Helen Wellings is an Australian journalist and consumer advocate. Wellings is currently a Consumer Editor for ''

Seven News ''7NEWS'' is the television news service of the Seven Network and, as of 2021, the highest-rating in Australia. National bulletins are presented from Seven's high-definition television, high definition studios in Martin Place, Sydney, while f ...

''. She has been a senior reporter for the Seven Network for 20 years.

Education and teaching career

Wellings studied a Bachelor of Arts (majoring in Russian history)and a teaching diploma at Monash University. She worked as a secondary school teacher in Victoria for two years, teaching senior history and English.''Who's Who Australian Women 2015'', ConnectWeb, 2015.

Consumer advocacy and television career

In 1973, Wellings moved to Sydney but was unable to work as a teacher as her files were lost by the Department of Education.Freeman, Jane: "The Selling of Helen Wellings", ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 8 January 1996. Instead, she joined the New South Wales Department of Consumer Affairs to implement information programs on consumer rights as head of the department's education and publicity unit. In this role, she made numerous media appearances as a consumer expert on radio and television, including on ABC's ''

This Day Tonight ''This Day Tonight'' (TDT) was an Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) evening current affairs program from 1967 to 1978. Founding When ''TDT'' premiered in 1967 it was the first regular nightly current affairs program on Australian TV, an ...

'', ''

The 7.30 Report ''The 7.30 Report'' is an Australian week-nightly television current affairs program, which was shown on ABC1 and ABC News 24 at from 1986 to 2011. In 2011, it evolved into ''7.30'', a revamped current affairs program. History ''The 7.30 Report ...

'' and 2BL; ''Willesee'' and '' 11AM'' on Seven; ''

The Midday Show ''Midday'' (commonly referred to as ''The Midday Show'') is an Australian award-winning daytime television program, based on the variety format that aired on the Nine Network on 11 February 1985 until 27 November 1998. The show aired, like its ...

'' and ''What'll They Think of Next?'' on the Nine Network; and

2GB 2GB is a commercial radio station in Sydney, Australia owned by parent company Nine Radio, a division of Nine Entertainment Co., who also own sister station 2UE. 2GB broadcasts on 873 kHz, AM. In 2010, 2GB held 14.7% of the total rad ...

radio. In 1986, she was appointed by the ABC as the host of '' The Investigators'', a new factual television series focused on consumer affairs and rights. The series was one of the ABC's highest-rating programs in its history, and ran for eleven years from 1985 to 1995, when it was cancelled.'We’re all shell shocked!'
''TV Week'', 14–20 October 1995. After the cancellation of ''The Investigators'', Wellings moved to the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

where she was appointed host of ''

Today Tonight ''Today Tonight'' is an Australian current affairs television program produced by the Seven Network. It aired from January 1995 to November 2019 in Adelaide and Perth. Editions in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne were previously produced befo ...

'', going on the work as the senior consumer affairs reporter for the program. After the cancellation of ''

,'' she was appointed as a Consumer Editor for ''

''.

Personal life

Wellings was born in

Leeton, New South Wales Leeton is a town located in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Leeton is situated in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area, approximately 550 km west of Sydney and 450 km north of Melbourne. It is the administrative centre of the Lee ...

. She was married to barrister Rod Weaver until 2006. She had one child, Nick Weaver, a musician, who died from cancer in 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wellings, Helen Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Australian television journalists Australian television presenters Australian women journalists Australian women television presenters Consumer rights activists Australian schoolteachers Monash University alumni