The Victorian bush fires took center stage when Q&A returned for its first program of 2009 with a panel of five Australians of the Year. Former defense chief, General Peter Cosgrove, burns specialist Professor Fiona Wood, Cape York indigenous leader Tania Major, scientist and author Tim Flannery, and 2009 Young Australian of the Year Jonty Bush faced questions from the audience about dealing with such a national crisis.

Panelists: Kate Carnell, the former Liberal Chief Minister of the ACT, now CEO of the Food and Grocery Council, Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan, newly appointed Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey, Deputy Leader of the Greens, Senator Christine Milne and, the National Secretary of the Australian Workers Union, Paul Howes.

Panelists: Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children’s Services, Bill Shorten; shadow education minister Christopher Pyne; ethicist and writer Leslie Cannold; satirist Jonathan Biggins; and Miss World Australia Sabrina Houssami.

Panelists: Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner; former Treasurer Peter Costello; editor of The Monthly Sally Warhaft; opinion page editor of The Australian, Rebecca Weisser; and businessman, writer and Tasmanian pulp mill opponent Geoffrey Cousins.

Panelists: Maxine McKew, Parliamentary Secretary for early childhood education and childcare; Scott Morrison, shadow housing minister; John Symond, Executive Chairman of Aussie Home Loans; Noeline Brown, entertainer and Ambassador for the Ageing; and Dr Tanveer Ahmed, psychiatrist, columnist and comedian.

Panelists: Kate Ellis, Minister for Youth and Sport; Tony Abbott, shadow minister for families and community services; Father Peter Kennedy, Brisbane's rebel Catholic priest; Bettina Arndt, social commentator and author of The Sex Diaries; and Bruce Wolpe, the Fairfax Media executive who is about to join the Obama administration in Washington.

Panelists: Stephen Conroy, Minister for Communications; Greg Hunt, shadow minister for climate change; Andrew Bolt, columnist for the Herald Sun; Louise Adler, publisher; and Susan Carland, academic and sociologist.

Panelists: Tanya Plibersek, Minister for Housing; George Brandis, shadow attorney-general; Dennis Altman, writer and academic; Rachel Fry, national president of the Young Liberals; and Satyajit Das, economist.

Panelists: Tony Burke, Minister for Agriculture; Helen Coonan, shadow finance minister; Andrew Boe, lawyer; Jane Caro, social commentator; and John Hewson, former Liberal leader.

Panelists: Chris Bowen, Assistant Treasurer; Sophie Mirabella, shadow minister for early childhood learning, women and youth; John Elliott, businessman and blogger; Catherine Deveny, comedian and columnist for The Age; and Stephen Crittenden, journalist and broadcaster.

Panelists: PJ O'Rourke, author and political satirist; Craig Emerson, Minister for Small Business; Julie Bishop, Deputy Opposition Leader; David Marr, journalist and author; Cindy Pan, doctor and columnist.

Panelists: Peter Garrett, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts; Barnaby Joyce, National Party Senate Leader; Sarah Hanson-Young, South Australian Greens Senator; Pru Goward, NSW Liberal MP; Wesley Enoch, theater director and playwright.

Panelists: Senator Mark Arbib, Parliamentary Secretary for Government Service Delivery; Sharman Stone, shadow immigration minister; Greg Sheridan, Foreign Editor, The Australian; Guy Rundle, author and Crikey.com.au blogger; Randa Abdel-Fattah, author and lawyer.

Panelists: Lindsay Tanner, Minister for Finance; Joe Hockey, shadow treasurer; Misha Schubert, political correspondent for The Age; Elizabeth Ann Macgregor, director of Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art; Geoff Cousins, author and business man.

Panelists: Penny Wong, Minister for Climate Change; Tony Abbott, shadow minister for community services; Bob Ellis, author and political commentator; Sue Cato, public relations consultant; Wendy Machin, NRMA President and former National Party MP.

