The Q&A Protest

In case you missed it, a bunch of university students from the Socialist Alternative staged a protest on the ABC’s political panel show Q&A.

While I fully respect their right to protest, I don’t think it was the best idea to protest on Q&A. Yes, unfurling a banner on national TV is going to get you noticed and you will be seen, but to do it on a show where the aim is to give people a chance to question their political figures and get answers (hence the name Q&A), you should actually give the person a chance to answer before yelling them down.

Before you ask, yes, I am a university student, and yes, I do have concerns about the possible cuts or change to funding, so I can see why they would protest. However, I do not see how yelling and chanting “No cuts, no fees, no corporate universities” over and over again allows for any form of intelligent discourse. One could easily have let Pyne answer the question, and then someone else could have questioned him further – intelligent discourse and a chance to get more than just what could have been a roundabout answer.

The ABC is probably quite annoyed, and rightfully so. It can sometimes take a lot of effort to convince someone to be on Q&A, especially given the nature of the program. According to The Guardian, the ABC does vet its audience, primarily in order to have a balanced representation of different voters, and “audiences are given a comprehensive briefing on how to conduct themselves and ask questions before the show is broadcast live…“, but they shouldn’t have to search their audience members’ bags for banners.

Reports from Mumbrella and The Guardian suggest that the ABC are going to review and change their procedures when it comes to Q&A and if that makes it more difficult to become part of the audience, a small number of people will have spoiled the fun for the rest of the public.

While their message may have gotten on national TV, it’s not something that I, as a uni student, am proud of. They’ve not only given themselves a bad name in the eyes of some, but also university students – and that could lead to issues down the road.