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| Version 7 | Version 8 |
|---|---|
| Q&A returns after Zaky Mallah controversy – as it happened | Q&A returns after Zaky Mallah controversy – as it happened |
| (7 months later) | |
| 2.54pm BST | |
| 14:54 | |
| You can now read our full report on tonight’s Q&A, and the ABC row that won’t go away, here. | You can now read our full report on tonight’s Q&A, and the ABC row that won’t go away, here. |
| Related: Q&A host Tony Jones says Zaky Mallah should not have been allowed on show | Related: Q&A host Tony Jones says Zaky Mallah should not have been allowed on show |
| Tomorrow, the external review commissioned by the ABC into itself lands on the desk of communications minister Malcolm Turnbull. A government-ordered review is still to come. | Tomorrow, the external review commissioned by the ABC into itself lands on the desk of communications minister Malcolm Turnbull. A government-ordered review is still to come. |
| Next week’s Q&A might not be all about Q&A. But I wouldn’t bet on it. | Next week’s Q&A might not be all about Q&A. But I wouldn’t bet on it. |
| Thanks for reading, and for all your comments here and on Twitter. Time for this live blog to call it a night. | Thanks for reading, and for all your comments here and on Twitter. Time for this live blog to call it a night. |
| 2.49pm BST | |
| 14:49 | |
| Thanks for all your comments this evening, below the line and via Twitter, where we were live tweeting the show @GuardianAus. | Thanks for all your comments this evening, below the line and via Twitter, where we were live tweeting the show @GuardianAus. |
| The issue of Zaky Mallah and what the ABC didn’t know – but perhaps should have known – about his offensive tweets is likely to dominate reaction to the show into tomorrow: | The issue of Zaky Mallah and what the ABC didn’t know – but perhaps should have known – about his offensive tweets is likely to dominate reaction to the show into tomorrow: |
| @LordAram @GuardianAus @QandA Impossible for producers to check thousands of tweets of every person who asks a question in the audience. | @LordAram @GuardianAus @QandA Impossible for producers to check thousands of tweets of every person who asks a question in the audience. |
| Plenty of you seem to have enjoyed the show. However, my sample of people who a) watch Q&A; b) read @GuardianAus tweets about Q&A; c) reply to @GuardianAus tweets about Q&A is probably not entirely representative, I concede. | Plenty of you seem to have enjoyed the show. However, my sample of people who a) watch Q&A; b) read @GuardianAus tweets about Q&A; c) reply to @GuardianAus tweets about Q&A is probably not entirely representative, I concede. |
| @GuardianAus @mackaysuzie Despite the dead wood LNP apologists, this has been a good follow-up to last week's Q&A. | @GuardianAus @mackaysuzie Despite the dead wood LNP apologists, this has been a good follow-up to last week's Q&A. |
| 2.34pm BST | |
| 14:34 | |
| My colleague Daniel Hurst sends this speedy dispatch on tonight’s program: | My colleague Daniel Hurst sends this speedy dispatch on tonight’s program: |
| The Q&A host, Tony Jones, says the ABC program would have refused to allow Zaky Mallah to ask a question if it had known of his “very offensive, misogynist tweet” about two female journalists. | The Q&A host, Tony Jones, says the ABC program would have refused to allow Zaky Mallah to ask a question if it had known of his “very offensive, misogynist tweet” about two female journalists. |
| Jones opened Monday night’s episode with a statement addressing some of the criticisms levelled at the show for allowing Mallah, a former terrorism suspect who was convicted of threatening to kill Asio officers, to join the live studio audience last week. | Jones opened Monday night’s episode with a statement addressing some of the criticisms levelled at the show for allowing Mallah, a former terrorism suspect who was convicted of threatening to kill Asio officers, to join the live studio audience last week. |
| Jones said the Q&A team found itself in an unusual situation “because clearly one of the biggest and most controversial issues of the past week has been about events that occurred on our own program”. | Jones said the Q&A team found itself in an unusual situation “because clearly one of the biggest and most controversial issues of the past week has been about events that occurred on our own program”. |
| “We’ve been the subject of a great deal of comment from politicians and from other media,” Jones said in a statement before the panel discussed the controversy. | “We’ve been the subject of a great deal of comment from politicians and from other media,” Jones said in a statement before the panel discussed the controversy. |
| “The ABC itself has acknowledged that an error was made in having Mr Zaky Mallah live in the studio and as we go to air tonight there is more than one inquiry under way.” | “The ABC itself has acknowledged that an error was made in having Mr Zaky Mallah live in the studio and as we go to air tonight there is more than one inquiry under way.” |
