Media Watch Dog: ABC's Q+A quietly stacks its panel with ex-Labor staffers, while its journalists lecture Australia about defence and interrupt Angus Taylor 37 times
The news that the ABC's flagship radio show is losing listeners is no surprise to those of us who have watched the program become a conservative-free zone in which the left talks to itself, writes Gerard Henderson.
5 | ‘The sledgathon is on’: Peter Dutton on Albanese’s smear campaign |
04:54
Labor backs pay rise for low-paid workers
04:16
Murray Watt on Labor’s agenda to ‘lift’ productivity
13:51
Coalition has a ‘positive plan’ to manage the economy ‘effectively’: P...
10:57
‘You’ll see a very significant benefit’: Peter Dutton spruiks Coalitio...
03:28
Anthony Albanese supports ‘a real wage increase’ for low-paid workers
19:17
‘In a heartbeat’: Dutton willing to ‘have a fight’ with Trump over Aus...
00:43
Fresh blow for Labor as Jacinta Allan’s popularity slumps in polling
STOP PRESS
THE CONTEMPORARY ABC – MORE “WHAT ABOUT THE EVs?” THAN “WHAT ABOUT THE WORKERS?”
There was a time when the cry “What about the Workers?” could be heard across the Australian land.
And also in Britain – and more besides.
Indeed it was a send-up by actor Peter Sellers in his 1958 Party Political Speech.
So, it came as some surprise that, at Hangover Time on Thursday 27 March, Ellie’s (male) co-owner heard RN Breakfast presenter Sally Sara cry “What about the EVs?”.
Just like the interjector in Peter Sellers’ Party Political Speech – she was challenging a political decision.
5 | Heston Russell calls out media's 'sanctimonious' handling of war crimes allegations |
02:14
Albanese's 'low energy' approach to US relationship slammed by David C...
04:24
‘Wrong': Albanese continues funding of UNRWA as $20 million pledged
01:01
Albanese is ‘minimising the significance’ of Chinese spy ship
09:21
Media Watch slammed for ‘light’ reporting on Nick McKenzie ethics scandal
08:22
‘Tried and tested’: Labor using Medicare scare campaign to attack Dutton
07:46
Victoria will be ‘crucial’ for the federal election
04:24
'A wrong and simple decision': Albanese government's continued fundin...
In this case, the promise of Opposition leader Peter Dutton to reduce tax burden and the cost of living by cutting the excise on petrol and diesel for fuel.
Ms Sara’s “What about the EVs?” cry speaks volumes about the modern day ABC. Electric vehicles are expensive and appeal primarily to well-off, inner-city types – many of whom are Teal voters.
They are not the vehicle of choice for the modern-day worker.
Comrade Sara’s throw-away line was, in a sense, just that.
Yet it provided an example of the narrowness of modern ABC types.
It’s difficult to imagine Mr and Ms Average from outer suburban or regional Australia crying “What about the EVs?” on learning of the Coalition’s promise about cutting the fuel excise.
[I note that sales of fully electric vehicles continue to make up only a small percentage of sales in Australia. In the October-December 2024 quarter they were 7.4 per cent of new vehicle sales, compared to 17.5 per cent for hybrids and 75.1 per cent for petrol and diesel engines. The most recent numbers for February 2025 are even weaker, with fully electric vehicles making up only 5.9 per cent of sales.
This is despite the fact that relatively affordable electric vehicles from Chinese manufacturers have hit the Australian market, with the cheapest models from BYD, GWM and MG costing around $30,000-$35,000 – though this is still around $10,000 more than the cheapest petrol cars. I thought that avid readers might like to know this. – MWD Editor.]
CAN YOU BEAR IT?
NINE’S STAR REPORTER NICK MCKENZIE’S BAD LANGUAGE
Nine Newspapers – The Age and Sydney Morning Herald – claim to be “Independent. Always.”
And they bang on about their morality and how they publish all the news that’s fit to print (to borrow a cliché).
Except, it seems, when it’s about Nine’s star journalist Nick McKenzie.
Comrade McKenzie reports for Nine’s 60 Minutes and his reports are published in Nine Newspapers.
On Sky News’ Sharri program on Monday 24 March, presenter Sharri Markson aired a recording of star Nine journalist Nick McKenzie talking to a potential witness – and stating that Ben Roberts-Smith’s former wife Emma Roberts and her friend Danielle Scott had been “actively briefing us on his [Robert-Smith’s] legal strategy” with respect to a defamation case that Roberts-Smith took against Network Nine. Sky News reported that the conversation took place in 2021. In the event, Roberts-Smith lost the civil case, and the matter is currently under appeal in the Federal Court. See the reports by Emma Kirk in The Australian (25 March) and Blake Foden in the Daily Telegraph (25 March).
