Grant remains on leave with no return date,an ABC spokesperson said.
Appointed as permanent host in August 2022,Grant was previously part of a rotating panel of hosts including David Speers and Virginia Trioli. Grant is the second host of the program to quit the high-profile role recently,after Hamish Macdonald returned to Ten’sThe Project just 18 months after joining the ABC.
The ABC’s chair,Ita Buttrose,responded to the Australian Monarchist League in a letter last week,following complaints over ABC’s coverage of the coronation in May.
Buttrose stood by the ABC’s coverage and complaints process,reaffirming that it did not breach editorial guidelines and that the Ombudsman found covering Indigenous perspectives on the monarchy were “legitimate and newsworthy topics of discussion” in the context of the ABC’s broader coverage.
Patricia Karvelas has been filling in as host since Grant’s departure and will now stay in the chair until the end of the year.Credit:Scott McNaughton
“I am sorry they were disappointed with our coverage,” Buttrose said,pointing to segments of the audience who were disappointed,rather than explicitly apologising for the coverage.
She is yet to respond to a request for comment.
A former ABC board director,who requested anonymity so they could speak freely,noted Buttrose’s response to the Australian Monarchist League was appropriate,based on the significant audience reaction to the broadcast.
“The chair has to be seen to be listening and be courteous,” the former director said.
“It was essentially a ‘we hear your complaint’,” they added,noting the letter was “diplomatic”.
Chairman of the Australian Monarchist League Eric Abetz said he hoped Buttrose would reconsider her response. The former Liberal senator said he thought her response suggested the ABC did not understand the dynamic of the republic debate in Australia.
“The ABC ombudsman’s report is interesting,but it doesn’t deal with the issue at hand and the outrage and upset expressed by so many Australians,” Abetz said.
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The segment – featuring Grant,Indigenous writer and lawyer Teela Reid and Australian Republican Movement chair Craig Foster plus Liberal MP and monarchist Julian Leeser – was part of eight hours of coverage on the May 6 coronation led by Julia Baird and Jeremy Fernandez.
ABC Voice correspondent and presenter ofThe Drum,Dan Bourchier,will also host a special edition ofQ+A from the Garma Festival,featuring an all-Indigenous panel.