Former speaker Anna Burke has praised Christopher Pyne's composure on the ABC's Q&A, saying the Education Minister handled a protest from university students "brilliantly", while the show's crew were rattled by the episode.

The ABC had to temporarily abandon its live broadcast on Monday night, after the student group began to protest about proposed higher education cuts.

The students unfurled a banner about an upcoming protest over the set where the panel - which also included Ms Burke - was sitting and began to chant. When host Tony Jones could not control the chanting, the ABC temporarily cut to an old episode of the program, while the students were evicted from the ABC1 studios.

Ms Burke explained on Tuesday morning that because the protesters were behind the panel, it was difficult for Jones to address the group, "so I'm going to defend him a bit".