When John Howard announced the 2004 election debate, it was a tough contest for the job of adjudicator between Laurie Oakes and Ray Martin – household names on the political reporting scene.

Fast-forward to the crucial 2007 Federal Elections, however, and the only journalist permitted by Howard is one most Australians have probably never heard of.

David Speers is well-known in the right circles, having gained his political experience in radio – 2GB, 2UE and 3AW just to name a few.  The communications graduate from the University of Canberra has made a strong name for himself since moving platforms to 24 hour Pay TV station Sky News Australia.

With the rise of the Sky News Network as a mainstay for exclusive content at the right price, the pay-tv channel has been on a roll – President George W. Bush gave an exclusive interview on his visit during APEC.

Walk into a law-firm lobby at Martin Place or visit the newsroom of any major metro paper, and the television logo you're most likely to spot is the Blue, Red and White of Sky News Australia.

But with the polls riding high against him and a history of refusing Kevin's debating challenges, why has Howard chosen Speers and Sky over a host of other eager free-to-airs with wider coverage?

1.    Why do you believe that you were chosen over other people such as Ray Martin of Laurie Oakes?
I think it’s because I’m a bit younger than some of those… but I’ve done a few bits of political interviewing. I’m based in the [Canberra] Press gallery - my job is covering federal politics. I’ve interviewed both of these leaders many times and I do host a daily where we often do panel discussion type debates. So I’d like to think it’s also a reflection of the impartiality and fairness and balance that I approach my job. [And] with that they trust I will approach the debate in a serious way and a very balanced way as well.

2.    Will you be going into this debate with your regular pay TV audience in mind?
No. I mean now when you say that our audience I don’t think is any different to a lot of media consumers.

3.    Are you saying you don’t actually modify for content for Sky News?
No. I’ll approach it with the audience of Australian voters in mind, at this stage it looks like being THE one debate of the campaign, so it’s an important moment in the campaign and important for voters, for viewers to get a good sense of what the two leaders stand for, what they have to offer, and how they compare when they’re face to face in a debate situation.

4.    Now you’ve got Howard on your left and Rudd on your right, what exactly do you do during this debate?
Well I’ll be moderating the debate, which means introducing the two leaders and our panel of journalists, I’ll be explaining the format to the viewers, I’ll be inviting the two leaders to make their opening statements, I’ll then be conducting a free-flowing debate between the two of them, then inviting questions from journalists on the panel and then wrapping it up with some closing statements after the two leaders have had an opportunity to ask each other some questions as well.

5.    Now Howard hates its guts and Rudd seems to love it – The Worm.  What’s your opinion?
Well I can take it or leave it, I can see how some people appreciate it and like the worm, I can see how others might think it’s not all that accurate a description of whose won or lost a debate – it’s a fairly small sample if you’re looking at it statistically.

6.    Did you have talks with John Howard about doing this before he announced it?
No. Look, I think if anyone’s invited to host the debate, as a journalist you grab it.

7.    Do you believe that John Howard’s choice of a pay TV reporter in an election where every vote may matter to the coalition is an attempt to influence the message he sends out?
No, I don’t.  I mean he knows it’ll be carried on the ABC and Channel Nine as well, so it’s not exactly hiding from exposure.  It’s a fairly big audience.

8.    Are you excited?
I am, I’m very much looking forward to it.  First time I’ve hosted an election leader’s debate and yeah, absolutely one of the biggest moments of my career, so very much looking forward to it.

9.    What will David Speers be bringing to this debate that no one else can?
Well, I don’t know what anyone else could bring, but I’ll be bringing to it a serious approach to ensure we get information but also free-flowing exchange between the two.  I’m determined to keep it as fair as balanced as we can.

I’m not going to pretend that that’s easy to do in a live program like this, but I think it’s important that we all try our hardest to do that … I’m fairly confident we’ll be able to bring a debate that will I think lift the standard of election leader’s debates and make it a genuine debate – not just two duelling news conferences.

10.    What is the number one question you’d like to put to both of these men?
Tune in Sunday night and find out.