ABC News Breakfast’s new co-host Bridget Brennan has revealed her new role was a “breakthrough moment” for Indigenous people.
It was announced Thursday that Brennan would replace Lisa Millar, who revealed last month that she would be stepping down.
However, her time at the ABC has not been without controversy; this year, Brennan was accused of breaching impartiality standards in an Australia Day news report.
Announcing the news alongside Millar and fellow co-presenter Michael Rowland, Brennan, a Dja Dja Wurrung and Yorta Yorta woman, said her new role was an important step for Indigenous representation.
“I didn’t grow up seeing Aboriginal women on the news, so it’s a really important moment for my people as well,” she said.
Brennan joined the ABC as a cadet journalist in 2010 and from 2011 to 2013 was based in Darwin working as a radio and television reporter.
Following a stint in Hong Kong with CNN, Brennan returned to the ABC in 2014 as a reporter for the national radio current affairs programs AM, The World Today and PM.
The journalist won the Andrew Ollie Scholarship in 2016, becoming the ABC’s national Indigenous Affairs correspondent.
She was appointed as the ABC’s Indigenous Affairs Editor in 2020 and in 2023, the ABC announced Brennan as a news anchor and co-presenter, one day a week on ABC News Breakfast.
Bridget Brennan (pictured) will be the new co-presenter of ABC News Breakfast after Lisa Millar announced in July that she would be stepping down.
Brennan received some criticism in January this year after signing a living cross on Australia Day telling viewers that Australia “always was and always will be Aboriginal land”.
She used the phrase to conclude her report on a Wugulora ceremony held at Barangaroo in Sydney.
News Breakfast presenter Michael Rowland concluded his conversation with Brennan with a general reflection on the ceremony she had covered.
“It’s really a very positive thing that more Australians are engaging with their local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and knowing the names of the nations they live in,” Brennan said.
‘For First Nations people, for my people, this is a very important day to remember our ancestors and those who fought for many decades to improve the standard of living for our people and to remember that it was always and always will be Aboriginal land.’
The farewell was met with anger by several X users.
Brennan joined the ABC as a cadet journalist in 2010 and from 2011 to 2013 was based in Darwin working as a radio and television reporter.
“It always was and always will be your ABC. Withdraw funding!” wrote one furious customer.
“Shouldn’t it say Ex ABC…?” said another person.
“She may be a political activist, but she can’t be on the ABC payroll,” another added.
On his X account, Brennan retweeted posts calling for Australia Day to be commemorated as a tragic event and calling Europeans “invaders.”
“Today we mourn our ancestors, those who came before us,” reads a post by Ngarra Murray, a member of the Assembly of First Peoples of Victoria.
‘We mourn the dead with the honesty and integrity they deserve.
The post continued: “We pay tribute to the warriors of the border wars and the resistance fighters who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our country and our people from invaders.”
“Today is Survivor Day for me. A time to acknowledge that we are still here and we will always be here,” reads another tweet posted by Brennan.
She was appointed as the ABC’s Indigenous Affairs Editor in 2020 and in 2023, the ABC announced Brennan as a news anchor and co-presenter, one day a week on ABC News Breakfast.
Brennan was announced as the new co-host of ABC News Breakfast on Thursday morning.
Brennan, who has been with ABC since 2010, will take over as co-anchor alongside Michael Rowland.
Sharing the news with viewers Thursday morning, Brennan said she was “honoured and excited” to begin the new role.
“It’s been a dream come true to work with Michael and Lisa, who I’ve been watching for years, and to sit alongside you, learn from you both and become deep and wonderful friends has been a privilege,” he said.
Brennan began working at the ABC as a cadet journalist and previously worked as the broadcaster’s Indigenous Affairs Editor and National Indigenous Affairs Correspondent.
The announcement comes weeks after Millar, 55, revealed he will be ending the show on August 23.
“It’s been a fantastic last five years, whether it’s been interviewing prime ministers and world opinion leaders or being supported at karaoke by my childhood idol Gladys Knight,” Millar said on air in July.
“In 35 years of journalism, I have never done anything so exciting, unpredictable and fun. This has only worked because of the incredible team in front of the cameras and behind the scenes, who have made me laugh.”
Brennan, who has been with ABC since 2010, will take over as co-anchor alongside Michael Rowland (pictured left).
She will remain at ABC, focusing on her other projects: as narrator of the Logie-nominated series Muster Dogs, as guest presenter of Back Roads and as co-host of the podcast The Newsreader.
“I’m off to more adventures with Back Roads and Muster Dogs. Muster Dogs is just getting bigger and bigger. There’s a lot to do and exciting new projects. That means it’s a farewell,” Millar said.
Millar has been with the ABC since 1993. Her departure from ABC News Breakfast comes after she lashed out at “disgusting” internet trolls who had criticised her appearance in March, while also criticising media coverage of the abuse she had suffered.
The announcement comes weeks after Millar, 55, revealed he will be ending the show on August 23.
She said she felt sickened by the comments, especially since they were made so close to International Women’s Day.
“The fact that what I wore on Monday attracted nasty comments on Twitter, disgusting personal insults that I did not want to and could not repeat here, was disturbing,” she said at the time.
‘I’m angry on this International Women’s Day. Angry on behalf of myself and also on behalf of other women, young women, who see these stories and see someone like me being violently abused day in and day out, for whatever reason the harassers can find.
“I’m worried that this might make you think that progress isn’t being made and that it’s not worth it to be a woman in the public sphere.”
Brennan began working at the ABC as a cadet journalist and previously worked as the broadcaster’s Indigenous Affairs Editor and National Indigenous Affairs Correspondent.