# Insiders (Australian TV program)

Insiders is an Australian news and talk television program produced by ABC News, and hosted by David Speers, airing at 9 am Sunday mornings on ABC TV, ABC News and on demand via ABC iview.

## History

The program debuted on 15 July 2001, and was hosted by Barrie Cassidy for 18 years until his retirement in June 2019. Similar in format to Sunday morning talk shows in the United States, Insiders analyses and discusses Australian politics with the use of a panel of political journalists and columnists and interviews with prominent politicians and commentators.
Broadcast on the ABC on Sunday mornings at 9 am, the program also features many regular commentators from various Australian media outlets and think tanks. The show is part of the ABC's Sunday morning line-up, commencing with Insiders, followed by Offsiders, a sports program initiated and formerly hosted by Cassidy.
Fran Kelly hosted Insiders while Barrie Cassidy was on long service leave, and Chris Uhlmann, prior to his move to the Nine Network, also hosted the show in Cassidy's absence.
In March 2019, Cassidy announced he would be leaving Insiders after the 2019 Australian election and after eighteen years in the hosting chair. His last show was on 9 June 2019; regular fill-in presenters Fran Kelly and Annabel Crabb alternated hosting duties until the end of the year.
In June 2019, David Speers was announced as Cassidy's replacement from 2020.
In June 2020, the program received criticism for having an all-white panel discussing the Black Lives Matter movement. An investigation by Junkee discovered that there seemingly had never been a person of colour on the panel in the show's history. Consequently, ABC journalist Bridget Brennan accepted an invitation to be on the following week's program, seemingly becoming the first non-white person to ever appear on the Insiders panel. Addressing the criticism, Speers admitted the previous week's edition of Insiders lacked an important perspective and that the program needed to do better in having more diverse insights into political debate.
In May 2023, it was announced that the show would relocate from the ABC's Melbourne studio to Canberra later in 2023. The first episode broadcast live from Canberra was broadcast on 9 July 2023.

## Format

As a Sunday morning talk show, the original format of the program usually started with Cassidy discussing the political issues of the week, followed by an interview with a current Australian political figure, usually an Australian politician. Each week in the studio, Cassidy discusses current political issues with a panel of three commentators/journalists of varying political perspectives.
The 2007 series included small changes to the format of the show: re-ordering the segments, commencing the program with the political interview, followed by "Your Shout". Paul Kelly's discussion (this segment was discontinued in 2010) was then used as a starting point for the panel discussion. "Talking Pictures" continued to provide a break point within the panel discussions, with the show concluding with its customary sign-off where Cassidy asked the three panel members for their "final observation and predictions".
In 2011, the usual program format began with a brief monologue from Cassidy followed by a brief video summary of the major events of the preceding week. Cassidy then reviewed the Sunday papers with the studio panel before moving on to the studio guest. If the guest is present in the studio the interview is introduced by a short video clip relating to the first interview question. The interview usually lasts until midway through the hour and is followed by a video clip which concentrates on events surrounding a major news topic of the week. This was followed by a panel discussion between Cassidy and his studio guests. Cassidy introduced "Talking Pictures" towards the end of the hour, which is followed by more studio discussion. The show usually wound up with Cassidy introducing amusing or otherwise interesting media clips followed by an observation or prediction from each panel member before Cassidy ended the show with a final media clip or two.
The program's editor, Huw Parkinson, has produced dozens of video mashups compositing the faces of political figures onto films and other pop culture footage. Parkinson's videos won him a Walkley Award for multimedia storytelling in 2015.
Since David Speers became host the format has remained relatively consistent, with an opening edited video compilation that frames the weeks key events, opening remarks and discussion with the three panellists, a look at the Sunday newspaper stories followed by a political interview of around 15 to 20 minutes in duration. The discussion returns to the panellists for around 20 minutes then breaking to a prerecorded Talking Pictures package (hosted by Mike Bowers with a weekly guest), then returns to the studio for closing comments and observations.

## Regular segments
### Your Shout

The Your Shout segment (which was dropped in 2010) gave a member or group of members of the public a chance to air a grievance or present opinions about topical political issues that concerned them, in a short, pre-recorded segment shown during the program. It appears that the program attempted to ensure that the members of the public selected from week to week represented a broad range of political opinion and were spread across different parts in Australia.