Here is an extract of the recording in which McKenzie spoke to an unidentified potential female witness as reported on Sky News:
I’ve just breached my f...ing ethics in doing that, like this has put me in a s..t position now, like if Dean knew that and Peter knew that, I’d get my arse f...ing handed to me on a platter.
The reference was to Nine’s lawyers.
There is no suggestion that the lawyers acted unprofessionally in any way.
Or that they had knowledge that McKenzie was, as he claimed, being briefed on Roberts-Smith’s legal strategy.
Media Watch Dog is interested in that part of the recorded conversation where McKenzie suggested that he had broken his journalistic code of ethics.
And it notes that the star Nine journalist used such words as f---ing and s--t when talking to a woman about his journalism.
5 | ‘Creates doubt’: Angus Taylor dodges cost questions on Coalition’s nuclear policy |
02:14
Albanese's 'low energy' approach to US relationship slammed by David C...
01:03
'Beyond satire': Kamala Harris' upcoming appearance in Australia raise...
01:35
'Stupid': Federal government's new anti-smoking measures called out
02:21
Far-left indoctrination in Australian education becomes 'norm by stealth’
05:10
Daniel Andrews ‘plundered’ Victoria into an economic crisis
04:24
‘Wrong': Albanese continues funding of UNRWA as $20 million pledged
01:01
Albanese is ‘minimising the significance’ of Chinese spy ship
So far the ABC has not reported McKenzie’s comments about breaching his “f---ing ethics” or his bad language.
Despite the fact that this is a big story about one of Australia’s most famous defamation cases.
Can You Bear It?
NICK BRYANT (UNINTENTIONALLY) REVEALS THE ABC’S CENSORIOUS LEFTIST-LUVVIE AUDIENCE
As avid Media Watch Dog readers will recall, it was reported in the first issue of 2025 that Nick Bryant – the new presenter of ABC Radio National’s Saturday Extra – would attempt to cover a variety of viewpoints.
This was the case with the inaugural program for 2025 but, after that, Saturday Extra essentially returned to the standard practice of the taxpayer funded public broadcaster – i.e. the left talking to the left.
But not on Saturday 22 March where there was viewpoint diversity.
In particular, when Nick Bryant interviewed prominent United States conservative commentator Scott Jennings, who appears on CNN and elsewhere.
Jennings is a Republican who worked in the George W. Bush administration.
He was critical of President Donald J. Trump’s response to the November 2020 election result – but voted for him in November 2024.
Jennings’ message on Saturday Extra was that Trump supporters are happy with the administration’s performance so far.
It was an interesting and informative exchange between Bryant and Jennings.
But the leftist luvvies who are increasingly the ABC’s news and current affairs audiences – after so many conservatives walked away from the taxpayer funded public broadcaster – were not impressed.
This is what Nick Bryant had to say about the response to the Jennings interview in the lead-up to the 8am news:
Nick Bryant: Well, that interview that we ran earlier with Scott Jennings, who's a conservative commentator on CNN, has got the text line revved up. Pretty polarising stuff. A lot of you thought we shouldn't have had him on. A lot of you thought it was good to hear that perspective. "Listening to Scott Jennings was insightful, depressing, but something we need to hear. A scary way to start our favourite time of the week". "Thank you for the interview with the US Republican. It was informative to hear how he justifies what Trump is doing, truly scary". And "Nick, while we in Australia need to understand why Trump is still so popular, this Trump supporter, Scott Jennings, is hard to listen to because he is trying to justify and rationalise the un-rational. But I guess that's why Trump is so popular. His supporters are living on an entirely separate planet". A lot to come after the news...
How about that?
Out of the responses on the Saturday Extra text line – about half the respondents thought that Scott Jennings should have been “cancelled”.
5 | Gerard Henderson examines John Lyons's new appointment |
02:14
Albanese's 'low energy' approach to US relationship slammed by David C...
01:03
'Beyond satire': Kamala Harris' upcoming appearance in Australia raise...
01:35
'Stupid': Federal government's new anti-smoking measures called out
02:21
Far-left indoctrination in Australian education becomes 'norm by stealth’
05:10
Daniel Andrews ‘plundered’ Victoria into an economic crisis
04:24
‘Wrong': Albanese continues funding of UNRWA as $20 million pledged
01:01
Albanese is ‘minimising the significance’ of Chinese spy ship
While the other half believed that it was useful to hear from Jennings because he illustrated just how bad the Trump administration (allegedly) is.
No other view was heard on the Saturday Extra text line.
Which confirms MWD’s theory that with so many conservatives dumping the Conservative Free Zone that is the ABC, what the ABC has left is its left-wing base.
And many of them will not tolerate hearing from anyone on the taxpayer funded public broadcaster that they disagree with.
