Q&A (TV program)
Encyclopedia
Q&A is an Australian television program, broadcast on ABC1
hosted by award-winning news journalist Tony Jones
. It is similar to shows like Question Time
on the BBC
and Questions and Answers on RTÉ
.
The program generally features a panel of five public figures, usually including politicians from each of the major federal parties (Labor
and Liberal
) as well as minor party politicians, media personalities and celebrities, answering questions provided by viewers and the studio audience. The program is broadcast live (in the eastern states
) on ABC1 and online, in front of a studio audience. From October 2010, Q&A is also simulcast live on ABC News 24
, allowing it to be viewed live across the country.
The program is broadcast from the ABC
's studios in the Sydney suburb of Ultimo
. Anyone wishing to be in the audience can fill out a form on the program's website, which as well as asking for contact details, asks some questions relating to the applicant's political views to help "select a diverse and well-balanced audience". Q&A was broadcast from Melbourne on 26 March 2009 and on 30 August 2011.
. The program contains closed captions within its broadcast signal.
In 2010, Q&A moved to Monday nights and received a full season of 40 episodes.
From 26 April, Q&A introduced a Twitter
feed, where selected tweets discussing Q&A live as the show goes to air will be displayed on screen. Tweets will be moderated.
Virginia Trioli
has filled in for Tony Jones whilst he was on break.
John Howard
had a pair of shoes thrown at him from a member of the audience due to responses on his attitude to the Iraq War. The shoe-thrower was subsequently removed from the audience. Although Howard seemed indifferent to the incident, it was criticised by both current Prime Minister Julia Gillard
and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott
, among other members of Parliament from both the Government and the Opposition. The shoe-thrower, environmental activist Peter Gray
, died of cancer six months later; before he died, however, he asked for his shoes to be auctioned off and the money to be donated to the Red Cross.
ABC1
ABC1 was a United Kingdom based television channel from Disney using the branding of the Disney owned American network, ABC.The channel initially launched exclusively on the British digital terrestrial television platform Freeview on 27 September 2004. On 10 December 2004 it was launched on...
hosted by award-winning news journalist Tony Jones
Tony Jones (news journalist)
Anthony William Jones, known as Tony Jones, is a Walkley Award-winning Australian television journalist.-Early life:Jones attended Newington College and the University of Sydney as a resident of St Paul's College.-Career:...
. It is similar to shows like Question Time
Question Time (TV series)
Question Time is a topical debate BBC television programme in the United Kingdom, based on Any Questions?. The show typically features politicians from at least the three major political parties as well as other public figures who answer questions put to them by the audience...
on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and Questions and Answers on RTÉ
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...
.
The program generally features a panel of five public figures, usually including politicians from each of the major federal parties (Labor
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
and Liberal
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
) as well as minor party politicians, media personalities and celebrities, answering questions provided by viewers and the studio audience. The program is broadcast live (in the eastern states
Time in Australia
Australia uses Standard time, i.e: the same well defined time for a region. The proper names of Australia's time zones are Australian Western Standard Time , Australian Central Standard Time , and Australian Eastern Standard Time...
) on ABC1 and online, in front of a studio audience. From October 2010, Q&A is also simulcast live on ABC News 24
ABC News 24
ABC News 24 is an Australian 24-hour news channel launched and owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The channel replaced the former ABC High Definition simulcast of ABC1 and commenced broadcasting at 7:30pm 5:30 on Thursday, 22 July 2010.-Pre-launch:The ABC announced in January 2010...
, allowing it to be viewed live across the country.
The program is broadcast from the ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
's studios in the Sydney suburb of Ultimo
Ultimo, New South Wales
Ultimo is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Ultimo is located 2 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney....
. Anyone wishing to be in the audience can fill out a form on the program's website, which as well as asking for contact details, asks some questions relating to the applicant's political views to help "select a diverse and well-balanced audience". Q&A was broadcast from Melbourne on 26 March 2009 and on 30 August 2011.
History
The program premiered on 22 May 2008, and was broadcast on Thursday at 9:30 pm on ABC1ABC1
ABC1 was a United Kingdom based television channel from Disney using the branding of the Disney owned American network, ABC.The channel initially launched exclusively on the British digital terrestrial television platform Freeview on 27 September 2004. On 10 December 2004 it was launched on...
. The program contains closed captions within its broadcast signal.
In 2010, Q&A moved to Monday nights and received a full season of 40 episodes.
From 26 April, Q&A introduced a Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
feed, where selected tweets discussing Q&A live as the show goes to air will be displayed on screen. Tweets will be moderated.
