SKY NEWS AUSTRALIA to broadcast THE CAMPAIGN UNCOVERED: A PETA CREDLIN INVESTIGATION one-hour special

Credlin goes inside the unofficial campaign happenings ahead of the 2022 federal election.

Sky News Australia has announced it will broadcast a special one-hour television event, The Campaign Uncovered: A Peta Credlin Investigation

As federal polling day looms, The Campaign Uncovered: A Peta Credlin Investigation will take a deep dive into the tactics, power plays and seat-by-seat ground games being devised behind the scenes as the political parties and their candidates prepare for the upcoming election.

The special will air on Tuesday April 5 at 8pm AEST.

In this special investigation, Peta Credlin will give viewers an understanding of the unlikely allegiances being forged by those who want to win power, she’ll expose those players hiding in the shadows, plus provide insight into the sophisticated methods used to sway votes with exclusive revelations from her network of insiders.

Peta examines the funding of some of the so-called independent candidates. How much can voters trust these claims of independence? Who are their powerful supporters? With the prospect of a hung parliament, Peta will show us just how much influence these candidates could have if they’re elected.

The documentary will feature prominent local and international political insiders including former George W. Bush political strategist Karl Rove, former Leader of the Brexit Party Nigel Farage, One Nation Leader Senator Pauline Hanson, National Editor at The Australian Dennis Shanahan, Nine’s Political Editor Chris Uhlmann, Sky News contributor and former advisor to Prime Minister Julia Gillard – Nicholas Reece, Liberal Senator James McGrath, Australian Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister and Cabinet and Special Minister of State Ben Morton MP, and former Prime Minister Tony Abbott AC.

Featuring exclusive insights, they will take us behind-the-scenes of recent campaigns, including the upcoming contest, to reveal the state of play, the importance of character over policy and why every step and misstep will matter in determining the election result. 

Peta said:

“This federal election campaign is not merely a head-to-head party campaign, it’s now a personality contest, a character fight between the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader. With so much of the policy ground between the two major parties now uncontested, which is a glaring error in my view because campaigns should be about contrast not consensus, we’ll see a campaign like no other where neither leader is particularly liked and the forward agenda is light on for substance at a time when our world order has never been more challenging. This unusual campaign will likely heighten the influence of minor parties and so-called independents, making ground game campaigns critical, so too preference flows.”

A strategist and policy professional with over sixteen years’ experience at the highest levels of Australian politics, Peta Credlin was a senior ministerial adviser and chief of staff in the Howard Government from 1998, and in the Opposition years that followed after the 2007 election, a senior adviser to Opposition Leader Dr Brendan Nelson, Deputy Chief of Staff to Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull and Chief of Staff to Opposition Leader Tony Abbott from 2009. Peta served six years as Mr Abbott’s Chief of Staff and ran the leader’s campaign in the 2010 and 2013 federal elections culminating in the Coalition’s landslide win and Mr Abbott’s election as Prime Minister.

A political and campaign veteran, Peta is one of the longest serving chiefs of staff to a national leader in Australia and the longest serving female chief of staff to a prime minister. Peta has held ministerial staff roles across the portfolios of defence, communications, immigration and foreign affairs, as well as the role of senior adviser to the Senate leader. 

Since joining Sky News in 2016 as political contributor and anchor, Peta has been the recipient of numerous journalistic awards, most recently recognised at the Kennedy Awards and News Awards for her investigation into Victoria’s bungled hotel quarantine program and her documentary Deadly Decisions: Victoria’s Hotel Quarantine Catastrophe.

In 2021 Peta was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for ‘distinguished service to parliament and politics, to policy development, and to the executive function of government’.

The Campaign Uncovered: A Peta Credlin Investigation. Premieres Tuesday April 5 at 8:00pm AEST. Watch Sky News on Foxtel and Sky News Regional or stream on Flash.