The Canberra Press Gallery, officially called the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery, is the name given to the approximately 180 journalists and their support staff, including producers, editors and camera crews, who report the workings of the Australian Parliament

Parliament of Australia

The Parliament of Australia, also known as the Commonwealth Parliament or Federal Parliament, is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It is bicameral, largely modelled in the Westminster tradition, but with some influences from the United States Congress...

. The name derives from the press galleries

Press gallery

The press gallery is the part of a parliament, or other legislative body, where political journalists are allowed to sit or gather to observe and then report speeches and events...

, which are enclosed viewing areas above the chambers of the Senate

Australian Senate

The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...

 and the House of Representatives

Australian House of Representatives

The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....

, which the Speaker

Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives

The Speaker of the House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the House of Representatives, the lower house of the Parliament of Australia. The presiding officer in the upper house is the President of the Senate....

 and the President

President of the Australian Senate

The President of the Australian Senate is the presiding officer of the Australian Senate, the upper house of the Parliament of Australia. The presiding officer of the lower house is the Speaker of the House of Representatives....

 have allocated to the media.

Use of the name

The expression "Canberra Press Gallery" also refers to the association of Gallery journalists which represents their professional interests in dealing with the Parliament. The current President of the Gallery is Karen Middleton, national politics correspondent for SBS

Special Broadcasting Service

The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...

.

Apart from the one and a half hours per sitting day of Question Time

Question Time

Question time in a parliament occurs when members of the parliament ask questions of government ministers , which they are obliged to answer. It usually occurs daily while parliament is sitting, though it can be cancelled in exceptional circumstances...

, journalists spend little time in the actual press gallery overlooking the floor of Parliament. Another area, also named the "press gallery" refers to the office space within the Parliament building, above the Senate chamber which includes television studios and radio booths where the gallery journalists spend most of their time compiling stories and communicating with editors.

Role and influence

Ian Ward says: "Gallery journalists are collectively responsible for the great majority of news stories about federal politics that appear in Australian Print and broadcast media." Many of the best known names in Australian political journalism

Political journalism

Political journalism is a broad branch of journalism that includes coverage of all aspects of politics and political science, although the term usually refers specifically to coverage of civil governments and political power....

, such as Paul Bongiorno

Paul Bongiorno

Paul Bongiorno is an Australian political journalist, National Affairs editor for Ten News and a member of the Canberra Press Gallery.Bongiorno is former Roman Catholic priest and attended St Patrick's College, Ballarat....

, Malcolm Farr

Malcolm Farr

Malcolm Farr is a political journalist in the Canberra Press Gallery covering the Parliament of Australia in Canberra, the national capital of Australia.-Work:Malcolm Farr is a well known political journalist....

, Michelle Grattan

Michelle Grattan

Michelle Grattan AO , Australian journalist, was the first woman to become editor of an Australian metropolitan daily newspaper. Specialising in political journalism, Grattan has written and edited for many significant Australian newspapers....

, Laurie Oakes

Laurie Oakes

Laurie Oakes is an Australian political journalist, commentator, and media personality. Since 1966, he has worked in the Canberra Press Gallery, covering the Parliament of Australia and federal elections....

, Mark Riley

Mark Riley (journalist)

Mark Riley is an Australian journalist, who is chief political reporter for Seven News based in Canberra.Riley started his journalism career in 1979 at The Newcastle Herald, where he covered the 1989 Newcastle earthquake. He soon moved to The Sydney Morning Herald, where he worked in politics...

, Hugh Riminton

Hugh Riminton

Hugh Riminton is a journalist, foreign correspondent and television news presenter.Raised in New Zealand, he began work as a cadet reporter, aged 17 in Christchurch before moving to Australia in 1983 to work for the Macquarie Radio Network in Perth and Melbourne. In 1989, he joined the Australian...

, Dennis Shanahan

Dennis Shanahan

Dennis Shanahan is a political editor of The Australian, a conservative newspaper in Australia. His son is author and journalist Brendan Shanahan.-References:...

, Karen Middleton, Chris Uhlmann

Chris Uhlmann

Chris Uhlmann is an Australian television presenter and journalist. He is chief political editor for ABC News 24, and in December, 2010, was appointed as co-host of the ABC Television current affairs program, 7.30....

 and David Speers

David Speers

David Speers is an Australian journalist and the political editor at Sky News Australia. He worked with the Macquarie Radio Network, including the station 2GB, and the Southern Cross radio network, including stations 2UE and 3AW, before joining Sky in 2000. He has been a member of the National...

 are Gallery members.

Press Gallery in the media

Canberra Press Gallery also contains studios for the major TV networks ABC

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...

, SBS

Special Broadcasting Service

The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...

, Channel Nine

Nine Network

The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...

, Channel Seven

Seven Network

The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...

, Channel TEN

Network Ten

Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...

and other media partners.

External links

• The Prime Minister and the Press: A Study in Intimacy (Michelle Grattan reflects on the history of the Press Gallery)