### Talking Pictures

Presented by Mike Bowers, the Talking Pictures segment analyses political cartoons and photographs featured in the nation's newspapers, magazines and news websites from the previous week. Regularly appearing cartoonists and photographers have included Warren Brown, Bill Leak, Geoff Pryor, Bruce Petty, Alan Moir, Peter Nicholson, Mark Knight, Jon Kudelka, Peter Hoysted, Matt Golding, Andrew Meares, David Pope, Amanda Copp, Paul Batey, Cathy Wilcox, Sean Leahy, Fiona Katauskas and Alex Ellinghausen.

### Poll of Polls

Presented by Andrew Catsaras, the Poll of Polls segment aggregated and reviewed political polling from the previous month. This segment commenced in February 2012, appearing during the last week of each month in 2012, moving to the first week of each month in 2013.

### The Curve

Presented by Casey Briggs, The Curve started in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic providing weekly analysis and information graphics of infection and hospitalisation rates. The segment has evolved into other subject areas including electoral polling analysis and the 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum called The Crunch.

## Commentators and panellists
### Regular panellists

Insiders panellists since 2022 :
| Commentator | Background | Latest appearance |
| Lorena Allam | Indigenous Affairs Editor, The Guardian | 31 July 2022 |
| Waleed Aly | Presenter, Network 10 | 15 September 2024 |
| Clare Armstrong | National Political Editor; Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun, Adelaide Advertiser, Courier Mail | 24 November 2024 |
| Bridget Brennan | Indigenous Affairs Editor, ABC News | 28 April 2024 |
| Dan Bourchier | Journalist and Presenter, ABC News | 17 March 2024 |
| James Campbell | Political Editor, Sunday Telegraph, Sunday Herald Sun and the Sunday Mail | 2 June 2024 |
| Melissa Clarke | National Affairs Editor, ABC News | 11 August 2024 |
| Annabel Crabb | Political journalist, ABC | 17 November 2024 |
| Charles Croucher | Chief Political Editor, Nine News | 10 November 2024 |
| David Crowe | Chief Political Editor for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald | 1 December 2024 |
| Phil Coorey | Political Editor, Australian Financial Review | 24 November 2024 |
| Tom Crowley | Political reporter, ABC News | 30 June 2024 |
| Katina Curtis | Canberra Bureau Chief,The West Australian | 17 November 2024 |
| Rafael Epstein | Presenter, ABC Radio Melbourne | 20 October 2024 |
| Osman Faruqi | Culture Editor, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald | 13 August 2023 |
| Anthony Galloway | Chief Political Correspondent, Capital Brief | 27 October 2024 |
| Stan Grant | Journalist | 20 November 2022 |
| Andrew Greene | Defence Correspondent, ABC News | 30 April 2023 |
| Jacob Greber | Senior Correspondent Australian Financial Review | 15 September 2024 |
| Peter Hartcher | Political Editor and International Editor for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald | 17 November 2024 |
| Anna Henderson | Chief Political Correspondent, SBS World News | 18 August 2024 |
| Jennifer Hewett | National Affairs columnist, Australian Financial Review | 18 August 2024 |
| Sarah Ison | Federal Political Reporter, The Australian | 20 October 2024 |
| John Paul Janke | Journalist, NITV | 4 August 2024 |
| Greg Jennett | Political Correspondent, ABC | 29 October 2023 |
| Narelda Jacobs | Presenter, Network 10 | 3 July 2022 |
| Patricia Karvelas | Presenter, ABC News | 27 October 2024 |
| John Kehoe | Economics editor, Australian Financial Review | 29 September 2024 |
| Fran Kelly | Presenter, ABC Radio National Saturday Extra | 10 September 2023 |
| Paul Kelly | Editor–at–large, The Australian | 11 September 2022 |
| Sean Kelly | Journalist, The Sydney Morning Herald | 26 May 2024 |
| Mark Kenny | Senior Fellow at the Australian Studies Institute, Australian National University | 13 October 2024 |
| Jack Latimore | Indigenous affairs journalist, The Age | 16 April 2023 |
| Rosie Lewis | Political correspondent, The Australian | 12 March 2023 |
| Claudia Long | Journalist, ABC News | 25 August 2024 |
| Samantha Maiden | Political editor, news.com.au | 1 December 2024 |
| James Massola | National affairs editor, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald | 13 October 2024 |
| Jade Macmillan | North America bureau chief, ABC News | 3 November 2024 |
| Shalailah Medhora | Political reporter, Triple J Hack program | 22 September 2024 |
| Karen Middleton | Political editor, The Guardian | 1 December 2024 |
| Dana Morse | Political reporter ABC News | 24 September 2023 |
| Andrew Probyn | National affairs editor, Nine Network and Former Political Editor, ABC News | 14 May 2023 |
| Ashleigh Raper | Political editor, Network 10 | 23 June 2024 |
| Amy Remeikis | Political reporter, The Guardian Australia | 7 July 2024 |
| Paul Sakkal | Federal political correspondent, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald | 24 November 2024 |
| Niki Savva | Author, political columnist The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald and former Liberal staffer | 6 October 2024 |
| Greg Sheridan | Journalist, Foreign Editor,The Australian | 29 September 2023 |
| Annika Smethurst | State political editor, The Age | 20 November 2022 |
| Cameron Stewart | Chief international correspondent, The Australian | 9 October 2022 |
| Lenore Taylor | Editor–in–chief, The Guardian Australia | 5 November 2023 |
| Laura Tingle | Chief political correspondent, ABC and 7.30 program | 1 September 2024 |
| Farrah Tomazin | North America correspondent for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald | 3 November 2024 |
| Peter van Onselen | Contributing editor, The Australian newspaper, professor at Griffith University and adjunct professor at the University of Western Australia | 8 October 2023 |
| Carly Williams | Journalist, ABC News | 13 October 2024 |
| Shane Wright | Senior economics correspondent for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald | 21 July 2024 |
Panellists who have appeared since February 2022, Source: ABC Insiders website

