Former Studio 10 star Joe Hildebrand slams Paramount move to boycott Australia Day

Former Studio 10 host Joe Hildebrand has criticised the network’s move to stop referring to January 26 as Australia Day, giving staff the option to work.

Paramount Australia and New Zealand bosses Beverley McGarvey and Jarrod Villani sent an all-staff email last week recognising that January 26 is “not a day of celebration for our First Nations people”.

It said: “We recognise that January 26 evokes different emotions for our employees across the business, and we are receptive to employees who do not feel comfortable taking this day as a public holiday.

“Whether you choose to work on January 26 or take the public holiday, we ask that you reflect and respect the different perspectives and viewpoints of all Australians.”

Discussing the network’s boycott of the controversial public holiday, Hildebrand, 46, who was a host on morning show Studio 10 for seven years until 2020, accused Paramount of virtue signalling.

Speaking with Sunrise host Monique Wright and news.com.au political editor Samantha Maiden, Hildebrand said the company should donate to Indigenous charities rather than take a stance in the ongoing Australia Day debate to change the date.

He also took a swipe at the wave of recent departures from the network, including Carrie Bickmore and Peter Helliar from The Project.

“I’d also like to see from all these companies that have sent out group emails to their employees recently – and the good thing about Channel 10 is that every year there are fewer and fewer employees to send group emails to – why don’t they instead donate half their profits to charities that actually help Indigenous people?”

He added: “‘I’m pretty sure you’ll see them jump at the chance to (donate to Indigenous charities), just as they’ve jumped at the chance to show how sensitive they are about Australia Day.”

Hildebrand, who had been a panel fixture on Studio 10 since the show began, announced his exit in 2020 amid a shake-up to the hosting line-up.

“I have given it a huge amount of thought. It has been really hard,” he said on air at the time.

It came weeks after Kerri-Anne Kennerley and Natarsha Belling were axed from the program amid cost cuts.

Hildebrand, who writes a weekly column for news.com.au, was offered a diminished role on the show but decided to leave the program and “give the new show, whatever it may look like, a chance to breathe and have a fresh start without me hanging around”.

“We all know the show is getting a bit of a shake-up,” he said.

“Channel 10 and my lovely bosses asked me if I would stay in a new role. We talked warmly and openly about what that might look like, and they were really keen and really lovely about it,” he said.

Last week, Hildebrand’s former network announced that January 26 will no longer be referred to as Australia Day at the company.

They said staff could choose to work through the national holiday if they didn’t feel comfortable taking the day off.

Protests around the country were held on January 26 this year as many continue to push for the date to be abolished nationally.

The date of Australia Day, January 26, remains controversial as it marks the day the First Fleet sailed into Sydney Cove in 1788, formally declaring the land as British despite Indigenous people having lived on the land for centuries.

Read related topics:Joe Hildebrand