Turnbull a no-show for Monday’s Q&A
Late on Friday Malcolm Turnbull confirmed to ABC he would not be appearing on Monday night.
- Published by David Knox
- on
- Filed under News
Malcolm Turnbull will adhere to Tony Abbott’s instruction that front benchers not participate in Q & A -despite ABC promoting him as a panelist as recently as Thursday.
An ABC spokesperson confirmed he withdrew his Monday participation late yesterday afternoon.
He will instead appear on 7:30.
Tony Abbott has urged ABC to move the programme into its News & Current Affairs division before front benchers will resume accepting panel invitations.
The ABC Board is expected to consider the move in early August, leaving 4 episodes with the ban intact.
Confirmed guests for Monday are now war correspondent and filmmaker, Michael Ware; Canadian Christian scholar, John Stackhouse; and Director of Polling at the Lowy Institute, Alex Oliver and Shadow Assistant Minister for Education, Amanda Rishworth.
11 Responses
gutless
It’s quite a big deal to move programs between divisions. The ABC is so bureaucratic and I can imagine the bean counters freaking out about the possible recommissioning. It is all so petty and only drawing more attention to Phony Abbott’s ridiculous edicts. Turnbull is smart, he will bide his time….
So he’s agreed to go on 7.30 Report instead? Isn’t that the show he and other LNP members complained about the host’s ‘agressive’ interview styles?
What odds that he gets grilled by Emma or Leigh and the LNP attack the ABC again for being a lefty lynch mob.
I agree with an earlier suggestion – just have an empty chair on the panel and let the audience members ask the chair questions throughout the show. An empty chair would be an improvement to an actual LNP member.
What next Abbort? Banning all Australian television shows that dare criticise your party and its wretched policies? Works for Putin and the North Korean dude.
Does anyone else think the mere intervention by the Govt in the running of the ABC unacceptable? I can’t believe there is no outrage
Most definitely!
Actually quite alarming.
I agree, it’s unacceptable and something voters will remember the next time we go to the polls.
Told you 😛
But the move to News and Current Affairs is a dumb suggestion. Already we have too much of a blurring of the line between **news** and **opinion**. I mean, look at murdoch and Fairfax newspapers – far too often they present opinion as news and this allows lies and exaggerations to be presented to a glass-eyed public as facts – and too often they believe it.
Q&A is not news. It often presents peoples’ opinion in both questions and answers.
Mind you if the network’s proposed changes to ACMA go through then this point is moot as they will be allowed to lie to us any time they like 🙁
Turnbull should have appeared on Q&A. What could Abbott do, dump him?? As if…All that would do is cost votes.
Turnbull is hated by the Right of Liberal Party. If he defied Abbott and them his political career would be over. First he would lose his ministry, then he would be charged with disloyalty for the severe damage to the Government that would result, and they would move to kick him out of the party.
Even if he survives a Liberal challenge with no money to campaign, he gets one irrelevant vote from the Cross Benches.
There are reasons why MPs vote and act as they are told by their party 99% of the time. Turnbull needs to appear loyal and hope that Abbott continual picking fights losing them catches up with him and the Party wants a new leader.
Naughty Malcolm, you will do what you’re told!
They should really empty chair these idiots. Or give their seat to Zaky Mallah.
Very worrying that ABC may reclassify a programme on the say so of the government. It’s sad to see public broadcasters in democratic countries being treated so shamefully by those elected to power.