| Jones said it was “appropriate to put a couple of facts on the record”. | Jones said it was “appropriate to put a couple of facts on the record”. |
| In an attempt to take collective responsibility, he said: “The decisions made about Q&A are made by the whole program and management team and we all take responsibility for them.” | In an attempt to take collective responsibility, he said: “The decisions made about Q&A are made by the whole program and management team and we all take responsibility for them.” |
| Jones also noted that the ABC’s editorial standards “tell us to present a diversity of perspectives so that over time no significant strand of thought or belief within the community is knowingly excluded, nor disproportionately represented”. | Jones also noted that the ABC’s editorial standards “tell us to present a diversity of perspectives so that over time no significant strand of thought or belief within the community is knowingly excluded, nor disproportionately represented”. |
| “Secondly, the safety and security of our panelists and the audience is always a key priority for us,” he said. | “Secondly, the safety and security of our panelists and the audience is always a key priority for us,” he said. |
| “And finally, the Q&A team were not aware at the time Zaky Mallah appeared of the very offensive misogynistic tweet that he put out about two female journalists. Had we known, we would have rejected his participation.” | “And finally, the Q&A team were not aware at the time Zaky Mallah appeared of the very offensive misogynistic tweet that he put out about two female journalists. Had we known, we would have rejected his participation.” |
| The full report will be online soon and I’ll link to it here once it launches. | The full report will be online soon and I’ll link to it here once it launches. |
| 2.26pm BST | |
| 14:26 | |
| Here’s that panel in full for next week’s show: | Here’s that panel in full for next week’s show: |
| Updated | |
| at 2.28pm BST | |
| 2.13pm BST | |
| 14:13 | |
| Totting up tonight’s Qs and As, I make it that the three questions relating to the ABC/Mallah controversy took up around 45 minutes of the hour-long show. | Totting up tonight’s Qs and As, I make it that the three questions relating to the ABC/Mallah controversy took up around 45 minutes of the hour-long show. |
| That left a breezy five minutes on the Killing Season (which rather let Tanya Plibersek off an uncomfortable hook); 10 minutes on science, religion and the existence of God (which felt simultaneously like more than plenty, and nowhere near enough to get to the bottom of black holes); and a frankly verging-on-insulting minute or so on the issue of Indigenous recognition in the constitution. | That left a breezy five minutes on the Killing Season (which rather let Tanya Plibersek off an uncomfortable hook); 10 minutes on science, religion and the existence of God (which felt simultaneously like more than plenty, and nowhere near enough to get to the bottom of black holes); and a frankly verging-on-insulting minute or so on the issue of Indigenous recognition in the constitution. |
| I’d say that’ll be the point that’s making most people cross tomorrow, but … it won’t be. | I’d say that’ll be the point that’s making most people cross tomorrow, but … it won’t be. |
| Updated | |
| at 11.08pm BST | |
| 1.59pm BST | |
| 13:59 | |
| Some more of your views from below the line (keep ‘em coming). | Some more of your views from below the line (keep ‘em coming). |
| There’s some praise for the ABC: | There’s some praise for the ABC: |
| Wow,that was a surprise.I thought it was just going to be a slanging match pro/against the ABC but the resilience of the programme format won the day.Thanks ABC one of the best out of the box this year.You guys just justified your own existence and any more political criticism should be thrown straight in the bin. | Wow,that was a surprise.I thought it was just going to be a slanging match pro/against the ABC but the resilience of the programme format won the day.Thanks ABC one of the best out of the box this year.You guys just justified your own existence and any more political criticism should be thrown straight in the bin. |
| And for Anne Aly and Lawrence Krauss: | And for Anne Aly and Lawrence Krauss: |
| Kelly and Wilson have exposed themselves as utter hypocrites, whereas Anne Aly is informed and intelligent, and Lawrence Krauss (who is getting far too little time) is incisive and rational. | Kelly and Wilson have exposed themselves as utter hypocrites, whereas Anne Aly is informed and intelligent, and Lawrence Krauss (who is getting far too little time) is incisive and rational. |
| Readers don’t seem quite so enthused by contributions from Paul Kelly and Tim Wilson: | Readers don’t seem quite so enthused by contributions from Paul Kelly and Tim Wilson: |
| Just watched Tim Wilson, our free speech commissioner, passionately argue against free speech and Paul Kelly from the AUSTRALIAN criticise the ABC for sensationalism .What is happening to our country? | Just watched Tim Wilson, our free speech commissioner, passionately argue against free speech and Paul Kelly from the AUSTRALIAN criticise the ABC for sensationalism .What is happening to our country? |
