Alan Belford Jones (born 13 April 1941) is an Australian former talkback host, coach of the Australia national rugby union team, and rugby league coach and administrator. He has worked as a school teacher, a speech writer in the office of Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, and in musical theatre. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Queensland and completed a one-year teaching diploma at Worcester College, Oxford. He has received civil and industry awards.
Jones hosted a popular Sydney breakfast radio program on radio station 2GB from 2002 until 2020. Jones advocates rightwing views, and the popularity of his radio program has made him a highly paid and influential media personality in Australia. Despite his success, he remains a controversial figure. His on-air conduct has received adverse findings from Australia's media regulators, and he has frequently been sued for defamation. In May 2020 Jones announced his retirement from his role at 2GB. In November 2021 it was confirmed that his contract with Sky News Australia would not be renewed. Since December 2021 Jones has presented Alan Jones: Direct to the People on ADH TV.
In November 2024 Jones was arrested and charged with twenty-six offences against eight alleged victims between 2001 and 2019, including aggravated indecent assault, assault with an act of indecency, sexually touching another person without consent, and common assault. The youngest alleged was 17 at the time. Two more indecent assault charges (relating to a ninth alleged victim) were laid in November, followed by an additional eight charges (relating to a tenth alleged victim) in December. On 18 December 2024 Jones pleaded not guilty to all charges. On 7 March 2025 Jones was charged with an additional count of indecent assault, relating to an eleventh alleged victim. Some charges have since been withdrawn; Jones went on trial in early August 2026 on charges concerning eight complainants and incidents alleged to have occurred between 2003 and 2019.
Early life and career Jones was born to farmer and coal miner Charlie Thomas (1906–90) and former school teacher Elizabeth ("Beth", née Belford; 1906–82). He was the middle of three children, with an older brother, Robert Charles, and a younger sister, Colleen, all of whom would become school teachers like their mother. Jones was raised on a dairy farm near Oakey in south-east Queensland, attending primary school at Acland State School, before transferring to Toowoomba Grammar School as a boarder.
After leaving school Jones trained as a teacher at the Kelvin Grove Teachers College (now part of the Queensland University of Technology) in Brisbane. In 1961, he started his teaching career at a state primary school, Ironside State School in the inner suburbs of Brisbane. In 1963 he obtained a position at Brisbane Grammar School, a private secondary school for boys, where he remained until the end of 1969. Throughout this period he also studied part-time at the University of Queensland for a Bachelor of Arts degree, which he was awarded in 1967. Apart from his teaching duties at Brisbane Grammar, Jones additionally proved to be a highly successful sporting coach in athletics, tennis, and, later, rugby union.
In 1970 Jones was appointed Senior English Master at The King's School, Parramatta in Sydney. Again Jones was also heavily involved in coaching a number of sports with considerable success, including progressing to coaching the First XV rugby union side, which he took to the championship in an unbeaten season in 1974. At the end of the first term in 1975, following a meeting with the school's principal, Jones chose to resign from the school. It has been reported that reasons for his resignation include his divisiveness and his inappropriate relationships with students.
After leaving King's School Jones briefly moved to Canberra where he made a failed bid to win preselection to stand as a Country Party candidate for federal parliament. He then spent several years as the manager of a small airline in Quirindi in country New South Wales, where he also coached the local rugby team. During this same period, over 1976–77 while in his mid-30s, Jones spent time in England where he completed a one-year diploma in educational studies at Worcester College, Oxford. While at Oxford Jones won a university Blue for tennis.
In 1978 Jones returned to Sydney to run for the state parliament as a candidate for the Liberal Party, a centre-right party. After failing to win his seat in the election, Jones worked for some time as a speechwriter for the Liberal New South Wales opposition leader, John Mason. In 1979 Jones was recruited as a speechwriter for the Liberal Prime Minister of Australia, Malcolm Fraser, so returned to Canberra for the position, remaining there until early 1981. He then moved back to Sydney after being recruited to be executive director of the New South Wales Employers' Federation, where he worked until he began his radio career in 1985.
In October 1985 Jones was awarded the Rostrum Speakers' Award as the Communicator of the Year.
Political aspirations In 1974 a parent at The King's School, Parramatta, Doug Anthony, leader of the Country Party (now the National Party of Australia) in the Australian Parliament, offered Jones a position with the party in Canberra. In 1975 Jones sought party preselection as the candidate for the Federal parliamentary seat of Eden-Monaro, but lost the bid.
In 1978 he was the candidate for the July 1978 by-election for the New South Wales state seat of Earlwood for the Liberal Party, formerly held by deposed Liberal leader Sir Eric Willis. He lost what had been considered a "safe seat". Jones again contested the seat for the Liberal Party at the 1978 New South Wales state election held in October; the Australian Labor Party candidate was returned with a greater majority.
