With Sydney in its seventh week of lockdown and Melbourne shut down for the sixth time, the economic impact on many businesses and individuals is now crippling.
Small businesses in hospitality, entertainment and tourism are particularly hard hit, with many not eligible for Government assistance this time, or simply not able to survive despite the government packages. Many say they are shutting up shop for good. Big employers are pleading with the Government to step up vaccinations and rapid antigen testing for all employees. Many US companies have made vaccination a condition of work, and in Victoria SPC has warned its staff, contractors and visitors they must be fully vaccinated by the end of November. What rights or responsibilities do employers and employees have to ensure their workers are vaccinated?
Meanwhile the situation in NSW remains grim - with case numbers stubbornly high, regional lockdowns announced for Tamworth and Byron Bay, and the Berejiklian government increasingly isolated from the rest of the country on its pandemic strategy.
Also this week the world’s leading authority on climate change releases a landmark report , with some scientists already warning we are fast running out of time to avert widespread disaster. Has COVID distracted us from issues like climate change and how is Australia tracking on reaching our emissions reduction targets?
Matt Canavan is a Nationals Senator for Queensland, based in Rockhampton.
Catherine King, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, was first elected to Parliament in 2001 to represent the Victorian electorate of Ballarat.
Alan Kohler is one of Australia’s most recognisable financial journalists.
Paul Zahra is a CEO, Non-Executive Director, Board and Company Advisor and one of Australia’s most influential diversity advocates.
Angela Jackson is lead economist at Equity Economics, with expertise in distributional analysis, labour markets, disability, health, gender, housing and fiscal policy.
The Taliban have taken control of Afghanistan in just over a week.
Deadly chaos at Kabul airport has erupted as locals attempt to flee the country, and Western countries scramble to evacuate their personnel.
Scott Morrison has ordered a military evacuation for Australians and Afghans who once served in the ADF, but is it too late now to help those who assisted us for so many years?
The situation is particularly terrifying for women and children, with Taliban directives demanding lists of girls over the age of 15 for “marriage”. The gains for Afghan women made in education, political participation and employment are now under grave threat.
With a major humanitarian disaster unfolding, should Australia immediately increase our uptake of Afghan refugees? And what did we actually achieve for the people of Afghanistan during the 20 year mission?
Meanwhile back home, states and territories are extending and tightening lockdowns. Melbourne and the ACT are facing two more weeks in lockdown and NSW continues to see high case numbers and more deaths. And greater Darwin and Katherine are both in snap three-day shutdowns. So where does this leave national cabinet’s COVID exit plan?
The Hon Darren Chester MP is the Member for Gippsland, in Victoria. Born and educated in Sale, Darren lives in Lakes Entrance with his wife Julie and their four children.
Former Foreign Minister Bob Carr is also the longest continuously serving Premier in New South Wales history.
Diana Sayed is the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Muslim Women’s Centre for Human Rights. She joined the organisation as an international human rights lawyer with experience working in both Australia and the United States.
Lydia Khalil is a Research Fellow at the Lowy Institute and the Alfred Deakin Institute at Deakin University and a member of the Centre for Resilient and Inclusive Societies.
Daniel Keighran was awarded the Victoria Cross ‘For the most conspicuous acts of gallantry and extreme devotion to duty in action in circumstances of great peril’.
Yalda Hakim is the presenter of the BBC World News’ flagship program Impact. She joined BBC World News in 2012 as a presenter and correspondent delivering hard-hitting journalism on many global issues.
Virginia Trioli hosts Q+A live from Melbourne on Thursday, August 26 at 8.30pm AEST.
This week Q+A puts young people front and centre - on the panel and sending in questions from around the country.
The Delta variant is radically changing the face of COVID and we’re seeing a rising number of infections in children and teens.
Schools have become the new battleground, with outbreaks among students across states and exams delayed or cancelled. In Melbourne, playgrounds are closed and a curfew is back in place, as part of stricter lockdown measures.
The Federal Government has announced that all people aged 16 to 39 will be eligible for a covid vaccine by the end of August, however many who are keen to be immunised still face a long wait.
Is it time to reconsider the focus on vulnerable adult groups? What are the particular needs of young people when it comes to vaccine access and information? How are the ongoing lockdowns in NSW and Victoria affecting school and university students? And what about those young people losing their jobs and career paths due to COVID? Are we giving young people enough of a say in all this?
Norman Swan is a board member for the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth. He also hosts ABC’s Coronacast and is a multi-award winning producer and broadcaster.
Dr Anthea Rhodes is a paediatrician and medical educator with expertise in child development and behaviour.
Petria Houvardas is passionate about social issues, particularly those affecting young people in Australia.
Arth Tuteja is the president of the Political Interest Group and on the cabinet of several clubs at his school. He also speaks five languages - English, Hindi, German, Indonesian and I can understand Punjabi.
Violence against women and children in Australia continues at a terrifying rate, despite increased awareness in recent years.
