Liz Hayes farewells Nine after 44 years

It’s understood the veteran journalist’s existing contract with Nine recently expired and was not renewed.

Veteran journalist Liz Hayes is leaving Nine after 44 years. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Veteran Channel 9 journalist Liz Hayes says “this is not goodbye” as she announces she is leaving the network after 44 years.

Hayes “will be pursuing new opportunities outside of the 9 Network in 2025”, Nine said in a statement.

Hayes, who has won multiple awards for her reporting over the course of her career, spent very little time on screen in 2024, so her departure has not come as a major surprise within the industry.

It’s understood her existing contract with Nine recently expired and Hayes did not seek for it to be renewed.

In a statement, Hayes said: “When I arrived at Nine I had little more than a notebook and a typewriter, but like my new and far more experienced colleagues, I carried with me an enormous passion for telling stories.

“I was blessed. I had found my tribe. Even Nine’s owner at the time, Kerry Packer, seemed to carry the same passionate story telling gene.

“Of course since then much has changed. The media world has evolved as have I. What hasn’t changed is the need for good stories to be told, and I will continue to tell them.

“I leave Nine grateful for the decades of experience, the wonderful friendships that have endured and deeply appreciative to the many people who trusted me to tell their stories.”

Nine’s director of television Michael Healy said: “Liz Hayes is an Australian television legend and has dedicated most of her career to Nine. She will leave an undeniable legacy.

“Her many accomplishments speak volumes about the type of journalist she is – tenacious, a truth seeker, and above all, a storyteller. I’d like to recognise Liz for the impact she has had on Australian journalism and thank her for all she has done for Nine over the past 44 years.

“We know Liz’s next chapter will be just as successful as her last, and she has our full support.”

Hayes joined Nine News in 1981 as a reporter and later presented the morning bulletin.

In 1986 she began a decade-long stint as the co-host of Today with Steve Liebmann.

In a video posted to Instagram, she said she was ready to move to the next new and exciting chapter of her life.

“I made that decision last year because I felt it was time to move to the beat of a different drum. My own,” she said.

“I have had the most extraordinary life telling wonderful stories, working with brilliant people, and an audience, that, thank you, you have hung in there with me.

“And I’m hoping you’ll still hang around because I’m not going anywhere. I’m still passionate about telling stories. And I plan to tell many more.

“That include a book I have coming out in May about a great Australian character, outback astronomer, Trevor Barry.

“So this is not goodbye, this is the beginning of what I see as a great, new, exciting chapter in my life. I hope you’ll come along for the ride. See you soon.”