| 1.53pm BST | |
| 13:53 | |
| Despite the thorough airing Q&A gave to its own testing week, it’s hard to see tonight’s show drawing a line under the row. | Despite the thorough airing Q&A gave to its own testing week, it’s hard to see tonight’s show drawing a line under the row. |
| Many will seize upon the admission by the ABC that it did not know about the offensive misogynist tweet sent by Zaky Mallah earlier this year, and its statement that it would not have invited him on to Q&A if it had known about this tweet. | Many will seize upon the admission by the ABC that it did not know about the offensive misogynist tweet sent by Zaky Mallah earlier this year, and its statement that it would not have invited him on to Q&A if it had known about this tweet. |
| Paul Kelly dismissed that line as a distraction; Mallah’s alleged terrorist sympathies were enough to exclude him from a platform on the show, he said. | Paul Kelly dismissed that line as a distraction; Mallah’s alleged terrorist sympathies were enough to exclude him from a platform on the show, he said. |
| But it was striking that Alan Tudge, Tony Abbott’s parliamentary secretary, specifically cited the misogynist tweet as a reason for pulling out of tonight’s Q&A panel. | But it was striking that Alan Tudge, Tony Abbott’s parliamentary secretary, specifically cited the misogynist tweet as a reason for pulling out of tonight’s Q&A panel. |
| Not only was that tweet about @mirandadevine and @RitaPanahi not taken down - Mallah repeated it on his twitter account last week. #QandA | Not only was that tweet about @mirandadevine and @RitaPanahi not taken down - Mallah repeated it on his twitter account last week. #QandA |
| 1.45pm BST | |
| 13:45 | |
| Discordant views below the line about the appearance on next week’s panel of columnist Piers Akerman: | Discordant views below the line about the appearance on next week’s panel of columnist Piers Akerman: |
| I see that Piers Akerman is on next week ........Should be good for a laugh. | I see that Piers Akerman is on next week ........Should be good for a laugh. |
| So Piers Ackerman will be on the panel of Q&A next week. Not being a masochist, I won't be watching. | So Piers Ackerman will be on the panel of Q&A next week. Not being a masochist, I won't be watching. |
| 1.41pm BST | |
| 13:41 | |
| And that’s it: Q&A has made it through another show. | And that’s it: Q&A has made it through another show. |
| Barnaby Joyce is on next week’s panel, so perhaps I’ll be back to live blog his answers on threats to Johnny Depp’s dogs. | Barnaby Joyce is on next week’s panel, so perhaps I’ll be back to live blog his answers on threats to Johnny Depp’s dogs. |
| 1.39pm BST | |
| 13:39 | |
| Question 6: Indigenous recognition in the constitution | Question 6: Indigenous recognition in the constitution |
| Paul Kelly says there is no point proceeding with a proposal that is doomed to fail; Plibersek agrees. | Paul Kelly says there is no point proceeding with a proposal that is doomed to fail; Plibersek agrees. |
| A referendum would have a better chance of success with a bipartisan deal, she says. | A referendum would have a better chance of success with a bipartisan deal, she says. |
| Wilson says we don’t yet have a proposal that can be successful. He says Aboriginal advancement needs to come from outside the constitution. | Wilson says we don’t yet have a proposal that can be successful. He says Aboriginal advancement needs to come from outside the constitution. |
| That’s about it – this question felt very rushed, which is a shame given its importance. | That’s about it – this question felt very rushed, which is a shame given its importance. |
| You can read more about the background to indigenous recognition here. | You can read more about the background to indigenous recognition here. |
| Updated | |
| at 11.08pm BST | |
| 1.34pm BST | |
| 13:34 | |
| Plibersek says she thinks the public discourse in the US on religion is different to that in Australia. | Plibersek says she thinks the public discourse in the US on religion is different to that in Australia. |
| Jones points out that a would-be political leader in the US probably wouldn’t declare themselves an atheist, as Plibersek has done. | Jones points out that a would-be political leader in the US probably wouldn’t declare themselves an atheist, as Plibersek has done. |
| Krauss says saying you’re an atheist in the US is akin to calling yourself a rapist, in popularity terms. Goodness. | Krauss says saying you’re an atheist in the US is akin to calling yourself a rapist, in popularity terms. Goodness. |
| Moving on to the next question now. Probably just as well. | Moving on to the next question now. Probably just as well. |
| 1.31pm BST | |
| 13:31 | |
