Returning: Kitchen Cabinet

After a six year absence Kitchen Cabinet is returning to ABC with Annabel Crabb -now with a bunch of new politicans ready to be grilled as they cook a meal.

This season features Former Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews, Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, Western Sydney Independent Dai Le, Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie, Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John, Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe and Labor Minister Anika Wells.

“The Parliament is changing,” says Annabel. “More and more, it reflects the Australia you see when you walk down the street. I’ve always been fascinated by what drives human beings to seek public office. And as the Parliament gets more diverse, the stories get better and better.

“It’s a different kind of interview from the standard in-studio format,” Annabel says. “Because they’re in their own homes, politicians can’t reach for the same tried-and-true deflective forms of words that they rely upon in short studio interviews. And the interviewer can ask questions that are a lot more personal.

“Which for a nosy person is massively useful. So I can ask, for instance, how Peter Dutton feels about being likened to a potato, or how his traumatic experience in the Queensland Police changed him as a person. Or how Anika Wells manages three kids and a ministerial job while also needing hospital treatment every eight weeks. Or go the darkest spots in Dai Le’s life, when she was convinced she would die. Every single politician we elect has a back-story that dictates the way they behave in politics. And whether you love or loathe them, it’s always worth knowing that story.”

Production credit:
Director Stamatia Maroupas (Ms Represented, The House, Kitchen Cabinet, Queerstralia), Executive Producer Madeleine Hawcroft (The House, Kitchen Cabinet, Back In Time for the Corner Shop), Producer Pauline Ernesto, Associate Producer Brett Worthington Editors Elizabeth Graetz & Sally Moran.

Tuesday 15 August at 8pm on ABC.