### Former panellists

| Commentator | Background | Last appeared |
| Piers Akerman | Columnist, Sydney's Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph | 16 June 2013 |
| Dennis Atkins | Former National Affairs Editor, The Courier-Mail | 1 November 2020 |
| Andrew Bolt | Host of The Bolt Report on Sky News Live, Herald Sun columnist and blogger (left to start own show) | May 2011 |
| Tim Blair | Opinion Editor, Sydney's Daily Telegraph | |
| Malcolm Farr | The Guardian Australia | |
| Gerard Henderson | Executive Director, The Sydney Institute | Early 2020 |
| David Marr | Journalist, The Guardian Australia | 2020 |
| George Megalogenis | Author/columnist, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald | 13 May 2018 |
| Glenn Milne | Political journalist, The Australian and News Corp Sunday publications (sacked as a panelist) | |
| Katharine Murphy | Former Political Editor, The Guardian Australia (moved to Prime Minister's Office, January 2024) | 8 October 2023 |
| Gareth Parker | Former Presenter, 6PR | |
| Matt Price | Sketch writer, The Australian | |
| Mark Riley | Political Editor, Seven News | |
| Lanai Scarr | Former journalist, The West Australian | 13 March 2022 |
| Tory Shepherd | Journalist,The Guardian Australia and former News Corp correspondent | |
| Michael Stutchbury | Editor-in-Chief, Australian Financial Review | |
| Brian Toohey | Former columnist with Australian Financial Review | |

