Laurie Oakes quits Sunday interview spot

SYDNEY (AAP) April 5 - After 27 years, Nine's Laurie Oakes will get his weekends back, after quitting his regular Sunday morning political interview.
The network's chief political reporter's weekly probing interviews were first aired on the Sunday program, then later on Today on Sunday.
Oakes says his decision to finish with his Sunday grilling of local and international politicians was simply based on a wish to have a life.
"I've been doing it for 27 years and I want to reclaim my weekends," he told AAP.
"I'd like to go down the south coast, but when you don't get weekends it's almost impossible to do.
"I will miss it but I'll be able to have guests around on Saturday night without telling them they have to leave at 10pm."
Oakes will continue in his role as Nine's chief political reporter and says Today on Sunday will still have political interviews.
He will also still conduct his in-depth interviews before political events such as the budget.
But there will be no build-up to the award-winning journalist's final regular Sunday interview - his last one, with Treasurer Wayne Swan, aired two weeks ago.
He says his favourite interview with an Australian politician was with then prime minister Paul Keating.
"I'd been in the sin bin where he wouldn't talk to me for about six months and then he came back and he dropped about three front page stories in one interview," he says.
"One was the privatisation of Qantas and a couple of other big stories. Keating was always lively and he was always engaged and you couldn't just walk over him. He always came back at you."
Oakes also interviewed many world leaders but says the most memorable was with then Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.
"I interviewed him the day after an unsuccessful assassination attempt and a year or so later he was assassinated," Oakes says.
"In the interview, he talked about how it felt to have people try and kill him. It was quite moving. He seemed to be more of a teacher than a politician. He had a very gentle manner."