On average, one women a week is murdered by her current or former partner. A third of Australian women have experienced violence since the age of 15.
And last year there were more than 21,000 reports of online child exploitation.
In the lead up to the Prime Minister’s National Summit on Women’s Safety, Q+A looks at the why the horror statistics persist and what can be done about it.
And in light of the ISIS-K attack on Kabul airport, we ask has the Taliban takeover triggered a surge in global terror, and how best to tackle ideologically motivated extremism from here. What can Australia do to help keep the women and girls of Afghanistan safe?
David Speers hosts Q+A live from Melbourne on Thursday, September 2 at 8.30pm AEST.
Grace Tame is a leader of positive change. She is a survivor-advocate for victims of sexual assault, particularly those who were abused as children.
Reece Kershaw is a career Police Officer, joining the Australian Federal Police (AFP) in 1988 as a Constable within the ACT region.
Professor Marcia Langton is one of Australia’s best-known Indigenous advocates and scholars.
Anne Ruston is the Minister for Families and Social Services and the Minister for Women’s Safety, and has been a Senator since September 2012.
Penny Wong is the Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Opposition Leader in the Senate.
On the agenda this week – we’ll tackle vaping and the new-look tobacco, racism in sport, growing inequality, power and consent, alternative futures and challenging big corporations.
A chance to broaden the discussion and debate new ideas with authors and thinkers from Australia and beyond.
Virginia Trioli hosts Q+A live from Melbourne in collaboration with Melbourne Writers Festival on Thursday, September 9 at 8.30pm AEST.
John Safran is a writer and filmmaker who always gets in too deep for his own good. His latest book is Puff Piece: How Philip Morris set vaping alight (And burned down the English language).
Virginia Gay is an actor, writer, and director, best known for her roles in All Saints, Winners & Losers, and more recently the film Judy & Punch.
Julia Banks is a former Liberal Government Federal MP and Independent MP, and the bestselling author of Power Play: Breaking through bias, barriers and boys’clubs.
Tony Armstrong is the sports presenter on ABC TV’s News Breakfast. He joined the ABC in 2020 after an AFL playing career with the Adelaide Crows, Sydney Swans and Collingwood.
Rachel Doyle SC is a barrister whose new book, Power & Consent, argues that we need to understand the power relationships at the heart of the modern workplace.
Australian academic turned international economic rock star, Yanis Varoufakis is the former Finance Minister of Greece. His is the author of multiple bestsellers, and his new novel is Another Now.
This week on Q+A we ask have we traded away too many freedoms in the name of COVID safety?
With NSW finally announcing plans for a reopening, it’s clear the promised easing of restrictions are only for the vaccinated. How will vaccine passports work, who will miss out and will Sydney continue to see a tale of two cities?
We’ll also check the COVID outbreaks in regional Indigenous communities like Wilcannia where infection rates are alarmingly high and health resources scant.
Stan Grant hosts Q+A live from Sydney on Thursday, September 16 at 8.30pm AEST.
Dave Sharma is the Liberal Party member for the seat of Wentworth, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
Linda Burney was elected federal member for Barton in 2016, following a 13 year career in the NSW Parliament as Member for Canterbury.
Mariam Veiszadeh is an Inclusion & Diversity practitioner, lawyer, social commentator and an award-winning human rights champion.
Khal Asfour is the Mayor of Canterbury Bankstown, one of the Sydney councils currently under heightened COVID restrictions.
Dr John Lee is a Senior Fellow and adjunct professor at the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington DC.
Brian Schmidt is a Nobel Prize winning astrophysicist and was appointed the President and CEO of ANU in January 2016.
Lidia Morawska is a Distinguished Professor and the Director of the International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health at QUT. She was included on Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world for 2021.
Professor Michael J. Biercuk is the CEO and Founder of Q-CTRL, and a Professor of Quantum Physics and Quantum Technology at the University of Sydney.
Dr Vanessa Pirotta is a wildlife scientist and science communicator whose research uses innovative technologies for wildlife conservation.
Professor Toby Walsh is an ARC Laureate Fellow and Scientia Professor of AI at UNSW and CSIRO Data61, and adjunct professor at QUT.
Kirsten Banks is an astrophysicist and science communicator who loves to share her passion for space and astronomy.
This week on Q+A, the vexed issue of mandatory vaccination.
Australians are turning out in record numbers to get vaccinated against COVID-19. If current rates continue, 70% of Australia’s adult population should be fully vaccinated by late October. So how do we navigate the next stage of the pandemic and is mandatory vaccination the way forward for a country divided by lockdowns and border closures?
Businesses are eyeing long-awaited roadmaps out of lockdown and some employers are being abused after stating they’ll only accept fully vaccinated patrons. Should specific industries have the right to expect that workers and customers are fully vaccinated or will this create a two-tiered society? Are vaccine passports the answer and how will they work? And as a new report highlights serious delays in rolling out the vaccine to people with disabilities, are vulnerable groups being left behind?