Virginia Trioli
Virginia Trioli
Virginia Frances Trioli is an award-winning Australian journalist and author.-Biography:Born in Bendigo, she attended Donvale High School and graduated from La Trobe University in the 1980s, with a Bachelor of Arts degree with a fine arts major in cinema...
has filled in for Tony Jones whilst he was on break.
Notable episodes
On 25 October 2010, Former Prime MinisterPrime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
had a pair of shoes thrown at him from a member of the audience due to responses on his attitude to the Iraq War. The shoe-thrower was subsequently removed from the audience. Although Howard seemed indifferent to the incident, it was criticised by both current Prime Minister Julia Gillard
Julia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved...
and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott
Tony Abbott
Anthony John "Tony" Abbott is the Leader of the Opposition in the Australian House of Representatives and federal leader of the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott has represented the seat of Warringah since the 1994 by-election...
, among other members of Parliament from both the Government and the Opposition. The shoe-thrower, environmental activist Peter Gray
Pete Gray (activist)
Peter Robert Gray was an Australian environmental activist, notable for two "landmark" court cases, and for having thrown his shoes in public at former Prime Minister of Australia John Howard in protest over Australia's participation in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.He was described in an obituary in...
, died of cancer six months later; before he died, however, he asked for his shoes to be auctioned off and the money to be donated to the Red Cross.
Panellists
The most frequently-appearing panellists on 'Q&A' are listed below:| Name | Role | Appearances |
|---|---|---|
| Christopher Pyne Christopher Pyne Christopher Maurice Pyne, MP , Australian politician, has been a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives since 13 March 1993, representing the Division of Sturt, South Australia.-Early years:... |
Liberal Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office... |
10 |
| Bill Shorten Bill Shorten William Richard "Bill" Shorten is an Australian politician, the Member for Maribyrnong in the Australian Parliament, Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Superannuation and Financial Services. He was the Parliamentary Secretary for Disability and Children's Services in the Rudd/Gillard Government... |
Labor Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia... |
9 |
| Craig Emerson Craig Emerson Craig Anthony Emerson , Australian politician, has represented the House of Representatives seat of Rankin in Queensland for the Australian Labor Party since the 1998 federal election... |
Labor Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia... |
9 |
| Tanya Plibersek Tanya Plibersek Tanya Joan Plibersek, MP , is an Australian politician with the Australian Labor Party, and Federal Minister for Social Inclusion and Minister for Human Services. She has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since October 1998, representing the seat of Sydney, New South Wales... |
Labor Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia... |
9 |
| Malcolm Turnbull Malcolm Turnbull Malcolm Bligh Turnbull is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2004, and was Leader of the Opposition and parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party from 16 September 2008 to 1 December 2009.Turnbull has represented the Division... |
Liberal Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office... |
9 |
| Joe Hockey Joe Hockey Joseph Benedict "Joe" Hockey , is an Australian politician and member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing the Division of North Sydney for the Liberal Party of Australia since 1996.... |
Liberal Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office... |
9 |
| Tony Abbott Tony Abbott Anthony John "Tony" Abbott is the Leader of the Opposition in the Australian House of Representatives and federal leader of the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott has represented the seat of Warringah since the 1994 by-election... |
Liberal Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office... |
8 |
| Lindsay Tanner Lindsay Tanner Lindsay James Tanner is a former Australian member of the House of Representatives representing the Division of Melbourne, Victoria, for the Australian Labor Party, having first won the seat at the 1993 federal election. He was a member of the Australian Government from 3 December 2007, serving as... |
Labor Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia... |
7 |
| Julie Bishop Julie Bishop Julie Isabel Bishop is an Australian politician and the current Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of Australia. She holds this title as the deputy leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. She is the party's first female Deputy Leader and the third woman in Australian history to... |
Liberal Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office... |
7 |
| George Brandis George Brandis George Henry Brandis, SC , Australian politician, has been a Liberal member of the Australian Senate representing Queensland since May 2000.-Education & Early Career:... |
Liberal Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office... |
7 |
| Christine Milne Christine Milne Christine Anne Milne is an Australian Senator and deputy leader of the Australian Greens.Christine Milne first came to public attention for her role in opposing the building of the Wesley Vale pulp mill near Bass Strait in North Western Tasmania on the basis of its allegedly harmful environmental... |
Greens Australian Greens The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which... |
6 |
| Graham Richardson Graham Richardson Graham Frederick Richardson , a former Australian politician, was a Senator for New South Wales from 1983–94 for the Australian Labor Party, a senior minister in Hawke and Keating governments, and is now a political lobbyist, public speaker, and media commentator. During his time in politics,... |
Labor Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia... |
6 |
| Barnaby Joyce Barnaby Joyce Barnaby Thomas Gerald Joyce , Australian politician, has been a National Party member of the Australian Senate representing the state of Queensland since July 2005... |
National National Party of Australia The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is... |
6 |