## 2024 season episode listing

Insiders Season 23 Episodes, 2024 :
| Ep | Date | Panel | Guest Interview | Talking Pictures guest | Key issues | Location | Host |
| 1 | 4 February 2024 | Phil Coorey Samantha Maiden Karen Middleton | Anthony Albanese Prime Minister | Cathy Wilcox | Stage three tax cuts | Canberra | David Speers |
| 2 | 11 February 2024 | Clare Armstrong Tom Crowley Jacob Greber | Angus Taylor Shadow Treasurer | Alex Ellinghausen | Stage three tax cuts | Canberra | David Speers |
| 3 | 18 February 2024 | David Crowe Ashleigh Raper John Paul Janke | Max Chandler-Mather Greens housing spokesperson | Amanda Copp | Boat arrivals in WA | Canberra | David Speers |
| 4 | 25 February 2024 | Raf Epstein Sarah Ison Katina Curtis | Jason Clare Education Minister | Dan Ilic | Boat arrivals in WA | Canberra | David Speers |
| 5 | 3 March 2024 | Patricia Karvelas Niki Savva Paul Sakkal | Dan Tehan, Shadow Immigration Minister | Fiona Katauskas | 2024 Dunkley by-election, Victoria | Canberra | David Speers |
| 6 | 10 March 2024 | Peter Hartcher Anna Henderson Jennifer Hewett | Chris Bowen Minister for Climate Change and Energy | Andrew Meares | Vehicle emission standard | Canberra | David Speers |
| 7 | 17 March 2024 | Dan Bourchier Phil Coorey Samantha Maiden | James Paterson Shadow Minister for Home Affairs | Zoe Norton Lodge | Tik Tok Immigration Detention | Canberra | David Speers |
| 8 | 24 March 2024 | Clare Armstrong Anthony Galloway Shalailah Medhora | Richard Marles Deputy Prime Minister of Australia | Peter Hoysted (Jack the Insider) | 2024 Tasmanian state election Trump v Rudd | Canberra | David Speers |
| 9 | 7 April 2024 | Katina Curtis Karen Middleton Paul Sakkal | Simon Birmingham Shadow Foreign Minister | Megan Herbert | World Central Kitchen drone strikes | Canberra | David Speers |
| 10 | 14 April 2024 | Anna Henderson John Kehoe David Crowe | Jim Chalmers Treasurer | Mark Humphries | 2024 Bondi Junction stabbings 2024 Australian federal budget | Canberra | David Speers |
| 11 | 21 April 2024 | Phil Coorey Samantha Maiden Lenore Taylor | Peter Dutton Opposition Leader | Cathy Wilcox | Elon Musk 2024 Wakeley church stabbing | Canberra | David Speers |
| 12 | 28 April 2024 | Karen Middleton Shane Wright Bridget Brennan | Dai Le Independent MP for Fowler | Lewis Hobba | Elon Musk 2024 Wakeley church stabbing Domestic violence | Canberra | David Speers |
| 13 | 5 May 2024 | Clare Armstrong Tom Crowley Jennifer Hewett | Katy Gallagher Finance Minister | Fiona Katauskas | Marches against domestic violence 2024 Australian federal budget | Canberra | David Speers |
| 14 | 12 May 2024 | Annabel Crabb Jacob Greber Niki Savva | Angus Taylor Shadow Treasurer | Alex Lee | 2024 Australian federal budget | Canberra | David Speers |
| 15 | 19 May 2024 | Phil Coorey Peter Hartcher Laura Tingle | Jim Chalmers Treasurer | Alex Ellinghausen | 2024 Australian federal budget | Canberra | David Speers |
| 16 | 26 May 2024 | Katina Curtis Sean Kelly Samantha Maiden | Adam Bandt Leader of the Australian Greens | Glen Le Lievre | 2024 Australian federal budget, Nuclear power in Australia | Canberra | David Speers |
| 17 | 2 June 2024 | James Campbell Karen Middleton James Massola | Murray Watt Agriculture Minister | Zoe Norton Lodge | Immigration, inflation | Canberra | David Speers |
| 18 | 9 June 2024 | Clare Armstrong John Kehoe Claudia Long | David Coleman Shadow Communications Minister | Dan Ilic | Climate emissions targets | Canberra | David Speers |
| 19 | 16 June 2024 | Jennifer Hewett Anna Henderson Paul Sakkal | Penny Wong Foreign Minister | Jon Kudelka | Climate emissions targets, Chinese Premier visit to Australia, Australia–China relations | Canberra | David Speers |
| 20 | 23 June 2024 | David Crowe Melissa Clarke Ashleigh Raper | Ted O'Brien Shadow Climate Change and Energy Minister | Cathy Wilcox | Coalition nuclear energy policy | Canberra | David Speers |
| 21 | 30 June 2024 | Mark Kenny Samantha Maiden Tom Crowley | Richard Marles Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Fatima Payman Labor Senator | Amanda Copp | Julian Assange release, Fatima Payman crossing Senate floor | Canberra | David Speers |
| 22 | 7 July 2024 | Katina Curtis Phil Coorey Amy Remeikis | Mehreen Faruqi Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens | Fiona Katauskas | Fatima Payman resignation from ALP | Canberra | David Speers |
