ABC’s Q&A is derailed by an audience member’s Commonwealth Games claim, before the UK’s Minister for the Armed Forces steps in to shut it down
- Audience question shocks Q&A panel
Patricia Karvelas’ first night as a full-time Q&A host got off to a strange start, with an audience member making an odd comment about the Commonwealth Games.
The woman, named Joy, asked if Victoria’s cancellation of the Commonwealth Games last week signaled “the end of conquerors deciding Australia’s future”.
Panelist James Heappey, the UK Minister for the Armed Forces, initially brushed off the ‘pathfinder’ comments and spoke about the sport in general.
So the questioner tried again, saying: ‘The original concept of the Commonwealth Games is the Empire Games… So how does someone achieve an empire?
‘they conquer itand then these games are at the pleasure of the King and to celebrate the King by using all the conquered countries to compete against each other.’
Patricia Karvelas got off to a strange start as the new Q+A host with an ABC audience member making the bizarre claim that the Commonwealth Games exist for the ‘conquered’ to compete for the ‘conquerors’ pleasure.
The renewed focus on the question led Heappey to defend the Commonwealth, the Games and his nation.
“The Commonwealth has countries now that were never part of the British Empire,” he said.
I was in Togo a couple of months ago. They joined the Commonwealth because they want to be part of a club of nations united by friendship and shared values and no one is required to send a team to the Commonwealth Games.
‘People do it because they enjoy the opportunity to compete internationally in the game called ‘the friendly games’.’
Daniel Andrews made the decision to cancel the Commonwealth Games, which were to be held in the regional region of Victoria, last week.
The state’s premier claimed that the cost of the Games, originally planned at $2.6 billion, had ballooned to $7 billion.
Q+A panelist James Heappey (pictured), the UK’s Minister for the Armed Forces, defended the Commonwealth and the Commonwealth Games after a bizarre question about Q+AKar
Karvelas was hosting the show after it was announced that Stan Grant had permanently stepped away from the role, two months after he took a leave of absence due to racial abuse.
ABC news director Justin Stevens said Grant, 59, will continue to work on new projects for the national network.
“We want to do everything we can to support Stan and make sure he continues to play an important role in the Australian media,” Stevens said on Monday.
‘It has the ability to guide our media towards a kinder and more constructive conversation. In Wiradjuri ‘dyiraamalang’ means teacher and leader.
“A proud Wiradjuri man, Stan Grant is both and I’m looking forward to seeing what he does in the future.
“Patricia Karvelas has been doing an excellent job as alternate host and we are delighted that she has agreed to continue in that role.”
Stan Grant (pictured) has walked away from his role as host of ABC’s Q+A permanently, two months after he quit due to racial abuse.
Grant remains on leave with no return date, an ABC spokesman said.
The former Q+A host had announced in May that he was stepping down after he was racially abused on a panel discussing colonialism before the coronation of King Charles.
The ABC received more than 1,000 complaints for its alleged “disrespectful” coverage of the May 6 coronation, which linked the British monarchy to the dispossession of Aboriginal people since 1788.
In the aftermath of the coverage, Grant said he had been subjected to “relentless racial filth” with viewers attacking him because he was Native American.
