Indigenous presenter Stan Grant quits the ABC and announces new role

TV presenter Stan Grant says he quit the ABC ‘weeks ago’ after taking extended leave following the public fallout from the controversial King’s coronation coverage. Now he’s revealed his next move.

ABC Q+A host Stan Grant on his final show on Monday, May 22, before taking indefinite leave. Picture: ABC

Television presenter Stan Grant has quit the ABC, months after he took extended leave following the public fallout from the controversial King’s coronation coverage.

Speaking to The Australian on Tuesday afternoon, Grant confirmed that he had resigned from the ABC “weeks ago”, and that he now planned to make a permanent departure from ‘daily journalism’ after 40 years in the industry.

Grant spoke out about his poor treatment at the ABC following the coronation and said executives and fellow colleagues failed to offer him any support.

But the former Q+A host was offering a more conciliatory line to his former employer on Tuesday, saying: “I have no animosity towards the ABC.”

He even suggested he would like to work in conjunction with the public broadcaster in future.

Grant will take up a new role as Professor of Journalism at Monash University, and as Asia-Pacific director of the Denmark-based Constructive Institute, which seeks a more constructive dialogue in increasingly polarised media.

Grant said the announcement had largely been kept under wraps, because he told his bosses that he did not want fanfare about his departure from the ABC.

“I said then: ‘I don’t want big statements,’” he told The Australian. “I’m a quiet person.”

Grant will continue to be based in Sydney but will also spend time in Melbourne and Denmark as part of his new roles.

On Wednesday, Grant will fly out to Denmark for six weeks as part of his preparation for his new dual role at the Constructive Institute and Monash, which is linked to the body. .

Grant, a Wiradjuri, Gurrawin and Dharawal man, recently spoke out about being the victim of relentless “racial abuse” following the coronation coverage.

But he has now admitted that he has been asking himself whether he could have done more to avoid some of the problems he encountered at the time.

“I’ve been asking myself: ‘How could I have done better?’ I’ve now accepted things that I could have done better.”

On Sunday The Australian contacted the ABC and asked whether Grant remained on paid leave but received no response.

On Wednesday, despite his departure on the ABC’s website it said Grant is the “ABC’s international affairs analyst” and “one of Australia’s most respected and awarded journalists”.

On Saturday Grant attended the Canberra Writers Festival and was interviewed by ABC investigative journalist Louise Milligan but he did not mention he had resigned from the public broadcaster.

He told the audience that since taking time off from the ABC he had enjoyed spending more time with his family, reading books and listening to music.

He also criticised the ABC for the set up of Q+A and said the show is set up to create “conflict” and encourage a social media “pile on”.

Grant hosted Q+A up until May but stepped down from the role following the controversial King’s coronation coverage where he was part of a controversial 45-minute panel led by presenters Julia Baird and Jeremy Fernandez, where he spoke in detail about colonisation and the damage the monarchy had inflicted on Indigenous Australians.

The panel was dominated by pro-republican voices including Indigenous activist Teela Reid and Australian Republic Movement chair Craig Foster – with Liberal MP Julian Leeser the only pro-monarchist panellist.

He was critical of the ABC following the public backlash of the appropriateness of the panel and said the ABC did not offer him support amid receiving a torrent of abuse.

Grant said he had other plans away from the media spotlight.

“Sometimes, I just think this opportunity presenting itself has introduced me to other things,” he said.

“I’m now also interested in doing writing, I’m working on another book and I’ve completed a doctorate in theology and I’ve almost completed it.

“I’m just interested in other things.”

ABC news director Justin Stevens thanked Grant for his service at the public broadcaster.

“We respect Stan’s decision and we hope he will still be a contributor for the ABC in the future from this new role,” he said.

“I would like to pay my personal respects and gratitude to Stan for being a truth teller, a courageous voice for many, and a teacher and mentor.

“We thank Stan for his huge contribution to the ABC and the national conversation and wish him well in his new endeavours.”

Originally published as Indigenous presenter Stan Grant quits the ABC and announces new role