Turnbull: “It makes sense” to move Q & A
Communications Minister tells 7:30 that Q&A should fall under News & Current Affairs division of the ABC.
- Published by David Knox
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Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull agrees that Q & A should move to the ABC’s News & Current Affairs division but denies that the Prime Minister is exerting pressure on the broadcaster to move it.
Appearing on 7:30 after cancelling his Q & A appearance, Turnbull told host Leigh Sales, “I think most people would be rather surprised that Q & A, which is self-evidently a current affairs program, was not in the news and current affairs division already and hadn’t always been so.
“It makes sense to move it in there.”
But Leigh Sales defended the independence of the ABC and the precedent that would be set by the government’s influence.
“Aren’t you a whisker away from saying ministers won’t appear on 7.30 unless they can speak uninterrupted?” she asked.
“I do understand your point,” he said. “I think that’s a very, very fair point. And I’m hopeful that the circumstances that caused this ban to arise will never occur again.”
On the question of whether he agreed with the Prime Minister’s ban on Q & A, Turnbull said the decision had been ‘news to me.’
“Well, look, that’s the decision the Prime Minister has taken,” he said.
“I mean, I’ve been on the record on this in the past. I take the view that wherever there is an open microphone I’m happy to get on the other side of it.”
8 Responses
maybe QandA need to have an entertainment special just to rebel against the micromanaging. with questions about tv, movies and celebrities and have a big musical performance from Katie Noonan.
Why doesn’t Turnbull stop worrying about Q&A and start thinking about the 18 months he has to get NBN to all homes as promised…
Actually Turnbull said that Abbott wasn’t directing the ABC but he did concede that Abbott was putting pressure on them. See at about 16:00 of the broadcast for the relevant bit.
I agree with Sales, Q and A is not a current affairs program, that’s what 7.30 is. Q and A is an opinion show much like Insight on SBS, where people – panel, audience, video guests – get to ask questions and express opinions, some of which are obviously contrary to the facts. If Abbott wants it to only deal in the truth, he’s going to need to maintain his petulant ban on at least some of his ministers.
Really simple solution: the ABC should adopt Free TV AU’s new Code of Practice, same as the commercials.
Voila! Current Affairs no longer needs to be even handed, unbiased, or even particularly truthful. Problem solved!
The show’s been ok without pollies arguing back-and-forth, taking up too much time. I like it this way. Don’t give a damn if a party keeps its pollies at home. Can see them saying the same old rubbish on another show.
He couldn’t provide a compelling reason to move it though. Leigh made the point i made last week here that the program would be subject to the same editorial policies irrespective of which division houses it. I don’t know whether Turnbull was just playing poker when he said that there had been a push to move it for some time. Leigh disputed that. She is correct, it is an opinion program, not a factual one. We focus on the pollie heavy episodes, but the program goes on the road several times a year, showcases touring events and a range of specialist speakers and ideas.
I don’t know why there is such an uproar about this particular aspect of the whole debacle. Just move it and be done with it. Also, how can anyone watch Q&A and seriously regard it as entertainment?
That’s probably as good a point as any to start the debate. Q&A cannot seriously pretend that its entertainment – its awful to watch, regardless of the viewers political leanings or preconceptions. Its essentially an opinion show where genuine questions are mixed up with “dorothy dixers” that are designed to create argument and debate, prescence of politicians means that often the show falls into a rut of political rhetoric. Nothing at all wrong with argument and debate to ventilate the issues of the day, so we can dispose of the “free speech” red herring that Mark Scott rolled out after being caught napping from the negative public response and criticism from labour politicians that resulted from the Zachy Mallah incident.
Whether the ABC wants to call it news, current affairs or something else is one question. I would call it a filtered opinion and discussion show falling…