Growing pains: New podcast explores our national identity

How did our nation go from having a White Australia policy to being a multicultural country?

Officially launched this week, Australia Fair is a new SBS podcast which explores the journey which created a nation of immigrants, chronicling the key moments contributing to our national identity.

Interviewing academics and high-profile Australians, host and journalist Janak Rogers travels back in time to examine everything from ‘blackbirding’ South Pacific Islanders and settling ‘Ten-Pound Poms’ to attitudes towards the first Vietnamese refugees arriving on Australian shores by boat and African youth ‘crime gangs.’

The series charts Australia’s growing pains through successive waves of immigration, and our nation’s ongoing efforts to make multiculturalism work.

“Australia Fair is a podcast that examines the contradictions of being a modern multicultural country where some racist attitudes continue to prevail. The podcast looks for ways forward while shedding light on what is, at times, a very dark history,” says Rogers.

“I’ve always thought deeply about my own identity and connection to this country. I was born in Australia, but my mother was an Indian socialite and my father a British soldier. No one looked like me growing up, so I couldn’t help but question whether I belonged here and what it means to be Australian.

“As a storyteller, I also think it’s crucial we consider what stories we tell and who tells them. Australia Fair has a wide line-up of guests who all have a story and a voice in this conversation, from politicians and experts, to refugees, activists, and more.”

Australia Fair includes a huge range of archive audio and news clips documenting the changing voices of the nation over time.

Australia Fair is available now on the SBS Audio app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, LiSTNR and wherever else you stream podcasts.