Joining the Q&A Audience

During the holidays on Mon 15 September, ten Wantirna College students had the amazing opportunity to join the live audience of ABC's Q&A program. The combined Student Leaders and VCE students were offered a fascinating behind-the-scenes insight into all the people and jobs it takes to get a program to air whilst observing panellists from different backgrounds and life experiences discuss current affairs issues such as the Voice referendum and the University report. Being in the audience to see what respectful and informed debate looks like when all perspectives are heard was a valuable experience for our future leaders. 

Here are some student reflections on the experience:

I thought the work happening in the background was impressive. There were at least 7 or 8 people handling the cameras to capture different views. This show was different because it was live, and they would've had to practise a lot before to make it flawless which I thought it was. I liked how they took good care of the audience. Before the show, they had a comedian to warm us up and keep us entertained while we wait. When someone in the audience asked why someone might vote differently than they believe, I expected to hear some reasons, but they quickly turned into talking about their own votes. It was a new experience for me, and I might watch Q&A more if they talk about things I'm interested in.

Ritkriti, Year 9

I enjoyed the fact that even with the seriousness of the questions being asked, the comedic act before the show started helped the audience become more comfortable with each other.

Sophie, Year 12

What I found most interesting was the diversity in age and background found in the public and how engaged they were in the issues. It is not frequently seen in our day to day. Also, I was fascinated by the way the debate was organised in a polite manner, leading to a great example of "agree to disagree", uplift respect at all times and finding a common ground despite our differences in belief. In general, even if I was not familiar with 2 of the issues discussed, by the end of the show I was invested in investigating further into all of the topics. The issue most engaging for me were The Voice and the public service since I've studied them previously in my VCE Australian Politics subject. 

Camila, Year 12

During the experience of going to Q+A, the most fascinating thing I found was the way the show was filmed; Multiple camera, filming the same time in different angles, just to catch the most real moment. Having an crowd warmer before the show start allowed the audience to be more comfortable. The question I was most interested in was ‘To what extend do you think money and/or culture has driven Australian universities wildly inadequate and disturbing response to sexual violence experienced by students in university contexts?’ By Isabella Scarpato. The responses of the panel reflected how money/culture can have big impact on sexual violence experienced by students, and how would society help student that had experienced it and stop this from happening in the first place. During the other discussions, the panellists brought up the current issue of the housing crisis. I found this issue was the most engaging for me because it affects my future and others as to whether we will have save place to live and be able to afford it.

Isabella,Year 10