If the show was doing well they wouldn’t give two shits about Regional Figures.
Absolutely agree. The last couple of years have just been people who have the same opinion as each other and they pretty much just mostly nod heads with each other. When i started watching it back around 8-9 Years Ago they used to have people from different sides of politics and had different opinions. You didn’t agree with everything they said but there was the diversity. Also i am not a fan of the 5 minute pre-packaged inserts or the Interview with an Audience Member segment Hamish does. It’s very Project-esque which doesn’t work with Q&A in my opinion.
Thursday 22 April
On Q+A we’ll discuss all the big issues of the week, including Australia’s climate policy which will be under the international spotlight as world leaders lay out their plans for action at President Biden’s global climate summit.
As more countries set ambitious targets to reduce emissions, Australia stands at a crossroads. After more than a decade of bickering on both sides of politics, is the country ready to put an end to its climate wars? And will the plan for a gas-led recovery ease the transition from coal to renewables?
This week China and the US agreed to work together on developing carbon capture, energy storage and hydrogen targets, a move which puts even more pressure on Australia to take action. Shadow Resources Minister Madeleine King has also thrown her support behind the coal industry, while calling for a mature debate about the issue. The Prime Minister has signalled he’s open to setting a net zero target by 2050. But how do you build a policy framework that can lead to the reduction of emissions, attract economic investment and keep energy costs down?
And with work gathering pace on the draft report into The Voice to Parliament, we’ll look at the battle for Indigenous recognition.
Q+A is live from Sydney on Thursday, April 22 at 8.30pm AEST.
Malcolm Turnbull, Former Prime Minister; Malcolm Turnbull was the 29th Prime Minister of Australia. Prior to entering politics, he enjoyed successful careers as a lawyer, investment banker and journalist.
Narelda Jacobs, Narelda Jacobs is a Whadjuk Noongar woman from Perth. She’s been a journalist at Network 10 since 2000, spending 19 years in the Perth newsroom before heading to Studio 10 in Sydney.
Keith Pitt, Minister for Resources; Keith Pitt was sworn in as Minister for Resources, Water and Northern Australia on 6 February 2020.
Sarah Hanson-Young South Australian Greens Senator. With a background in activism and campaigning, Sarah Hanson-Young has brought a strong human rights focus to her years in Federal Parliament.
Andrew Liveris, Former CEO, The Dow Chemical Company; Andrew Liveris AO is the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Dow Chemical Company and former Executive Chairman of DowDuPont.
Thursday 29 April at 8:30pm
Coming up on Q+A - all the big issues of the week.
Plus as the nation looks at the treatment of women in the workplace, we’ll be joined by Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie and communications specialist Parnell Palme McGuiness. It comes as the Federal Government considers measures to get more women into jobs, including lifting the maximum childcare subsidy and scrapping an annual cap on support.
With mass vaccination centres up and running, but operating at a fraction of capacity, can the Government restore faith in its vaccination program? As India’s Covid-19 crisis spirals out of control, Australia has announced it will cut repatriation flights from the nation by 30 per cent to reduce the risk of spreading the disease. But will it be enough? A war of words continues over the country’s hotel quarantine, with some calling the system “faulty” and not fit for purpose. We’ll ask what is the future for Australia’s hotel quarantine system?
And we’ll hear about the ongoing impact of Covid-19 on our arts community with Courtney Act, who will close the show with a performance.
Bridget McKenzie currently serves as Leader of The Nationals in the Senate.
Courtney Act is more than just gender or drag - she is a contemporary artist who embodies the zeitgeist of an era.
Mark Butler has been the Labor Member for Port Adelaide and Hindmarsh in the Federal Parliament since 2007; Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing
Parnell Palme McGuinness is Managing Director of Strategy and Policy at Agenda C and regular columnist on culture and politics for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
