Dan Bourchier facts for kids

Dan Bourchier is an Australian journalist and TV presenter. He is well-known for his work at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and Sky News Australia.

Currently, Dan is a senior newsreader on the ABC News Channel's Mornings program. He also leads the ABC's Bonner Committee. Before this, he helped lead the ABC's reporting on the Voice to Parliament. He also hosted the ABC program The Drum. He used to present the local ABC News for the ACT on ABC TV in Canberra.

Dan Bourchier's Early Life and Career Beginnings

Dan Bourchier grew up in a town called Tennant Creek, Northern Territory. He started reporting for his local newspaper, the Tennant and District Times, when he was just 13 years old. His first job there was washing windows. One day, he was asked to cover a local netball game. This led to him becoming the newspaper's sports reporter! He then joined the NT News in 2007.

Starting in Television News

Dan began his TV career in 2010 at NITV. He worked in both Sydney and Canberra. In 2012, he joined Sky News Australia. There, he became the head of their Northern Territory office, based in Darwin. In October 2015, he moved to Canberra. He worked as a political reporter and covered Indigenous affairs for the whole country.

Dan Bourchier at the ABC

In 2017, Dan Bourchier moved to the ABC. From February 16, 2017, he started presenting the local ABC News bulletin in Canberra. He presented the Monday to Thursday shows on ABC TV. He took over from Virginia Haussegger.

Hosting Radio and TV Shows

Also in early 2017, Dan started hosting the local breakfast program on ABC Radio Canberra. He took over from Philip Clark. In December 2019, it was announced that Dan would leave this radio role. Lish Fejer became the new breakfast presenter.

Dan has also hosted the New South Wales edition of ABC News. He has presented national content on the ABC TV and ABC News channels. This includes shows like Weekend Breakfast. He often hosts The Drum and appears on Insiders.

He has also hosted national broadcasts of the Australian of the Year Awards. These broadcasts were from Canberra on the ABC Local Radio network.

Recognising Indigenous Culture on Air

In 2019, Dan Bourchier began including an Acknowledgement of Country on ABC News Canberra. This is a way to show respect to the traditional owners of the land. Ngunnawal elders were in the ABC TV studio for the first broadcast. Dan greeted viewers in the Ngunnawal language ("Yuma"). He signed off by saying, "...and that's the latest from the Canberra newsroom, proudly broadcasting from the land of the Ngunnawal people. As part of our ongoing commitment to Indigenous recognition, the ABC is partnering with the United Ngunnawal Elders Council and pays respect to them — the first people of this land. I'm Dan Bourchier, Yarra, Goodnight." A screen behind him also showed the words "Ngunnawal Country".

Reporting During Bushfires

During the 2019–2020 Australian bushfires, Dan had to present ABC News Canberra from outside the ABC studios. The building's smoke alarms went off because of the thick bushfire smoke. This happened just before 7 pm, so he had to broadcast from the footpath.

Dan Bourchier's Advocacy and Personal Life

Dan Bourchier is an Indigenous Australian. His mother's family has Aboriginal ancestry. He is a strong supporter of First Nations Australians. He is often invited to events to talk about important Indigenous issues. This includes during National Reconciliation Week. He has also been involved with Indigenous groups like Blakdance, a contemporary dance company.

Dan is a big supporter of diversity and cultural diversity. He believes in including different voices in discussions. He will not be part of any panel discussions if women are not included. He also makes sure that if a discussion is about a certain group of people, members of that group are part of the conversation.

He is an ambassador for the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation. He also supports the National Association of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Practitioners (NAATSIHWP) and the Pinnacle Foundation.