Can You Bear It?
ABC FINANCIAL JOURNALIST ALAN KOHLER LECTURES AUSTRALIA ABOUT CHINA AND DEFENCE
Alan Kohler is the ABC’s financial journalist.
He appears frequently on the prime-time ABC TV 7 pm news bulletin.
On Sunday 23 March, your man Kohler commenced his piece to camera talking about Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ forthcoming budget.
He focused on whether the Albanese government will take heed of President Trump’s demand and increase Australia’s defence spending from 1.8 per cent of Gross Domestic Product per year on the way to 3 per cent.
And then Comrade Kohler threw the switch to foreign policy and commenced talking about something quite outside his field of competence.
Namely, China.
Let’s go to the transcript:
5 | ‘Tragic fall from grace’: Bill Burr roasted for Musk comments on ‘The View’ |
07:05
‘We will find you': Pam Bondi’s chilling warning to Tesla ‘terrorists'
01:15
Calls for death penalty against Luigi Mangione
04:24
‘Biden’s pet project’: Lee Zeldin shuts down museum in EPA building
05:27
Donald Trump announces the 'decimation' of 'Houthi terrorists'
05:24
Karoline Leavitt’s brutal shutdown of reporter spreading ‘Trump misinf...
01:40
Trump not ruling out possibility of a third term in the White House
02:59
Donald Trump growing increasingly ‘impatient’ with Vladimir Putin
Alan Kohler: The other thing I’ll be looking for [in the 2025 budget] is whether there is any sign of complying with the Trump administration’s demand to increase military spending to 3 per cent of GDP. Last year it was 1.8 of GDP – or 48 billion dollars. And it’s been trending down for 60 years – which has made room for lots of other spending, including the NDIS. If it was 3 per cent of GDP next year it would be about 79 billion dollars – or 31 billion more than last year. But actually, if anything, we’d be taking ten years to get it to 3 per cent. By which time, it would be 130 billion dollars. It’s all a bit awkward really. There’s so many other vote winning things to spend the money on. And anyway, is China really going to attack us? And, by the way, China spends 400 billion dollars a year on its military. No point doing more than 2 per cent of GDP and cutting somewhere else. That’s plenty.
What a load of absolute tosh.
The issue here is not whether China is going to “attack” Australia.
The Japanese considered an invasion of Australia in the early days of the Pacific War – but decided not to do so.
There were other ways to conquer Australia then – the same is true today.
Australia can be militarily defeated by interdictions of flight paths and sea lanes.
That’s why Australia needs a balanced defence force – with air, sea and land forces using the latest modern technology.
Working, if possible, with such allies as the United States and, to a lesser extent, Britain and France.
Alan Kohler believes that there is no sense in spending more than two per cent of GDP on defence since there will never be a land invasion of Australia by China or any other nation – and it would be better to spend more on welfare and the like.
Who cares?
It is not clear why the ABC runs The Thought of Alan Kohler about defence and foreign affairs in his economic commentary slot – when he has no particular expertise in this area and appears ignorant of Australian history. Can You Bear It?
THE LEARNED PROFESSOR MARK KENNY THROWS THE SWITCH TO GOSSIP
Did anyone see Mark (“Please call me professor”) Kenny on ABC TV Insiders couch on Sunday 23 March?
Ellie’s (male) co-owner missed the event but caught up with The Thought of Professor Kenny at Gin & Tonic time that afternoon.
As avid MWD readers know, the (now) learned professor is a MWD fave.
He seems to have quit the University of Adelaide as a student and taken up a job with a South Australian Labor MP who was a member of the socialist left faction.
From there your man Kenny moved to Canberra to work for the Conservative Free Zone that is the ABC.
From there he got a gig at the left-of-centre Sydney Morning Herald. Then, lo and behold, Comrade Kenny was appointed as a professor at the Australian National University.
As the late Kitty Muggeridge said of the late David Frost, Comrade Kenny rose without trace.
After all, he became a professor without producing a book or a substantial monograph or essay.
Journalism was good enough.
But MWD digresses.
This is what Professor Kenny had to say at the “Final Observations” segment of the ABC TV Insiders program on Sunday 23 March.
Mark Kenny: David Coleman…he's the Member for Banks. He's also the Shadow Foreign spokesperson or Foreign Minister, shadow [sic]. I'm told that he won't hold that portfolio if they win. That he's been given that portfolio because there's a significant Chinese vote in his electorate and they thought the seniority and status would be helpful in holding onto that seat. I think it's only a 2.6 per cent margin. So, interesting – particularly in light of his leadership of the moderate faction….
What a load of absolute tosh.
Mark Kenny has been “told” something about David Coleman, the Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs.
But he doesn’t say by whom.
