Patricia Karvelas

Patricia Karvelas
Born	(1981-01-28) January 28, 1981 Australia
Occupation(s)	Broadcaster, journalist
Years active	1994–present
Known for	Host of Breakfast on ABC Radio National (2021–2024), political reporting, current affairs journalism

Patricia Karvelas (born 28 January 1981) is an Australian broadcaster, journalist specializing in current affairs, and political reporter.

From 2021 to 2024, Karvelas served as the host of Breakfast on ABC Radio National.

Early life

Born in Australia to Greek immigrant parents who arrived in Melbourne during the late 1960s, Karvelas's father originated from Foinikounta, located in Greece's Peloponnese area. After losing both her parents at the age of eight, she was brought up first by her maternal grandmother and subsequently by her two elder sisters in Carlton.

Her secondary education was completed at University High School, followed by tertiary studies at RMIT University.

Early career

Karvelas embarked on her journalism path around 1994 as a teenager at community radio station 3CR Melbourne, where she hosted programs such as Wednesday Breakfast and Girl Zone. By the time she was 15, she had also appeared as a guest presenter on 3RRR. She continued working with 3CR until 2000 before briefly joining the ABC and SBS.

Incident involving a police horse while a cadet

Beginning her role as a cadet journalist at The Australian circa 2002, Karvelas experienced a significant injury in November of that year during coverage of protests against the WTO in Sydney. She was struck and trampled by a police horse deployed to disperse demonstrators, resulting in serious injuries including a suspected pelvic fracture, head trauma, and extensive bruising.

Reporting on welfare reforms

Starting in 2004, Karvelas contributed articles to The Australian endorsing the welfare reform policies introduced by the Howard government. Her headlines included "Tougher checks for job cheats," "Welfare cut would save $100 million," and "Tougher dole for shirkers." Her reporting portrayed the long-term unemployed in a critical light to support stringent measures aimed at this economically disadvantaged group.

Coverage of Indigenous affairs

During her tenure at The Australian, Karvelas became noted for her coverage of Indigenous issues amid significant policy changes such as the Northern Territory Intervention and the Apology to Australia's Indigenous peoples.

She authored articles backing the Liberal Party's Intervention strategy, including pieces like "Crusade to save aboriginal kids: Howard declares 'National Emergency' to end abuse." In 2007, her article titled "Aborigines must learn English" opposed bilingual education for Aboriginal children, attributing educational shortcomings to language instruction rather than insufficient government funding.

Following the Australian Labor Party’s rise to power in 2007, Karvelas continued advocating for the Intervention through articles such as "Labor is 'destroying' NT intervention" and "Fast track on return of permit system." In 2008’s "Labor to overhaul Native Title laws," she argued that Aboriginal financial affairs required oversight to prevent misuse of mining royalty revenues.

In response to Kevin Rudd’s 2008 Apology to Indigenous peoples, Karvelas highlighted divisions within Indigenous leadership in her article "Wording divides Indigenous leaders."

In 2013, she supported the Abbott government’s proposal for granting 99-year leases over Aboriginal townships with reports like "Overhaul township leases, says Council," a policy that met considerable resistance from Aboriginal communities.

The controversy surrounding Larissa Behrendt's "character assassination"

In 2011, Karvelas published a series of pieces in The Australian that targeted Aboriginal lawyer and Harvard alumna Larissa Behrendt, describing the situation as a "disgraceful saga of protracted character assassination". Behrendt, who opposed the NT Intervention and was involved in a racial discrimination lawsuit against News Corporation employee Andrew Bolt, was depicted by Karvelas as disingenuous and hypocritical due to a tweet critical of pro-Intervention advocate Bess Price. Although Behrendt issued an apology, Karvelas and other commentators pushed for investigations into her roles at both university and government levels. Observers later criticized Karvelas' method as representative of The Australian's confrontational editorial style, with some interpreting the episode as an ideologically driven campaign against Behrendt.

Recognitions and career advancements at The Australian

Karvelas received the first-ever Wallace Brown Young Achiever Award for Press Gallery Journalism in 2008, followed by a promotion to Victorian Bureau Chief and Senior National Affairs Journalist at The Australian. During her tenure as Bureau Chief, she notably recruited Rachel Baxendale as a cadet journalist in 2012.

Sky News Australia presenter

Between 2016 and 2017, Karvelas hosted a weekly show titled Karvelas on Sky News Australia, another outlet under News Corp.

Career at ABC

Karvelas joined the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 2015, where she presented Radio National's RN Drive until 2021 and anchored Afternoon Briefing on ABC News from 2018 through to 2021. Since 2016, she has co-hosted the political podcast The Party Room alongside Fran Kelly and began hosting the national affairs program National Wrap in 2018.

One notable interview occurred in 2019 when she questioned Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce regarding repeated allegations against the Queensland Labor government related to an $80 million water buyback scheme.

Karvelas also appeared as a speaker at WOMADelaide festivals in both 2019 and 2020.

In November 2021, ABC announced that Karvelas would succeed Fran Kelly as host of RN Breakfast. From mid-2023 onward, she took on hosting duties for Q+A.

It was revealed in November 2024 that Karvelas would step down from RN Breakfast to assume other cross-platform roles within ABC starting January 2025. That same month, she resumed hosting Afternoon Briefing on the ABC News channel.

Support for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament

Karvelas has been an outspoken advocate for the Albanese Government's Indigenous Voice to Parliament initiative. During the 2022 election night party, she publicly praised Labor's shadow Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney, describing Burney as "a legend" and a prospective ministerial candidate.</ref>

In an ABC article from November 2022, Karvelas likened the Voice referendum debate to that of same-sex marriage and echoed Noel Pearson's assertion that opposition is rooted in unresolved racism tied to colonization. After the National Party declared its opposition, Karvelas conducted a probing interview with Nationals Leader David Littleproud, challenging his assertions. She subsequently hosted an extended, supportive conversation with Voice advocate Noel Pearson without posing critical questions.

Personal background

Karvelas is of Greek-Australian descent, with her family originating from Greece's Peloponnese region. She has two daughters with her wife and openly identifies as part of the LGBTQIA+ community, becoming progressively more public about this aspect of her identity over time.