Craig Foster

You know, people who came here either for employment or people that came here fleeing conflict like Les Murray, my, you know, loved colleague and late friend and legendary broadcaster, or indeed people like Arwen Mabil or people like me who were born here.

over multiple generations.

Who cares?

There are important conversations to be had nationally about a whole range of things.

But what I don't understand in Australia is why we can't just actually have the conversation about them without vilifying entire groups, which is just stupid.

It makes no sense.

you know, we should be beyond this by now.

But I think our media environment, you know, has to be accountable for this as well.

The over-concentration of media, you know, there's a whole range of factors.

Also, let's say, you know, the Australian, multiple Australian governments, including this one, you know, leaving Australians behind.

So we know that, you know, economic inequality, exclusion of people, they feel left out of the Australian dream.

We've seen this in America.

And what that does is it

provides very fertile ground for division and for hate and for vilification because it becomes about those people there are undeserving and I'm deserving.

So all of these factors are coming together and we need to work out a way to have national conversations about a whole range of issues without delving into this sort of stuff.

Well, I mean, you've seen the, you know, Burundian refugee, Nestoria Nkunda as well.

And, you know, staying in refugee camps for, you know, many, many years.

And for Australians, it's difficult to understand.

For me, it's difficult to understand.

You know, I've been to the biggest refugee camp in the world, Cox's Bazaar twice.