And he claims that Mr Coleman got the job because the Liberal Party wants to gain a significant Chinese vote in order for the Coalition to hang on to the seat.
But he provides no evidence for this assertion.
5 | Whoopi Goldberg ripped for 'warped propaganda' on transgender women in female sports |
02:14
Albanese's 'low energy' approach to US relationship slammed by David C...
01:03
'Beyond satire': Kamala Harris' upcoming appearance in Australia raise...
01:35
'Stupid': Federal government's new anti-smoking measures called out
02:21
Far-left indoctrination in Australian education becomes 'norm by stealth’
05:10
Daniel Andrews ‘plundered’ Victoria into an economic crisis
04:24
‘Wrong': Albanese continues funding of UNRWA as $20 million pledged
01:01
Albanese is ‘minimising the significance’ of Chinese spy ship
And Kenny overlooks the fact that David Coleman held Banks at the 2022 election which the Morrison government lost - at a time when Prime Minister Morrison was unpopular.
So, it has come to this.
The ANU’s learned professor now appears on Insiders and comes up with, well, gossip. Just gossip.
Can You Bear It?
MEDIA INTERRUPTER OF THE WEEK
COMRADE SPEERS BREAKS HIS OWN INTERJECTION RECORD BY INTERRUPTING ANGUS TAYLOR 37 TIMES
Just when you might have thought that it was safe to assume that Media Watch Dog’s award for Media Interrupter of the Week might be in extremis, David (“Please call me Speersy”) Speers has revived this segment.
On Sunday 23 March, in the lead-up to the Budget, David Speers interviewed Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor on ABC TV’s Insiders program.
It did not make for informative viewing – as Comrade Speers interrupted Angus Taylor continually.
[Maybe the interview would have worked better if Taylor had interviewed Speers. Just a thought. – MWD Editor.]
Not only did Speers interrupt constantly, but his interventions were invariably antagonistic.
Here’s an example:
David Speers: Coming back to your spending plans, we don't know the cost of the tax-deductible lunch. We'll find out sometime in the campaign. What about the nuclear power plan? What will that cost?
It’s fair enough that the Labor Party criticises the Coalition’s plans to make it possible for small and medium sized businesses to avoid paying a fringe benefits tax for entertaining at lunches in certain circumstances.
It’s a legitimate political tactic in the lead up to an election.
What Speers did not say is that the Peter Dutton-led Opposition merely proposes to extend this benefit – which already applies to business lunches in the boardrooms of large companies – to small and medium-sized businesses.
This matter was discussed on Insiders on 9 February when, uncorrected by David Speers, the Dutton-antagonist Niki Savva said that the cost of such a scheme “could be between $1.6 and $10 billion” a year.
This $10 billion figure was described as “rubbish” by fellow panellist Paul Sakkal.
5 | Aussie father suggests closing the border and slowing immigration amid housing crisis |
05:10
Daniel Andrews ‘plundered’ Victoria into an economic crisis
07:56
Campaigning will be a ‘critical factor’ for federal election
08:17
‘So many topics’ Anthony Albanese can’t go near during campaigning
08:25
Peter Dutton is ‘energised’ and full of ‘big announcements’
33:56
‘Fellow Australians are suffering’: Queensland sees 3,000km ‘mega’ flooding
06:42
‘Get the joint back on track’: Call for Australians to vote wisely in ...
03:11
Labor has ‘failed’ Australia over the last three years: Dutton
Quite so.
As far as MWD is aware, Comrade Speers has not worked in government or in business.
If he had, he would have a better understanding of how difficult Opposition is – without access to the Department of Treasury and the Department of Finance economists.
Let’s go to the transcript where Speers is trying to get figures from Taylor two days before defence funding figures were to be revealed in the Budget:
David Speers: You've promised $3 billion to buy more F35 fighter jets. Is that new money for Defence or are you going to cut another Defence program to pay for that?
Angus Taylor: Well, as I say, we'll put out our costings before the election, and we've already been clear about the F35s but this is a downpayment on making sure we've got the capability we need as a country at a time that is increasingly uncertain for Australians –
David Speers [interjecting]: Will you lift Defence spending, though? Overall?
Angus Taylor: Well, let's see what the headroom is in the budget. I mean, we're all waiting for this budget. You want answers from me before I've actually seen the budget –
David Speers [interjecting]: Well, you’re making promises. You’re making promises.
5 | TV host weighs in on Coalition's 'crazy brave' decision to oppose Labor's tax cuts |
05:10
Daniel Andrews ‘plundered’ Victoria into an economic crisis
07:56
Campaigning will be a ‘critical factor’ for federal election
08:17
‘So many topics’ Anthony Albanese can’t go near during campaigning
08:25
Peter Dutton is ‘energised’ and full of ‘big announcements’
33:56
‘Fellow Australians are suffering’: Queensland sees 3,000km ‘mega’ flooding
06:42
‘Get the joint back on track’: Call for Australians to vote wisely in ...