Panelists: Kate Ellis, Minister for Youth and Sport; Brendan Nelson, former Opposition Leader; William McInnes, actor and author; Miriam Lyons, Executive Director of the Center for Policy Development; Peter Holmes a Court, businessman and co-owner of the South Sydney Football Club.

Panelists: Nicola Roxon, Minister for Health and Aging; Nick Minchin, shadow minister for communications; Dr Charlie Teo, neurosurgeon; Julian Morrow, The Chaser; Jessica Brown, policy analyst, Center for Independent Studies.

Panelists: Anna Bligh, Premier of Queensland; Senator George Brandis, shadow attorney-general; David Penberthy, editor, The Punch; Tania Major, Cape York indigenous activist; Simon Sheikh, executive director, GetUp!.

Panelists: Julia Gillard, Deputy Prime Minister; Malcolm Turnbull, Leader of the Opposition; Mitch Grady, Young Liberal; Sara Haghdoosti, student activist; Linden Brownley, law student and indigenous advocate.

Panelists: Craig Emerson, Minister for Small Business; Christopher Pyne, shadow education minister; Piers Akerman, columnist, The Daily Telegraph; Indira Naidoo, climate consultant; Sharan Burrow, president, Australian Council of Trade Unions.

Panelists: Maxine McKew, Parliamentary Secretary for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government; Tony Smith, shadow assistant treasurer; Candy Bowers, hip-hop artist; Felicity Hampel, Victorian County Court judge; Anthony LaPaglia, actor and film producer.

Panelists: Lindsay Tanner, Minister for Finance; Tony Abbott, shadow minister for families and community services; Australian authors Richard Flanagan and Tara June Winch; and Pakistani author Kamila Shamsie.

Panelists: Tony Burke, Minister for Agriculture; Bill Heffernan, Liberal Senator; Helen Liddell, British High Commissioner; Anne Summers, author and feminist; Tim Wilson, director, Institute of Public Affairs.

Panelists: former WA Premier Geoff Gallop; social commentator Melinda Tankard Reist; author and teacher John Marsden; the shadow minister for early childhood education, Sophie Mirabella; comedian and satirist Anthony Ackroyd.

Panelists: Tanya Plibersek, Minister for Housing and the Status of Women; shadow treasurer Joe Hockey; author Thomas Keneally; lawyer and academic Larissa Behrendt; and John Roskam, Executive Director of the Institute for Public Affairs.

Panelists: Kate Ellis, Minister for Early Childhood Education; former Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer; anthropologist Dr Peter Sutton; former leader of the Australian Democrats, Natasha Stott Despoja; and Megan Lloyd, editor of Adelaide's Sunday Mail newspaper.

Panelists: Christopher Hitchens, author and radical atheist; Father Frank Brennan, Jesuit intellectual and social activist; Waleed Aly, politics lecturer; Sally Warhaft, author and founding editor of The Monthly; and Anne Henderson, biographer and deputy director of The Sydney Institute.

Panelists: Germaine Greer, author and feminist icon; Labor MP Belinda Neal; Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi; advertising executive Todd Sampson; and conservative columnist for The Australian, Janet Albrechtsen.

Panelists: Alexei Sayle, satirist and comedian; Anthony Albanese, Minister for Infrastructure; Christopher Pyne, Opposition education spokesman; Nikki Williams, CEO of the NSW Minerals Council; and Deepa Gupta, of the Indian Youth Climate Network.

Panelists: John Elliott, businessman and blogger; Craig Emerson, Minister for Small Business; Peter Dutton, Opposition health spokesman; Louise Adler, publisher; and Annabel Crabb, journalist.

Panelists: Tony Abbott, shadow minister for families and community services; Bill Shorten, Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities; satirist and author Jonathon Biggins; social commentator Bettina Arndt; and Catherine Deveny, comedian and columnist with The Age.

Panelists: Lobbyist and former Labor minister Graham Richardson; shadow treasurer Joe Hockey; Maxine McKew, Parliamentary Secretary for Infrastructure; journalist David Marr; and Kerry Chikarovski, former NSW Liberal leader.