Lisa Millar
Lisa Millar | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 19, 1969 Kilkivan, Queensland, Australia |
| Occupation(s) | Journalist, television news presenter |
| Years active | 1990s–present |
| Known for | Co-hosting ABC's News Breakfast, hosting ABC documentary series Back Roads |
Lisa Joy Millar (born 19 February 1969) is an Australian journalist and television news presenter, currently hosting the ABC documentary series Back Roads.
Previously, Millar co-anchored the ABC's morning program News Breakfast alongside Michael Rowland and worked as a foreign correspondent for ABC News with postings in London and Washington DC.
Career
Millar launched her journalism profession through a cadetship at The Gympie Times before moving to Brisbane’s The Sun, which ceased operations in 1991. She then joined regional broadcaster WIN TV in Townsville prior to entering the ABC as the North Queensland correspondent. Her reporting extended to the Canberra Press Gallery, including coverage of the 1996 Federal Election campaign, alongside contributions to ABC Radio in Queensland.
In 2001, Millar was appointed ABC’s North American correspondent based in Washington. She was part of the team honored with the 2005 Walkley Award for Investigative Journalism for locating Vivian Solon in the Philippines. In 2007, she earned an Ochberg Fellowship for developing a resource aimed at assisting journalists coping with trauma.
Returning to Washington in 2009, Millar served as ABC’s North American Bureau Chief for six years. Briefly in 2012, she worked from ABC’s Europe bureau in London, covering significant events such as the Olympic Games. In 2015, she was named Bureau Chief of ABC’s London office.
Millar came back to Australia in October 2018 as a roving reporter and presenter for ABC. By December that year, she stepped in as co-host of News Breakfast during Virginia Trioli’s absence and officially took over Trioli’s role from August 2019.
In June 2022, Millar issued a public apology following backlash over remarks made during a conversation about racism in sports involving Nick Kyrgios.
She provided narration for the ABC reality series Muster Dogs in both 2022 and 2024. In July 2024, Millar announced her departure from News Breakfast to dedicate time to other ABC projects, with her final broadcast on 23 August.
In June 2025, Millar received a nomination for the Gold Logie Award recognizing the Most Popular Personality on Australian Television. That same year, she replaced Heather Ewart as host of Back Roads, having served as guest host since 2019.
Writing
Millar has published two books: Daring to Fly, a memoir released by Hachette Australia in September 2021, and Muster Dogs, a companion volume to the Australian reality TV series, issued by HarperCollins in January 2024.
Twitter abuse
In September 2021, Millar deactivated her Twitter account due to experiencing "voluminous daily bullying, including trolling about her late father," as noted by ABC colleague Leigh Sales. While acknowledging Twitter’s importance for breaking news dissemination, she found the personal attacks exhausting and "very wearing." Millar is one of several Australian media personalities subjected to abusive conduct on this platform. For instance, Q+A host Hamish Macdonald quit Twitter in January 2021 citing similar harassment before leaving the program in July that year.
Although no longer on Twitter, Millar continues to encounter frequent trolling across social media channels. In March 2023, she addressed on air the "obnoxious" and "foul disgusting personal abuse" targeting her appearance while co-hosting News Breakfast. The ABC condemned The Daily Mail and news.com.au for amplifying such abuse by republishing offensive comments with screenshots, stating this kind of coverage fuels online harassment of women rather than mitigating it.
Personal life
Millar was raised in the modest Queensland community of Kilkivan; her father served as a National Party member of parliament, Clarrie Millar.