| Tanya Plibersek likes Star Trek but doesn’t believe in heaven or hell. Now she’s talking about lessons from childhood Sunday school. | Tanya Plibersek likes Star Trek but doesn’t believe in heaven or hell. Now she’s talking about lessons from childhood Sunday school. |
| This Q&A really is going in an unexpected direction. | This Q&A really is going in an unexpected direction. |
| 1.30pm BST | |
| 13:30 | |
| Krauss challenges Wilson – what about people who claim religious beliefs to argue that homosexuality is wrong? | Krauss challenges Wilson – what about people who claim religious beliefs to argue that homosexuality is wrong? |
| People are entitled to their views, Wilson says. | People are entitled to their views, Wilson says. |
| Tony Jones can’t resist. So you think people are entitled to their views? | Tony Jones can’t resist. So you think people are entitled to their views? |
| Everyone laughs. Wilson does not laugh. He says Jones is being snide. Jones probably is being a bit snide. Funny-snide. | Everyone laughs. Wilson does not laugh. He says Jones is being snide. Jones probably is being a bit snide. Funny-snide. |
| 1.29pm BST | |
| 13:29 | |
| Paul Kelly says science and religion are different, and Tim Wilson agrees because, really, how could you not agree with it because it’s just saying a thing that is true. | Paul Kelly says science and religion are different, and Tim Wilson agrees because, really, how could you not agree with it because it’s just saying a thing that is true. |
| Krauss is back with something more insightful: morality doesn’t come from religion, he says – it comes from rationality, even though people often like to think it comes from religion. That’s more like it. | Krauss is back with something more insightful: morality doesn’t come from religion, he says – it comes from rationality, even though people often like to think it comes from religion. That’s more like it. |
| 1.27pm BST | |
| 13:27 | |
| Talk of black holes hurts my head, says Anne Aly (oh, come on!). | Talk of black holes hurts my head, says Anne Aly (oh, come on!). |
| She does believe in a creator, she goes on; there is something bigger than us. | She does believe in a creator, she goes on; there is something bigger than us. |
| This really is quite a swerve from the preceding debate. From bashing the ABC to debating the existence of a creator. Not many live blogs go this way, I can tell you. | This really is quite a swerve from the preceding debate. From bashing the ABC to debating the existence of a creator. Not many live blogs go this way, I can tell you. |
| 1.24pm BST | |
| 13:24 | |
| Question 5: can science and religion be compatible? | Question 5: can science and religion be compatible? |
| OK, this really is nothing to do with the ABC. (Let’s see where the answers go, mind.) | OK, this really is nothing to do with the ABC. (Let’s see where the answers go, mind.) |
| The questioner is a Catholic and a would-be cosmologist. | The questioner is a Catholic and a would-be cosmologist. |
| Lawrence Krauss, already a cosmologist, says scientists can believe in god if they like – it doesn’t really matter. It’s not incompatible with science. But the doctrines of organised religion are incompatible with science. | Lawrence Krauss, already a cosmologist, says scientists can believe in god if they like – it doesn’t really matter. It’s not incompatible with science. But the doctrines of organised religion are incompatible with science. |
| 1.21pm BST | |
| 13:21 | |
| Paul Kelly is more understanding: sometimes politicians have to lie. There’s a difference between personal and political morality. Shorten should have lied better, he seems to be saying: he should not have been caught out. That will count against him down the line. | Paul Kelly is more understanding: sometimes politicians have to lie. There’s a difference between personal and political morality. Shorten should have lied better, he seems to be saying: he should not have been caught out. That will count against him down the line. |
| Surely it’s a qualification for politicians to be able to lie, Anne Aly asks. | Surely it’s a qualification for politicians to be able to lie, Anne Aly asks. |
| Updated | |
| at 1.22pm BST | |
| 1.20pm BST | |
| 13:20 | |
| Question 4: the Killing Season | Question 4: the Killing Season |
| Time for a different topic and it’s the hot seat for Plibersek as the audience member wants to know more about the Killing Season - specifically, Bill Shorten’s admission that he made “a mistake” in 2013 when he emphatically dismissed leadership talk just days after meeting with Kevin Rudd to discuss replacing Julia Gillard as prime minister. | Time for a different topic and it’s the hot seat for Plibersek as the audience member wants to know more about the Killing Season - specifically, Bill Shorten’s admission that he made “a mistake” in 2013 when he emphatically dismissed leadership talk just days after meeting with Kevin Rudd to discuss replacing Julia Gillard as prime minister. |
| Plibersek dodges the question of whether she ought to replace Shorten as Labor leader. | Plibersek dodges the question of whether she ought to replace Shorten as Labor leader. |
