Q&A host David Speers slammed by viewers, Anthony Albanese unleashes on ‘gotcha’ questions

Frustrated viewers vented online last night as Q&A host David Speers repeatedly grilled Labor leader Anthony Albanese.

Frustrated viewers and a handful of prominent Labor Party figures fumed at Q&A host David Speers during last night’s program as Anthony Albanese faced a grilling from the public.

Speers’ name was trending online during the show on Thursday night, with some viewers complaining about his frequent interventions.

The host made a habit of interrupting Mr Albanese’s answers, viewers complained, and asked plenty of follow-up questions, which ate into time that could have been spent fielding more questions from the studio audience.

“OMG the constant Speers interruptions – please stop. It makes it so hard to listen, let alone watch,” said one Twitter user.

“Is anyone counting the number of times Speers has interjected, interrupted or talked over Albo? God I wish he’d shut up! I tuned in to hear what Albo had to say, not Speers,” vented another.

“Do you think Albo might be able to get a single sentence out without an interruption from David Speers tonight?” wondered another.

Some viewers were unhappy with David Speers.

Quite unhappy.

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd – hardly a neutral voice, to be fair – was among the Labor figures venting online as well.

“Here is David Speers constantly interrupting Albo in his answers to questions legitimately raised by the public,” said Mr Rudd.

“But Speers declines to mention upfront that Morrison has refused to go on Q&A and refused to be in an ABC-moderated debate. A bit of balance please Speers.”

The Prime Minister has agreed to debate Mr Albanese on Seven and Nine, following their people’s forum on Sky News earlier in the campaign. There will be no debate hosted by the public broadcaster.

Mr Rudd also accused Speers of having “zero scrutiny of Morrison’s Liberals”, a perplexing critique perhaps, given Speers was asking questions of the Labor leader, not Mr Morrison.

Former Labor senator Doug Cameron said Speers was “trying to outdo the worst elements in the right-wing media”.

“It is legitimate to ask probing questions of Albo. It is not legitimate to interrupt his answers,” said the ever-measured Mr Cameron, who went on to claim there was “a right-wing media conspiracy to destroy Albo and Labor”.

Keir Paterson, the Labor candidate for Melbourne, tweeted that Mr Albanese had “won the debate against David Speers”.

So here is David Speers constantly interrupting Albo in his answers to questions legitimately raised by the public. But Speers declines to mention up front that Morrison has refused to go on Q and A and refused to be in an ABC moderated debate. A bit of balance please Speers. pic.twitter.com/8DUyGDVqDN

— Kevin Rudd (@MrKRudd) May 5, 2022

It is legitimate to ask probing questions of #AlboForPM@David_Speers
It is not legitimate to interrupt his answers!
Stop trying to outdo the worst elements in the RW media!#AlboForPM

— Doug Cameron (@DougCameron51) May 5, 2022

During the show, Mr Albanese made one thing crystal clear — he is not a big fan of the gotcha question.

His appearance came after a day that had been dominated by one moment — when a journalist asked him to recite six points of his Labor’s National Disability Insurance Scheme policy.

He couldn’t. And the press pack let him hear it.

“But Mr Albanese, what are the six points?” he was asked multiple times.

The subject came up on the ABC program when Speers asked if his performance at the press conference “was another mistake”.

“Look, you did have trouble today recalling your six-point plan and I think you’ve listed most of those six points in your answer tonight,” Speers said.

“You did say earlier in the campaign when you stumbled you would own it. Was that another mistake today?”

Mr Albanese made his feelings known.

How does Anthony Albanese plan remove layers of bureaucracy and make the NDIS agile? #QandApic.twitter.com/AUTWZ3J3vS

— QandA (@QandA) May 5, 2022

“No, it wasn’t, David. No, it wasn’t. It was … one of the things that puts people off politics, I think, is the sort of gotcha game-playing.”

Speers pushed the point, telling the Labor Leader that it appeared an adviser gave him a folder after he could not answer the question.

“It has been all over the news tonight, you were asked what the six points are and you didn’t know, someone gives you a folder and you read it out — are you saying you did know off the top of your head?” Speers asked.

“I said the point here, David, isn’t some bureaucratic gotcha game,” Albanese fired back.

“The point here is putting people back in charge of the NDIS and at the centre of it and one of the things I reckon that really alienates people from the political system completely is this idea that politics is about a sort of series of gotchas and game-playing.”

The questions came after Mr Albanese’s visit to Sydney where he told reporters the NDIS plan “was outlined by Bill Shorten”.

“But Mr Albanese, what are the six points?” he was asked.

He responded: “We will put people at the centre of the NDIS”.

Labor Leader Anthony Albanese flicks through a folder during a press conference in Sydney after being asked about the NDIS. Picture: Sky News

Journalists threw further questions at him about the policy which he dodged until towards the end of the press conference.

He was handed the policy on a piece of paper by an adviser, looked down at his notes and detailed the six points.

Another journalist went on to call him out for bringing in shadow ministers.

“We find it often in the last week or so in the campaign that when you are stumbling on an answer, for example, you bring in your shadow ministers or you refer to them immediately. Is that part of the strategy in order to not see the sort of gaffes we saw on day one, or the gaffe we’ve seen today where you don’t know your own policy?” Sky News journalist Trudy McIntosh asked.

Mr Albanese immediately hit back, responding: “That’s not right”.“I’m captain of a team. I’m proud of the team that we have,” he said.

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese is asked to outline the six points of Labor's NDIS policy. He doesn't know them off the top of his head - a minder gives him a briefing document midway through. #[e-mail]/BpfPSyMnK2

— Naveen Razik (@naveenjrazik) May 5, 2022

Albanese defends question about credentials

The Labor Leader was asked by a member of the audience about his prior lack of “credentials” to run the country.

“My concerns with you as potential Prime Minister are your credentials,” a member of the audience said.

“You have never held a portfolio for finance, foreign affairs, education or health — all critical areas for a successful Australian economy and long-term wellbeing. How can we be confident that you have the experience to manage these critical areas? Should we just simply take the risk?”

“If I’m elected Prime Minister, that will be the fourth time that Labor has won government from opposition since the Second World War,” Mr Albanese said.

“The other three people, Gough Whitlam, Bob Hawke and Kevin Rudd, none of them had served as ministers in our government. I have served for six years as a cabinet minister and government leader in the House of Representatives . . . I’ve served as Deputy Prime Minister. I’ve served as Acting Prime Minister on a couple of occasions. Now, I will lead, also, the most experienced Labor team of any Labor government since federation.

“When I was Leader of the House in a minority government, we got 595 pieces of legislation through. We didn’t just occupy the space.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been asked to appear on Q&A but the offer from the ABC has not been accepted.