Leigh Sales, anchor of ABC's 7.30, has announced she will step down from the program at the conclusion of the upcoming federal election cycle.
At the end of her broadcast on Thursday evening, Ms Sales announced to viewers the news that she wished for them to hear "from me personally".
"Before we go tonight, I wanted you to hear some news from me personally, and it's that I've asked my ABC bosses to allow me to step down from anchoring 7.30 later this year, once the federal election's over," she said.
Ms Sales said she was looking forward to having a good break before deciding what to do next at the ABC.
She has hosted the nightly current affairs program since December 3, 2010, making this her twelfth year in the role.
"That was five prime ministers ago! It was so long ago that Donald Trump was just a guy with a bad orange hairdo hosting The Apprentice," Ms Sales quipped.
She assured viewers there were no issues at the heart of her decision, but made mention of the demands of the role and her two young sons, 8 and 10, who wanted their mum home before 8.30pm.
"There's nothing wrong, other than I just feel a strong sense of it being time to pass the baton to the next runner in the race and to take a break, and the end of an election cycle feels like a good time to move onto something new at the ABC.
Ms Sales spoke of her motivations during her time in the role, and those who had made an impression upon her.
An announcement from @leighsales. #abc730pic.twitter.com/hy01mUsYyD
— abc730 (@abc730) February 10, 2022
"I hope it's been obvious that I've always approached this job with one goal, and that is to ask frank questions of people in power without fear or favour, that a fair-minded reasonable person with some common sense might like to ask if they were sitting in my position.
"I've tried to shut down wafflers, call out bullshit, hold powerful to account, expose lies, incompetence and exaggeration, in all political parties and on all issues, and present facts even when they're unpopular or inconvenient.
Ms Sales said she had tried her hardest to do her best on behalf of the viewers at home, and had left her with lasting memories of people who would stay with her.
"While it's truly been a privilege to host 7.30 it's also a demanding job that comes with enormous responsibility and pressure and scrutiny," she said.
"The ABC is so often under fire and it means a lot to all of us to know that the public supports what we do."
Ms Sales concluded her message to viewers by saying she was very proud of what her team achieves, and had no doubt the program would continue to strengthen.
