He handled his permanentQ&A hosting debut with aplomb (he has guest hosted before).

The show was thrown to the people from the get-go - it opened with a video montage of questions and reflections. When we went into the Queanbeyan studio,the traditionalQ&A desk was absent,replaced by arm chairs. The panel talent was mostly wisely assembled. There was Kristy McBain,the mayor of Bega Valley;indigenous fire practitioner Victor Steffensen;Cheryl McCarthy of Surf Life Saving NSW;Jim Molan,a Liberal senator;and Michael Mann,the famous American climate scientist who has found himself in Australia during the most globally recognised climate crisis of the time.

And then there was Andrew Constance,the NSW Liberal MP whose local community is in ruins. He made your heart break and forget about politics. His face told a thousand stories.

In television terms,it was a great panel.

Macdonald had to wrangle left and right and much loss and tragedy in between,and did so adeptly. The major crowd sport was the audience jeering of Molan,whose questioning of the notion that man-made climate change had contributed to the fire disaster was howled down.

The esteemed Mann had said:"It will get much worse if we don't act."

Molan's response - that his mind was open,and that different scientific opinions came across his desk every day - produced one of the more memorable television images of the year:audience members traumatised by the summer of fire terror were putting their heads in their hands.

Macdonald was forced to intervene and ask for quiet.

Mann,deploying a mock Australian accent,had his own rejoinder."Come on now,mate. You should keep an open mind but no so open that your brain falls out."

You have the feeling it is going to be that sort of year onQ&A. You also have the feeling that the show is in capable hands. Macdonald delivered some moments of true empathy - like asking an audience member with an opinion"How are you doing?"- before letting the panel respond to the opinion.

He has big shoes to fill. The expert tap dance that Tony Jones managed across the tightrope of audience questions,five guests and a live broadcast has always been underestimated.

Macdonald appears up for the task. In a year that promises a storm of new s and controversy,he may bring new life to the Monday night institution.