03:11
Labor has ‘failed’ Australia over the last three years: Dutton
Angus Taylor: We’re making promises we know we can afford, but we're going to see what's in the budget and how much headroom there is in the budget –
David Speers [interjecting]: Right. So, you haven't worked out yet, whether you’ll increase Defence spending?
Angus Taylor: At the end of the day, we don't know what, what the situation is we're dealing with, with a Labor Government that has lost control of its spending, how much fiscal headroom there will be, and we're looking forward to seeing that this week. I hope there's a lot of transparency on that, David –
David Speers [interjecting]: The talk of the Coalition committing to 2.5% of GDP going to Defence, which would be, I think, a $15 billion annual increase from where we are now. There's no decision on that yet?
And so, it went on.
And on. And on.
All up Speers interrupted Taylor on 37 occasions in a 19-minute interview.
Compare and contrast.
Speers interviewed the Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Insiders earlier this year.
The date was 23 February.
It was a soft interview that ran for 17 minutes – and not at all antagonistic. How many times did Speers interrupt Chalmers?
On just three occasions.
It was a bit like what occurred last year (see Media Watch Dog, 17 May 2024). The date was 12 May 2024.
5 | Labor going ‘all in’ on social media campaigning |
02:21
Far-left indoctrination in Australian education becomes 'norm by stealth’
22:17
Lefties Losing It: Kamala Harris to headline Australian conference
07:31
‘Quite jarring’: South African President’s land confiscation comments ...
11:55
‘Shines a light on it’: UK toddler kicked out of nursery for being ‘tr...
07:47
Treatment of hostages shows human life ‘means nothing’ to Hamas
05:10
Pete Hegseth's new tattoo is 'upsetting all the right people'
03:42
Kamala Harris to deliver ‘infamous world-salad’ at Australia real esta...
The previous week Speers had given a soft interview to Finance Minister Katy Gallagher with few interruptions.
The next week, Speers interviewed Angus Taylor – and there were 36 interjections.
So, on 23 March, David (“Oh yes, I’m the Great Interrupter”) Speers beat his record for the most interruptions – by one interruption. Well done, Speersy.
David Speers: Top Media Interrupter of the Week.
A NOTE FROM MWD EDITOR RE SPEERSY – FOLLOWING THE THOUGHT OF SENATOR JAMES PATERSON
Liberal Party Senator James Paterson was interviewed on Insiders by David Speers on 2 March 2025.
Needless to say, Comrade Speers threw the switch to asking the same question over and over again.
Let’s go to the transcript, shortly after Speers was beginning to repeat his question:
James Paterson: David, one of your great talents of an interviewer is to ask a question multiple times in the hope you get a different answer. But I'm not going to give you a different answer to this question, no matter how many times you ask it.
David Speers:No, fair enough. But I do think Australians deserve to know answers to questions like this when we're talking.
James Paterson: – and they will, and they will.
David Speers: Okay.
That’s the way to handle Comrade Speers.
Perhaps you should have awarded Senator Paterson MWD’s prestigious Five Paws Award.
Just a thought.
A REPORT FROM Q+A
TEAL ALLEGRA SPENDER GOES ON Q+A TO SAY HOW WONDERFUL Q+A REALLY IS
5 | Peter Dutton is convinced gas is ‘key’ to keeping Australia’s lights on |
02:14
Albanese's 'low energy' approach to US relationship slammed by David C...
04:24
‘Wrong': Albanese continues funding of UNRWA as $20 million pledged
01:01
Albanese is ‘minimising the significance’ of Chinese spy ship
09:21
Media Watch slammed for ‘light’ reporting on Nick McKenzie ethics scandal
08:22
‘Tried and tested’: Labor using Medicare scare campaign to attack Dutton
07:46
Victoria will be ‘crucial’ for the federal election
04:24
'A wrong and simple decision': Albanese government's continued fundin...
At around Post Dinner Drinks Time on Monday 24 March, Ellie’s (male) co-owner turned on ABC TV’s Q+A program.
Here’s how the panel was announced by presenter Patricia Karvelas:
Patricia Karvelas: Tonight, our panel: Allegra Spender is the Independent member for Wentworth, who has written her own tax blueprint for Australia; former prime ministerial adviser and columnist for the Nine Network Sean Kelly is here; journalist turned Institute of Public Affairs chief economist Adam Creighton, who’s been a fierce critic of the federal government; and someone who’s been keeping a close eye on tomorrow’s federal budget is Dr Angela Jackson, who used to work for a Labor finance minister, now lead economist at Impact Economics. Welcome to Q+A.
