Renowned for her professionalism, integrity and sharp interviewing style, Lisa is currently with Channel Nine News in Brisbane. Prior to joining Channel Nine, Lisa Backhouse was the female face of the ABC in Brisbane, as a newsreader and also host of the state’s only locally produced current affairs program, Stateline.
Having graduated in the top of her journalism class from the University of Queensland, Lisa cut her teeth as a television reporter in the states capital, before being promoted to head the ABCs North Queensland bureau, where she covered stories ranging from tropical cyclones and flooding, to environmental challenges facing the Great Barrier Reef.
Two years later, Lisa was again promoted by the network, transferring to Canberra to cover Federal Politics for the ABCs national audience, including a federal election and the original High Court Mabo ruling. As a political correspondent, she made regular live commentary appearances on the ABC’s breakfast program First Edition.
Seeking new challenges, Lisa returned to Brisbane, and was rewarded with a stint producing the statewide news bulletin for ABC television. Lisa also used this opportunity to gain other skills, working for a time in the radio newsroom, and writing for the widely read, national medical publication Australian Doctor.
She went on to join the Ten Network in Brisbane as a senior television reporter, where she spent time as the chief of staff and built on her presenting skills. In 1998, Lisa was lured back to the ABC as the weekend news reader, a highlight of her dream career. Lisa rose to national prominence as the outspoken public figure in the campaign to have the ABCs Toowong studios relocated, following the unprecedented breast cancer cluster. A journey that was documented by the ABCs Australian Story program in early 2007.