| She says lying is never acceptable, but she understands why Shorten did what he did under the circumstances. | She says lying is never acceptable, but she understands why Shorten did what he did under the circumstances. |
| 1.16pm BST | |
| 13:16 | |
| Paul Kelly thinks the conversation needs to go back to the ABC, which has not apologised enough for his liking. The managing director and the board need to realise this, he says; lots of people feel this way. | Paul Kelly thinks the conversation needs to go back to the ABC, which has not apologised enough for his liking. The managing director and the board need to realise this, he says; lots of people feel this way. |
| He says he likes the ABC, though. | He says he likes the ABC, though. |
| 1.14pm BST | |
| 13:14 | |
| Question 3 is about (de)radicalisation | Question 3 is about (de)radicalisation |
| Anne Aly – who actually knows about this stuff; she’s a a research fellow at Curtin University, Perth, working on radicalisation, counter-terrorism and countering violent extremism – says the group she works with had reached out to Mallah because voices of former extremists are useful for deradicalisation. | Anne Aly – who actually knows about this stuff; she’s a a research fellow at Curtin University, Perth, working on radicalisation, counter-terrorism and countering violent extremism – says the group she works with had reached out to Mallah because voices of former extremists are useful for deradicalisation. |
| He’s said some shitty stuff … He’s not media savvy and he’s not politically savvy. But he could be a really good voice and a really powerful voice. | He’s said some shitty stuff … He’s not media savvy and he’s not politically savvy. But he could be a really good voice and a really powerful voice. |
| 1.11pm BST | |
| 13:11 | |
| Debate now over what is “the Muslim community” and whether Mallah was speaking – or pretending to speak – for it last week. | Debate now over what is “the Muslim community” and whether Mallah was speaking – or pretending to speak – for it last week. |
| There is no leader of “the Muslim community”, Aly points out, reasonably. | There is no leader of “the Muslim community”, Aly points out, reasonably. |
| Krauss is exasperated now (not with Aly, but Kelly and Wilson are feeling a bit of scorn here). Mallah didn’t claim to be speaking for anyone other than himself, he says, and he got an “idiotic answer” from Ciobo. | Krauss is exasperated now (not with Aly, but Kelly and Wilson are feeling a bit of scorn here). Mallah didn’t claim to be speaking for anyone other than himself, he says, and he got an “idiotic answer” from Ciobo. |
| 1.09pm BST | |
| 13:09 | |
| Everyone is shouting over each other now and the audience is applauding, but which shout they’re appreciating, who knows? | Everyone is shouting over each other now and the audience is applauding, but which shout they’re appreciating, who knows? |
| Tony Jones restores order. The point of this program is to allow citizens to ask questions, he says. | Tony Jones restores order. The point of this program is to allow citizens to ask questions, he says. |
| Tim Wilson says no. Mallah shouldn’t have had a platform. If Wilson had a gavel, he might slam it down at this point. | Tim Wilson says no. Mallah shouldn’t have had a platform. If Wilson had a gavel, he might slam it down at this point. |
| 1.08pm BST | |
| 13:08 | |
| Plibersek says the government needs to put forward proper policies to parliament, not “thought bubbles”. | Plibersek says the government needs to put forward proper policies to parliament, not “thought bubbles”. |
| 1.05pm BST | |
| 13:05 | |
| Tanya Plibersek says security is the first responsibility of a government. | Tanya Plibersek says security is the first responsibility of a government. |
| But people need to be able to disagree with government policies and to question them without being labelled as not being on Team Australia. | But people need to be able to disagree with government policies and to question them without being labelled as not being on Team Australia. |
| 1.02pm BST | |
| 13:02 | |
| Paul Kelly repeats: he doesn’t think this is a free speech issue. This was a set-up, designed to embarrass a politician and, by extension, the government. | Paul Kelly repeats: he doesn’t think this is a free speech issue. This was a set-up, designed to embarrass a politician and, by extension, the government. |
| (One can only assume that if the point was to rile the Abbott government, it worked pretty well. Maybe too well …) | (One can only assume that if the point was to rile the Abbott government, it worked pretty well. Maybe too well …) |
| 1.00pm BST | |
| 13:00 | |
| Aly says she knows Zaky Mallah; she works with a lot of what she calls “formers” (former radicals/extremists). | Aly says she knows Zaky Mallah; she works with a lot of what she calls “formers” (former radicals/extremists). |
| Some are very eloquent, she says: | Some are very eloquent, she says: |
| Zaky isn’t there yet. | Zaky isn’t there yet. |
| He needs more support, Aly adds. | He needs more support, Aly adds. |