And here’s what Comrade Karvelas did not say.
For starters, Allegra Spender is a Teal – not just an Independent.
Moreover, Sean Kelly was a prime ministerial adviser – but no mention was made of the fact that he advised Labor prime ministers Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard.
Also, no specific reference was made to the fact that Dr Angela Jackson (for a doctor she is) worked for Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner in the Rudd/Gillard/Rudd government.
So, there you have it.
There were two former Labor Party senior staffers on Q+A.
But no former Coalition staffer.
Comrade Karvelas said that Adam Creighton has been a fierce critic of the Albanese Labor government.
But no mention was made of the fact that Comrade Kelly was a “fierce critic” of the Scott Morrison Coalition government.
And then there’s Allegra Spender.
As MWD has documented, the Teals are ABC faves.
Ms Spender has been on Q+A twice since she entered Parliament. Once in May 2024 and once again in 2025.
5 | Tax cuts nothing but a 'trinket': Barnaby Joyce slams Labor's budget |
02:44
Trump 'evening the playing field': Sean Spicer weighs in on reciprocal...
09:25
Western leaders are trashing freedom: Andrew Bolt
05:21
‘Hedging bets’: RBA watching Trump’s tariffs ‘play out’
08:58
Anthony Albanese's 'gaffe-athon' of an election campaign
04:54
Economic growth per person has gone ‘backwards' under Albanese
04:57
Anthony Albanese makes ‘last-ditch effort’ to make up for his Medicare...
05:33
Anthony Albanese under the ‘delusion’ people trust him
How does she do it? – MWD hears avid readers cry.
Well, perhaps by ingratiating herself with Q+A – or what lesser mortals call sucking-up.
You be the judge.
Let’s go to the transcript of Ms Spender’s most recent Q+A appearance:
Allegra Spender: And I think, you know, we do need to find ways to have more constructive and evidence-based conversations. This is why things like Q+A are really great, because you can have a conversation and you can debate ideas, but without this sort of reductionist – and without these kind of, you know, sort of name-calling and playing games.
Patricia Karvelas: Allegra Spender is right – Q+A is great.
Allegra Spender: (LAUGHS) Zero endorsements were made.
Patricia Karvelas: Allegra Spender is absolutely right. Isn’t she right?
Audience: (APPLAUDS)
Patricia Karvelas: What an applause.
With fawning like this – expect Allegra Spender to be back on the taxpayer funded Q+A anytime soon.
5 | ‘Help needed now’: Paul Murray’s five things you need to know about the budget and reply |
05:10
Daniel Andrews ‘plundered’ Victoria into an economic crisis
07:56
Campaigning will be a ‘critical factor’ for federal election
08:17
‘So many topics’ Anthony Albanese can’t go near during campaigning
08:25
Peter Dutton is ‘energised’ and full of ‘big announcements’
33:56
‘Fellow Australians are suffering’: Queensland sees 3,000km ‘mega’ flooding
06:42
‘Get the joint back on track’: Call for Australians to vote wisely in ...
03:11
Labor has ‘failed’ Australia over the last three years: Dutton
AN ABC UPDATE
THE DECLINE AND FURTHER DECLINE OF THE CONSERVATIVE FREE ZONE’S RADIO NATIONAL BREAKFAST
The news would not have come as a surprise to avid Media Watch Dog readers when The Australian reported on Friday 28 March that figures released the previous day by GfK indicate a disastrous drop in listeners to Radio National Breakfast – a prime production of the RN network.
It’s over a year since Kim Williams took up the role of ABC chair and indicated his intention that RN’s product should be dramatically improved.
Whatever Mr Williams and senior ABC management might have hoped for at the taxpayer funded public broadcaster – clearly the customers are not impressed.
The current GfK survey runs from 19 January to 1 March, a period of six weeks.
In this time, RN Breakfast dropped a cumulative 34,000 listeners in Sydney and 27,000 listeners in the more left-wing Melbourne.
In Sydney the RN Breakfast has a one per cent audience share – and 1.8 per cent in Melbourne.
There were other declines in Brisbane and Adelaide but there was an increase in Perth.
To be fair, RN Breakfast has been in decline for some time now.
5 | Peter Dutton’s fuel excise plan ‘goes broadly’ across Australian communities |
02:14
Albanese's 'low energy' approach to US relationship slammed by David C...
04:24
‘Wrong': Albanese continues funding of UNRWA as $20 million pledged
01:01
Albanese is ‘minimising the significance’ of Chinese spy ship
09:21
Media Watch slammed for ‘light’ reporting on Nick McKenzie ethics scandal
08:22
‘Tried and tested’: Labor using Medicare scare campaign to attack Dutton
07:46
Victoria will be ‘crucial’ for the federal election
04:24
'A wrong and simple decision': Albanese government's continued fundin...
