From Monday December 22 to Sunday January 11, ABC Local Radio will have new and familiar voices accompanying you across the festive season.

Waleed Aly will host ABC Radio Mornings in all states and territories except Western Australia. Waleed is a broadcaster, journalist, lawyer, and academic, best known as a co-host of Network 10’s The Project. He lectures in politics at Monash University’s Global Terrorism Research Centre and has authored award-winning commentary and books on social and political issues. In 2016, he won the Gold Logie Award for Best Personality on Australian Television and currently presents The Minefield on ABC Radio National and ABC listen.

Jess Ong joins ABC Radio Afternoons from December 17-24. Jess is Darwin-based, bringing curiosity, creativity, and a passion for community-driven storytelling to her radio work. Todd McKenney then takes the reins from Jess from December 29 to January 9. Todd has spent three decades on our stages, screens, and televisions, probably best known for his role as Peter Allen in The Boy From Oz and as a long-time judge on Dancing With The Stars.

ABC North Coast presenter Angela Catterns will look after Australia All Over from December 21 to January 25, connecting audiences with stories and voices from every corner of Australia. Angela is a well known and loved ABC voice having presented Mornings on triple j, the National Evening Show on ABC Local Radio, and Breakfast on 702 ABC Sydney.

Around the states and territories there is plenty of further local programming to ensure audiences can stay connected:

Sydney: Emma Crowe hosts Breakfast over Christmas week, followed by Chris Taylor from December 31. Double J‘s Michael Hing presents Drive.
Melbourne: Victorian Rural Report’s Warwick Long hosts Breakfast, with Mary Gearin on Drive.
Brisbane: Spencer Howson steps back onto Breakfast, with Sarah Howells on Drive.
Adelaide: Leigh Radford hosts Breakfast, with Narelle Graham from December 15 and Emma Pedler from December 22 presenting Drive.
Perth: Clint Wheeldon greets listeners on Breakfast, with Amber Cunningham hosting WA Statewide Afternoons.
Hobart: Evan Wallace hosts Breakfast, with David Reilly on Drive.
Darwin: Stewart Brash hosts Breakfast, with Rick Hind on Drive.
Canberra: James Findlay hosts Breakfast from December 22 to January 2.

Evenings and late-night programming:

Evenings: Geraldine Mellett (22–24 Dec), followed by Jess McGuire (29 Dec–9 Jan).
Nightlife: Nic Healy weekdays, Mel Bampton weekends in December, Bern Young weekends in January.
Overnights: Ashwin Segkar weekdays (15 Dec–18 Jan), Michael Pavlich weekends.

And for the special festive days:

Christmas Day: Paul Culliver (Breakfast), Alice Zaslavsky (Morning), Sally Rope (Afternoon), Alice Walker (Drive), Peter Goers (Evening).

New Year’s Eve: Local Breakfast, followed by Waleed Aly, Todd McKenney, and Jess McGuire across Mornings, Afternoons, Drive, and Evenings. ABC Radio Nightlife will also feature an accessible fireworks broadcast for people with visual disabilities.