In September 1979 Jones stood for Liberal preselection for the federal Division of North Sydney, placing third in the ballot. The winning candidate, Peter Solomon, was later disendorsed, but Jones did not recontest the ballot in March 1980, with John Spender taking preselection and winning the seat.
In 1986 Jones nominated for the Liberal preselection for the federal Division of Wentworth in Sydney, but was a late withdrawal from the ballot; the preselection and seat was won by future Liberal leader John Hewson.
Coaching career
Rugby union 1982 was the beginning of Jones's association with semi-professional rugby. His first appointment was as (part-time) manager of the NSW Rugby Union team. The next year he served as coach for the Manly Rugby Union team, winning the Shute Shield competition for the first time in 32 years.
In February 1984 Jones replaced Bob Dwyer as coach of the Australia national rugby union team (the Wallabies). Jones coached the Australian team for 4 years with 86 victories from 102 matches including 23 victories in 30 Tests. When he took the team on it included Mark Ella, and it soon recruited Peter FitzSimons and James Black, both Manly players, and Nick Farr-Jones. Also in 1984, Australia's national team, the Wallabies, won the Grand Slam victories over England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland, and a Barbarians side made up of the best players of those countries and France. In 1985, Jones was awarded Coach of the Year from the Confederation of Australian Sport.
The 1986 Bledisloe Cup victory against New Zealand in New Zealand was the first time that had been achieved in 39 years. In 1988, Jones was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his service to Rugby Union football.It's an Honour – Member of the Order of Australia In 1989, Jones was elected to the Sport Australia Hall of Fame for his contribution to sport as the Australian rugby union coach.
In October 2007 Jones signalled his interest in coaching the Wallabies after Queensland Rugby Chairman Peter Lewis suggested to the media he was the right person for the job. "If Peter Lewis and the Queensland Rugby Union – who have played a major role in Australian rugby for many years – are of the view I am the person who can make that contribution then I am obligated to put my hand up and say, 'Well if that is the case, I'm available'."
On 14 December 2007 the Australian Rugby Union ruled Jones out of the coaching position, instead appointing New Zealand Crusaders coach Robbie Deans.
In 2017 Jones took up an invitation to coach the Barbarians against the Classic Wallabies in Lismore and the Wallabies in Sydney during the 2017 end-of-year rugby union internationals.
Rugby league In 1990 Jones replaced Warren Ryan as coach of the Balmain Tigers rugby league football club, without accepting a fee. Balmain had been quite successful, including coming runners-up in 1988 and 1989 in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership, but with Jones in charge they struggled despite his claims upon appointment that "Balmain are sick and tired of coming second". It was while coaching Balmain that Jones was dubbed with his best known nickname, the 'Parrot', by comedian Greig Pickhaver in his role as sports commentator H.G. Nelson, although Jones has never approved of the name.
Jones coached Balmain from 1991 to 1993 with these results: 1991 (8 wins, 12th place); 1992 (10 wins, 10th place); 1993 (5 wins, 12th place). At the end of the 1993 season he reapplied for the coaching role, offering a new business plan to the board, but when it was rejected he resigned. He was soon after appointed as the Manager of Football Operations with the South Sydney Rabbitohs rugby league club, also without a fee.
Media career
Radio In 1985 Jones joined the Sydney AM radio station 2UE as the morning show host after long-time host John Laws left for 2GB. Laws returned to 2UE in 1988 to again host the morning show, so from March of that year Jones was moved to the breakfast slot from 5.30 am to 9.00 am. On changing to the breakfast show, Jones first adopted the program's long-time opening and closing theme music, "Gloria" by Laura Branigan. By the mid-1990s Jones's audience share in the Sydney market was up to 22%, giving him the largest radio audience in Sydney, and including his transmissions into regional and interstate markets, possibly the largest radio audience in Australia.
Jones's program changed little over time, as a mixture of opinion pieces, interviews, talkback, and commercial endorsements. His on-air popularity has made him a highly paid and powerful media personality. Jones uses his program to advocate largely rightwing views, and he has been described as one of the most influential broadcasters in Australia. Throughout his time on radio Jones has frequently been referred to as a 'shock jock' due to the style of his presentation, although he personally rejects this term.
In January 1993 the International Year of the World's Indigenous People, Jones described the choice of Aboriginal Australian Mandawuy Yunupingu as Australian of the Year as "ridiculous" and suggested Yunupingu had been granted the award because of his "colour or ... history". Later that year prominent Aboriginal Australian Charles Perkins and Jones clashed in a live TV and radio debate. Jones said Australians are "getting no say when [Aboriginal people] say this is [their] nation; it's not, it's Australia's nation ... [Average Australians] are being asked to pay taxes to fund people who are seeking title to productive land to which they've made no contribution to its productivity". Perkins called Jones racist and a redneck and commented "You've sat on your white bum at 2UE in Sydney all your life so you wouldn't know what goes on out there".