In December 2021 Patricia Karvelas replaced the long-time presenter Fran (“I’m an activist”) Kelly whose audience was in decline.
Comrade Kelly began presenting RN Breakfast in 2005.
Then, in January 2025, Sally Sara replaced Karvelas – whose audience was in decline.
Karvelas is also an activist journalist.
Sara is another left-wing journalist in the Conservative Free Zone that is the ABC.
In other words, RN Breakfast has been presented by one or other of this left-wing ABC trio for two decades.
There are a number of reasons for the decline in RN Breakfast audiences – some of which the ABC has no control over due to media industry changes.
But Kim Williams and the ABC Board, along with ABC management, cannot avoid the fact that the taxpayer funded public broadcaster has lost many of its conservative audiences who simply no longer listen to, watch or read the ABC’s output – regarding it as too left-wing. And they have not been replaced.
Radio National Breakfast and other RN products essentially consist of the left talking to the left.
Apart from the lack of political talent, it’s just boring. Take the newly formatted RN Breakfast, for example.
In its current format, RN Breakfast consists of presenter Sally Sara interviewing individuals, invariably from a leftist position.
Then she talks to ABC political reporter Melissa Clarke or ABC business and economic commentator Peter Martin or ABC journalist Luke Siddham Dundon about the news.
5 | Chalmers’ budget labelled a ‘shameless’ election voting ‘exercise’ |
04:54
Labor backs pay rise for low-paid workers
04:16
Murray Watt on Labor’s agenda to ‘lift’ productivity
13:51
Coalition has a ‘positive plan’ to manage the economy ‘effectively’: P...
10:57
‘You’ll see a very significant benefit’: Peter Dutton spruiks Coalitio...
03:28
Anthony Albanese supports ‘a real wage increase’ for low-paid workers
19:17
‘In a heartbeat’: Dutton willing to ‘have a fight’ with Trump over Aus...
00:43
Fresh blow for Labor as Jacinta Allan’s popularity slumps in polling
There’s not a conservative among this lot.
Moreover, Comrade Clarke and Comrade Martin make about half a dozen appearances each, every day in their three-hour program.
In 2025, the starting time was brought forward from 6 am to 5.30 am and it finishes at 9 am.
Between 7 am and 7.30 am ABC Radio’s AM program is run.
The longer program has not increased audiences.
RN Breakfast now largely consists of Sara talking to Clarke followed by Sara talking to Martin followed by Sara talking to Clarke followed by Sara talking to Martin. Or something like that.
She also is talking many times to Dundon about the news.
In short, RN Breakfast is very much a program in which journalists from the Conservative Free Zone talk to each other, from a left-of-centre perspective.
How boring can a current affairs radio program get?
Over the last year, Mr Williams has given many interviews and delivered many speeches.
5 | Nation has ‘forged’ Aussies into ‘remarkable people’: Dutton |
04:54
Labor backs pay rise for low-paid workers
04:16
Murray Watt on Labor’s agenda to ‘lift’ productivity
13:51
Coalition has a ‘positive plan’ to manage the economy ‘effectively’: P...
10:57
‘You’ll see a very significant benefit’: Peter Dutton spruiks Coalitio...
03:28
Anthony Albanese supports ‘a real wage increase’ for low-paid workers
19:17
‘In a heartbeat’: Dutton willing to ‘have a fight’ with Trump over Aus...
00:43
Fresh blow for Labor as Jacinta Allan’s popularity slumps in polling
Too many, in MWD’s view.
But he is in denial about the ABC’s lack of viewpoint diversity – so this topic is never addressed.
Look at it this way.
In the October 2023 referendum on The Voice, over 60 per cent of Australians voted “No”.
Yet MWD is not aware of one ABC presenter, producer or editor who was in the “No” camp.
Not one.
Over at subscription television Sky News, most presenters and paid contributors were in the “No” camp.
But Chris Kenny and Joe Hildebrand campaigned enthusiastically for “Yes”.
In fact, there is more viewpoint diversity on Sky News and Fox News (in the US) than there is on the taxpayer funded broadcaster in Australia.
RN Breakfast’s on-going decline has deteriorated even further under the executive producer and its presenter Sally Sara.
The more ideologically pure a program gets, the more boring it becomes.
And the more often one-time audiences look for the exit door – as MWD has warned ad nauseam.
5 | 'Hoax’: Liberal Senator slams Labor’s budget as ‘ridiculous’ and ‘laughable’ |
05:47
‘They’re not helping’: ‘Record level’ of spend as RBA holds cash rate ...
