Quentin Dempster AM

Described by one television critic as ‘the great explicator’, Quentin Dempster was a prime-time current affairs presenter, interviewer and political and investigative journalist with the ABC for 30 years before leaving the corporation in late 2014.

An award-winning journalist with an outstanding track record, Quentin began his journalism career in newspapers and was chief political reporter at The Telegraph in Brisbane before joining the ABC in 1984. Within three years he was fronting 7.30 Report in Queensland.

Quentin headed a national investigative unit for the program and was widely respected for his reporting of the Fitzgerald Inquiry in Queensland and the Wood Royal Commission into the NSW Police Service. He broke down complex evidence in a way that was easy for viewers to understand.

In 1986 he wrote and produced The Sunshine System, the acclaimed documentary about institutionalised corruption in Queensland.

In 1990 Quentin moved to Sydney to become the 7.30 Report’s NSW presenter; almost 25 years later, he presented the final edition of 7.30 NSW on 5 December 2014.

An active member of MEAA, the journalists’ union, Quentin was also a staff-elected director of the board of the ABC.

Quentin is a sought-after guest speaker on a wide range of topics. He also has extensive facilitation experience for complex public policy issues over many years covering political and police corruption; electricity industry futures; planning and urban growth; law and order; education; health; mental health; media; defamation; journalism; national security; foreign and economic policy; climate change; state and federal politics.

He is the current chairman of the Walkley Advisory Board which judges the annual awards for excellence in journalism. He has extensive experience in print and broadcast journalism and is the author of several books including: Honest Cops (1992), Whistleblowers (1997) and Death Struggle (2000).

In 1992 he was awarded an Order of Australia for services to the media, particularly journalism and current affairs. In 2002 he was awarded a Walkley Award for ‘outstanding contribution to journalism’.

A ‘fearless and forensic’ journalist, Quentin Demspter is highly respected and admired by audiences and peers alike.