First, some sad news. Hamish Macdonald is farewelling the ABC after an outstanding 18 months with the national broadcaster in which he anchored flagship discussion program Q+A, regularly presented RN Breakfast, hosted the Reef Live event, filed for Foreign Correspondent and reported from the field during the 2020 bushfires. You can read more here.

With lockdowns continuing, Q+A will continue to be hosted, where possible with a studio audience, with a rotation of the ABC’s very best live presenters.

This week on Q+A: Almost half of the Australian population remains in lockdown with no end in sight, as authorities pin their hopes on restrictions stopping chains of transmission. Victoria’s lockdown has been extended with contract tracers there racing to keep up with infections amid cases spreading to regional areas. Sydney is facing its fifth week of lockdown and tough new restrictions have seen construction sites shut down. It’s a very different story in the UK, with so-called “Freedom Day” set to see an end to almost all restrictions. But with new cases reaching 50,000 a day, it’s feared abandoning the measures could see another spike in infections.

Another million Pfizer doses have landed in Australia, and while the Home Affairs Minister says “there is light at the end of the tunnel”, she admits it could be months before those under-40 are vaccinated. As the vaccine rollout woes continue, new research by think tank The Australia Institute shows faith in state and territory governments’ handling of the pandemic is at an all-time high, to the detriment of the federal government. Is it time for both levels of government to put politics aside and work together?

Meanwhile the Queensland Premier has jetted to Tokyo for Wednesday’s announcement of the 2032 Games – with Brisbane all but confirmed as host city. With the delayed 2020 Games getting underway this week, the pandemic is casting a shadow over the Olympics. Two South African athletes are in isolation after testing positive in the Olympic village, and it’s feared more infections will emerge as athletes and officials arrive in Tokyo. In Melbourne, an AFL game and an international rugby match have been linked to COVID transmission – so what does this mean for spectator sport in Australia during the pandemic?

Joining Virginia Trioli on the panel:

Libby Trickett, Olympic Gold Medallist
Russel Howcroft, Broadcaster
David Gillespie, Regional Health Minister
Bill Shorten, Shadow Minister for the NDIS and Government Services
Astrid Edwards, Podcaster, teacher and disability advocate

Please submit a question via our website by 9am Thursday for the chance to ask the panel.

Scroll down to watch Thursday's toughest question asked by Thejas Balaraman, who wanted to know if the NSW government learned from Victoria’s 2020 COVID lockdowns. 👇

Watch Q+A Thursday at 8.30pm on ABC TV, streamed live 8.30pm AEST on ABC iview or on our website.