David Speers will host a new panel show on the ABC just seven months after Q+A was axed following an 18-year run.
The broadcaster said the show, to be called ABC National Forum, would explore pressing news topics with politicians and experts to appear before a live studio audience.
The first episode would be delving into “the lives and experiences of Jewish Australians, including issues arising from the Bondi terrorist attack”, news director Justin Stevens told staff.
“Listening to one another is essential to strengthening social harmony and fostering a more cohesive nation,” Stevens said.
“The ABC has always found new ways to engage with the community and facilitate ‘town square’ conversations, as the national broadcaster is uniquely well placed to do.”
Speers, who hosts Insiders and was one of Q+A’s rotating hosts between 2021 and 2023, said in a statement the show would allow Australians to come together “to share their knowledge and experiences, hear from others and better understand each other”.
The ABC’s managing director, Hugh Marks, said the new show reflected the ABC’s commitment to bringing Australians together.
“That responsibility is at the core of our role as the national public broadcaster, and we’re proud to continue investing in content and services that serve and connect our community,” he said.
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Marks hinted about the development of the show at Senate estimates in December when he said the ABC needs to get back a “town hall” format which had been “lost” over the long run of Q+A.
The former ABC managing director Mark Scott extolled the benefits of the ABC being a “town hall” in 2009; and in 2024 incoming chair Kim Williams revealed he had aspirations for the ABC to be a “national campfire”.
The weekly flagship discussion program Q+A was launched in 2007 by executive producer Peter McEvoy and host Tony Jones and was highly influential in its early years, showcasing tweets on a live TV screen for the first time and consistently generating newspaper coverage.
Announcing the axing of Q+A in June, Stevens said it involved the “loss of talented colleagues” but the cancellation was “no reflection on anyone on the show”.
It had been hosted by Patricia Karvelas since July 2023 when Stan Grant stood down. The ABC appointed Grant as the full-time host of the program in August 2022, a year after Hamish Macdonald quit and was replaced by rotating hosts.
