The ABC’s election analyst, Antony Green, has just announced that the upcoming federal election will be his last on-air with the ABC.
Green said on Wednesday morning it was “time to retire”.
“I turn 65 this coming weekend,” he said. “I work on a three-year election cycle with federal elections, I won’t be presenting elections in three years’ time when I’m 68, so this will be my last on-camera election for the ABC.
“I’ll stay on for a couple of years, handing over work and doing other things, but essentially I’m deciding to retire and work less.”
Green began at the ABC 36 years ago as an election worker after answering an advertisement in the weekend paper for a researcher.
With a degree in pure mathematics and computer science, Green was a data journalist before the term existed, joining the ABC in 1991 and quickly becoming on-air talent alongside ABC legends including the late Andrew Olle, Paul Lyneham and Ian Carroll, and the now-retired Kerry O’Brien.
He told Guardian Australia before the last election his biggest fear is “the data not arriving” or “something going wrong with our computer”, and amazingly he has never made a wrong call on who won.
Green says what makes the ABC’s broadcast stand out is “less political argy bargy” and more calm analysis.
Announcing his retirement from presenting on Wednesday he said “it’s been a long, fun journey” since then. Throughout his career he took on projects like the election guide, which he has written as handbooks since 1990 and would now give to the National Library.
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“There are 80 or 90 of them, a book on every election since 1990, state and federal … I [also] redesigned computer system. When I first started this, you had to be in the tally room to get the numbers. It was the only way to get data from the Electoral Commission to the ABC computer, so you had to be there. It’s a completely different world now.”
The ABC’s director of news, Justin Stevens, described Green as “an Australian institution and much-loved figure with the public”.
“For more than three decades he has performed one of the ABC’s most important roles with precision, impartiality, dedication and unprecedented expertise,” Steven said.
“He has the ABC’s immense gratitude and respect. I’m sure our audience joins me in thanking him and wishing him well as he prepares for his final federal election broadcast.”
The ABC said Green would remain in a behind-the-scenes role, continuing to work on election-related projects.
Source: www.theguardian.com