04:42
Election polls are diagnostic tools and 'not fortune cookies': Kos Samaras
06:41
'The vote is extremely soft': Expert pollster weighs in on latest elec...
04:09
Malcolm Turnbull accused of ‘undermining AUKUS’
07:24
Greens’ ‘sympathy for Hamas’ is ‘outrageous’: Tony Abbott
08:18
‘Game over’ : Teal candidate’s sexualised comment could swing her elec...
03:40
'Simply not true': Energy expert rubbishes Albanese government's renew...
THE ABC/GUARDIAN AXIS MEETS THE ABC AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE ENTENTE
AMY REMEIKIS CEMENTS THE AXIS WITH THE ENTENTE
As Media Watch Dog readers know, this blog has been monitoring the ABC/Guardian Axis and the ABC/Australia Institute Entente.
That is, the ready access that journalists from the left-wing The Guardian Australia and political operatives from the avowedly leftist Australia Institute (which is based in the Canberra Bubble) get on the ABC.
Meanwhile, political operatives from the conservative Institute of Public Affairs in Melbourne, Robert Menzies Institute in Melbourne and the Menzies Centre in Sydney have been de-platformed by the taxpayer funded public broadcaster. [Don’t you mean censored? MWD Editor.]
Some examples illustrate the point.
On 30 January, Ebony Bennett (The Australia Institute’s deputy director) was interviewed by Bridget Brennan on ABC News Breakfast. On 27 February, The Australia Institute’s director Richard Denniss appeared on the same program.
Then, on 5 March, Emma Shortis obtained a gig on ABC Radio National Breakfast. All got soft interviews.
But there’s more.
5 | ‘Wasn’t aware of it’: Penny Wong responds to PM’s department’s election post blunder |
04:54
Labor backs pay rise for low-paid workers
04:16
Murray Watt on Labor’s agenda to ‘lift’ productivity
13:51
Coalition has a ‘positive plan’ to manage the economy ‘effectively’: P...
10:57
‘You’ll see a very significant benefit’: Peter Dutton spruiks Coalitio...
03:28
Anthony Albanese supports ‘a real wage increase’ for low-paid workers
19:17
‘In a heartbeat’: Dutton willing to ‘have a fight’ with Trump over Aus...
00:43
Fresh blow for Labor as Jacinta Allan’s popularity slumps in polling
MWD was upset when Amy Remeikis quit The Guardian and headed to The Australia Institute where she became the leftist think-tank’s chief political analyst.
MWD was worried that she would now get fewer ABC gigs (where she was one of several Peter Dutton antagonists on the Insiders couch) now that she has moved to The Australia Institute.
This was not to be.
On Thursday 28 March, Comrade Remeikis rocked up at the ABC TV’s Canberra studio to appear on News Breakfast.
Interviewed by Emma Rebellato and James Glenday, Remeikis used her time on the taxpayer funded public broadcaster to criticise the mining industry – as a Guardian/Australia Institute comrade is expected to do.
Let’s go to the transcript:
James Glenday: Amy, The West Australian has this page 1 story about the Northwest Shelf.
Amy Remeikis: Yeah, so basically there is a-a-a west – sorry Woodside want to extend the life of the North, er, West Shelf which is a gas project off WA for another 50 years. And it – Tanya Plibersek has basically had this [matter] in front of her and she said “I’m going to delay this decision” and Woodside has said “well that’s probably going to threaten our investment”. Which is quite interesting because, like, if you want the gas – then you would think that you would stick around and wait for the decision.
And this has all been sparked because Peter Dutton said that he would approve this project within 30 days if he won government.
But, of course, that can then of course spark all sorts of different legal challenges as we’ve seen previously when it comes to these projects. Because it seems that if you just announce that you are going to approve something it doesn’t necessarily go through all of the checks and balances – which opens it up to challenge. So, Tanya Plibersek has just pushed this down the road by announcing that she’s not gonna make a decision now. She will delay it.
Clearly MWD fave Amy Remeikis has little understanding of business.
Woodside’s North West Shelf gas project in Western Australia took some six years to get approval from the Western Australian government.
She seems to believe that the company should accept an additional wait at the Commonwealth level.
This suggests that Remeikis has no understanding that Woodside has alternatives beyond the North West Shelf project.
In any event, Comrade Remeikis’ view compacted a leftist Guardian view with a leftist Australia Institute view.
Thus, consummating what now appears to have become an ABC-Guardian-Australia Institute-Axis-Entente.
MWD will keep avid readers posted.
*****
Until Next Time
*****
Gerard Henderson is an Australian columnist, political commentator and the Executive Director of The Sydney Institute. His column Media Watch Dog is republished by SkyNews.com.au each Saturday morning. He started the blog in April 1988, before the ABC TV’s program of the same name commenced.