Peter van Onselen resigns from Channel 10 and will leave for new role in academia.

Channel 10’s respected political editor Peter van Onselen is leaving the struggling network and returning to a post in academia.

Mr Van Onselen first joined Channel 10 in 2018 after working at Sky News Australia and The Australian newspaper.

Prior to his roles in media, Mr van Onselen worked as an advisor for Tony Abbott and was a professor at Edith Cowan University.

Before the first sitting week of Parliament last month, Mr van Onselen hinted that he had enough of commuting between Sydney and Canberra for the Channel 10 role.

‘On the way to Canberra for the first sitting week of the year. I’ve *only* been doing this for four years,’ he explained.

‘I don’t know how politicians sustain it for a decade or more. We sometimes forget the sacrifices they make!’

Channel 10’s respected political editor Peter van Onselen (pictured) is leaving the struggling network and returning to a post in academia

See also  French tear gas police and Turkish special forces are among alliance set to descend on Qatar

Prior to joining Channel 10, Mr van Onselen was co-host of The Project, Channel 10’s flagship current affairs show. 

It is unclear what Mr Van Onselen’s departure will mean for Channel Ten’s political coverage. The role had been vacant for several years before he took it up.

The station is facing a lawsuit from political reporter Tegan George who claims she was subjected to a ‘sexually hostile, demeaning and oppressive’ workplace. Ms George is suing the network in a suit that names van Onselen, along with several other employees at the network.

van Onselen (pictured here with his wife Ainslie)

Daily Mail Australia understands van Onselen will keep his role as a columnist at The Australian newspaper.

His impending departure comes at a time where the network is struggling in the ratings.

Parent company Paramount ANZ recently dismissed suggestions Ten would shut down, with a senior executive stating that they are ‘excited’ about the future.

van Onselen’s former show, The Project, was the centre of controversy this week after an X-rated joke about Jesus went to air, sparking fury amongst the Christian community.