ABC axes Q+A after 18 years in major shake up

The ABC has axed its long-running political panel show as part of a major restructure under new managing director Hugh Marks.

The ABC will axe Q+A after 18 years on air. Picture: ABC

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The ABC has axed its long-­running political panel show Q+A as part of a restructure under newly appointed managing director Hugh Marks.

Mr Marks will reveal major changes on Wednesday morning, including cancellation of Q+A, the network’s once-­flagship political discussion program that has aired for 18 years.

An ABC staff member speaking on the condition of anonymity said the program’s leadership team was informed of the news on Friday last week, while the rest of the team will be formally notified on Wednesday.

They told The Australian that staff had been expecting to be given until at least December to prove their worth in the timeslot.

Key members of staff from the show are expected to be redeployed across the ABC.

It’s understood there are no plans to replace the show and the ABC will bank the money instead.

The journalists’ union, the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA), warned ABC staff on Tuesday that cuts were imminent, saying employees had begun being summoned to meetings about a “restructure”.

Q+A host Patricia Karvelas.

“The mismanagement of our ABC needs to end,” the MEAA said. “ABC management are simultaneously wasting public money on limousines, and expensive lawyers while cutting staff jobs and pushing all budgetary risk on to low paid, insecure staff who work hard to hold the line on editorial standards.”

The changes mark the first major move by Mr Marks since he took over in March, replacing David Anderson after six years at the helm.

Mr Marks has signalled a desire to streamline the ABC’s operations earlier this year, questioning whether the broadcaster needs to “do everything” or if it could “spend our resources on doing fewer things better”.

The overhaul is also expected to include new initiatives, such as the creation of a dedicated documentaries unit — a project strongly supported by ABC chair Kim Williams.

On Monday, Ten axed its long-running current affairs program The Project amid ailing ratings for the nightly panel show to be replaced by a new in-house investigative series the channel has been secretly working on under the working title Behind The Lines.

In an address to ABC staff during his first week, Mr Marks acknowledged the toll of repeated restructuring, saying “change is exhausting” but expressed his ambition for the ABC’s journalism and content to make a “real and meaningful impact”. He said the broadcaster must continue exploring new formats and platforms to connect with audiences, unburdened by commercial pressures.

The ABC’s last redundancy round came in June 2023 under Mr Anderson and resulted in 100 job losses.

The largest restructure in recent years occurred in 2017 under Michelle Guthrie, who laid off 200 staff as part of a shift to genre-based divisions.

Q+A has been hosted by Patricia Karvelas since July 2023 when Stan Grant stood down. The ABC has been contacted for comment.