| 23 | 14 July 2024 | Clare Armstrong John Paul Janke Anthony Galloway | Tony Burke Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations | Not screened | Attempted assassination of Donald Trump, CFMEU and John Setka | Canberra | Patricia Karvelas |
| 24 | 21 July 2024 | Karen Middleton Rafael Epstein Shane Wright | Zoe Daniel Independent MP for Goldstein | Peter Hoysted (Jack the Insider) | Presidential Nomination of Donald Trump at the 2024 Republican National Convention, CFMEU | Canberra | David Speers |
| 25 | 28 July 2024 | Jacob Greber Niki Savva Samantha Maiden | Brendon O'Connor Outgoing Minister for Skills and Training | Glen Le Lievre | Minister retirements and cabinet reshuffle, Kamala Harris presidential nomination | Canberra | David Speers |
| 26 | 4 August 2024 | Carly Williams Patricia Karvelas John Paul Janke | Anthony Albanese Prime Minister | Music performance by Yirrmal | Indigenous affairs post Voice referendum | Garma Festival | David Speers |
| 27 | 11 August 2024 | Melissa Clarke David Crowe John Kehoe | Mike Burgess ASIO Director–General | Benjamin Law | Inflation, cost of living, terrorism and security | Canberra | David Speers |
| 28 | 18 August 2024 | Charles Croucher Jennifer Hewett Anna Henderson | David Littleproud Nationals Leader | Amanda Copp | Gaza War, immigration, CFMEU, gambling | Canberra | David Speers |
| 29 | 25 August 2024 | Phil Coorey Claudia Long Karen Middleton | Bill Shorten Minister for Government Services, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme | Cathy Wilcox | National Disability Insurance Scheme reforms, 2024 Northern Territory general election, CFMEU | Canberra | David Speers |
| 30 | 1 September 2024 | Laura Tingle Mark Kenny Paul Sakkal | Andrew Bragg Shadow Assistant Minister for Home Ownership | Lewis Hobba | 2026 Census, foreign student caps | Canberra | David Speers |
| 31 | 8 September 2024 | Annabel Crabb James Massola Katina Curtis | Jim Chalmers Treasurer | Mark Knight | Economy, interest rates, inflation | Canberra | David Speers |
| 32 | 15 September 2024 | Waleed Aly Clare Armstrong Jacob Greber | Jane Hume Shadow Finance Minister | Alex Ellinghausen | Aged care | Canberra | David Speers |
| 33 | 22 September 2024 | Samantha Maiden David Crowe Shalailah Medhora | Mark Butler Health Minister | Dan Ilic | | Canberra | David Speers |
| 34 | 29 September 2024 | Karen Middleton Greg Sheridan John Kehoe | Bridget McKenzie Shadow Transport Minister | Megan Herbert | | Canberra | David Speers |
| 35 | 6 October 2024 | Niki Savva Katina Curtis Phillip Coorey | Richard Marles Deputy Pime Minister and Defence Minister | Glen Le Livre | | Canberra | David Speers |
| 36 | 13 October 2024 | Mark Kenny James Massola Carly Williams | James Paterson Shadow Home Affairs Minister | Peter Hoysted (Jack the Insider) | | Canberra | David Speers |
| 37 | 20 October 2024 | Raf Epstein Sarah Ison Paul Sakkal | Murray Watt Employment & Workplace Relations Minister | Alex Lee | | Canberra | David Speers |
| 38 | 27 October 2024 | Clare Armstrong Anthony Galloway Patricia Karvelas | Cameron Dick Queensland Treasurer | Charles Firth | 2024 Queensland state election | Brisbane | David Speers |
| 39 | 3 November 2024 | Farrah Tomazin Jade Macmillan | Joe Hockey Former US Ambassador | Cathy Wilcox | 2024 United States presidential election | Detroit, Michigan, USA | David Speers |
| 40 | 10 November 2024 | Sarah Ferguson Charles Croucher | Charles Edel Senior Adviser and Australia Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies | Nick Bryant | 2024 United States presidential election | Washington DC, USA | David Speers |
| 41 | 17 November 2024 | Annabel Crabb Katina Curtis Peter Hartcher | Anthony Albanese Prime Minister (interviewed by David Speers in Lima, Peru) | Sammy J | APEC Peru 2024 2024 G20 Rio de Janeiro summit | Canberra and Lima, Peru | Patricia Karvelas |
| 42 | 24 November 2024 | Clare Armstrong Paul Sakkal Phil Coorey | Sarah Hanson-Young Greens Senator for South Australia | Peter Hoysted (Jack the Insider) | | Canberra | David Speers |
| 43 | 1 December 2024 | Samantha Maiden David Crowe Karen Middleton | Anthony Albanese Prime Minister | Megan Herbert | Final sitting week in Canberra, social media ban for under 16s, Matt Price Moment | Canberra | David Speers |