Amid the confusion, there are calls for the Federal Government to help employers impose vaccine mandates. However Prime Minister Scott Morrison says this isn’t on the table. As business groups demand ‘confidence and clarity’, is Australia headed towards a patchwork quilt of vaccine policies?
In other news, the Prime Minister has returned from a week of high-level international diplomacy to find growing discontent within Government ranks on the issue of a net-zero emissions target by 2050. The Business Council wants the Federal Government to embrace the target, however National Party MPs are divided. What does this mean for Australia’s involvement in the upcoming COP26 climate talks in Glasgow?
David Speers hosts Q+A live from Melbourne on Thursday, September 30 at 8.30pm AEST.
Jennifer Westacott AO has served as Chief Executive of the Business Council of Australia since 2011, bringing a unique combination of extensive policy experience in both the public and private sectors.
Sally McManus has played a central role in the Australian union movement’s advocacy for workers’ rights during the pandemic.
Dr Simon Longstaff AO is Executive Director of The Ethics Centre, a not-for-profit dedicated to bringing ethics to the centre of everyday personal and professional life.
Dinesh Palipana was the first quadriplegic medical intern in Queensland, and the second person to graduate medical school with quadriplegia in Australia.
Bruce Keebaugh is the founder of Australia’s largest privately owned catering and events company, The Big Group, and a proud Melburnian who is passionate about helping his industry and Victoria emerge from lockdown.
The threat of COVID-19 has driven millions of people into the safety of their own homes – remote working and studying is now the norm, and we are spending more hours online than ever before. But in the race to protect ourselves from a deadly airborne disease, are we sleepwalking into a global cyber pandemic?
Phone-based scams are exploding in record numbers and new figures from the ACCC show Australians have lost more than $63 million through unsolicited texts or calls so far this year. Big businesses are also being warned they need to do more to protect themselves and their workers from cyber-attacks in the new era of working from home.
Against this backdrop there are growing concerns that extremist groups are exploiting the uncertainty created by COVID-19 and actively recruiting new members online. A Federal Parliamentary inquiry is underway into the rising threat of right-wing extremism in Australia.
So how can Governments and the private sector work together to tackle a criminal world that moves at lightening speed? And how can we prevent the information age from becoming the age of misinformation? Join us as we discuss the pros and cons of living in a digital world.
Paul Fletcher is the Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts in the Morrison Government.
Tanya Plibersek is the Shadow Minister for Education and Training and Federal Member for Sydney.
Marc Fennell is a Walkley-winning journalist, interviewer, author and documentary maker.
Zara Seidler is the co-founder of The Daily Aus, a social-first news service that engages over a quarter of a million young Australians a day.
Alastair MacGibbon is Australia’s most recognised cyber security leader, and is the Chief Strategy Officer at CyberCX.
This week on Q+A – a careful reopening. Finding the right balance as Australia takes a major step closer to living with COVID-19.
After months of stay-at-home orders, lockdown is ending for residents of greater Sydney and beyond. Will New South Wales lead the rest of Australia out of the pandemic and what does this mean for other states enjoying COVID-zero status? As home quarantine programs get underway around the nation, the PM is talking up plans to fast-track the return of international travel as soon as NSW has its program in place. Does this mean we’ll be allowed overseas before interstate in some instances?
Meanwhile, Australia’s future climate policy is being thrashed out this week as the Federal Liberal and National parties try to reach a deal. Pressure to finalise a policy position is growing ahead of next week’s resumption of Parliament and the upcoming Glasgow climate conference. As business groups and other stakeholders add their voices to the debate, can our political leaders deliver a plan that will satisfy?
And political transparency has been thrust into the spotlight after the sudden resignation of NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian. Now a new documentary ‘Big Deal’, directed by Craig Reucassel examines Australia’s billion-dollar political lobbying industry. Is our democracy for sale and what can be done to ensure the political integrity of Australia’s elected representatives?
Virginia Trioli hosts Q+A live from Melbourne on Thursday, October 14 at 8.30pm AEDT.
Craig Reucassel is a writer, director and comedian who is best known for his work with The Chaser and War on Waste. Big Deal: Is Our Democracy For Sale? is his directorial debut.
Kate Roffey is a well-respected Melbourne-based business leader who has extensive experience as a Senior Executive and Non-Executive Director within the commercial, government and not-for-profit sectors.
Andrew Bragg is a Liberal Senator for New South Wales. He was elected to the Senate in the 2019 federal election…
Mark Dreyfus was elected to the House of Representatives as Labor member for the Melbourne seat of Isaacs in the 2007 election which saw the ALP come to power under Kevin Rudd.
Helen Haines was elected as the MP for the seat of Indi in May 2019, becoming the first Independent federal parliamentarian to succeed another in the same electorate since Federation in 1901.
