Peter van Onselen joins Daily Mail Australia as political editor

Proven newsbreaker and respected commentator Peter van Onselen has joined Daily Mail Australia as its new political editor. 

In his new role, Dr van Onselen will break exclusives and provide both political and social commentary.

'We're thrilled with Peter's appointment and believe his in-depth knowledge of the political issues affecting everyday Australians coupled with his incisiveness are perfect for our ever-growing readership,' Daily Mail Australia editor Felicity Hetherington said.

'Peter knows Australian politics and the people who run the country inside out and will tell it how it is.'

Dr van Onselen, a professor of politics at The University of Western Australia, was the contributing editor at The Australian newspaper for 15 years.

Prior to that, he was the political editor at Network Ten from 2018 to 2023, where he also co-hosted The Sunday Project. He has won both Walkley and Logie awards for his journalism.  

'I'm really looking forward to being part of such a dynamic team,' Dr Van Onselen said. 

'I can't wait to start serving up some unvarnished home truths about where Australian politics is at.' 

Dr van Onselen caused a sensation before the last federal election, when he confronted then-prime minister Scott Morrison with text messages in which then-NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian described Mr Morrison as a 'horrible, horrible person' and a minister replied that the PM was a 'complete psycho'.

Dr van Onselen has interviewed every prime minister dating back to Malcolm Fraser and has written books about John Howard, Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull, Mr Morrison and Anthony Albanese. 

His latest was Victory: The Inside Story of Labor's Return to Power, about Mr Albanese's 2022 federal election win. 

Daily Mail Australia was Australia's third most read commercial news website in March 2024, according to Ipsos figures. 

Dr van Onselen starts his new role on April 29.