Comment by hestefisk

I think this is nicely said. I grew up in a Western European country where I was used to most people caring about big societal issues such as health, environment, civil rights and privacy. In most European countries there is real competition between newspapers and an, at least in some places, a tradition of democratic participation. Meanwhile, in Australia, the “free press” is effectively owned by Rupert Murdoch, the government needs to make voting for federal elections compulsory in order to get people to take a stance / have an opinion (yes, you will get a fine if you don’t vote!), and our leading politicians still debate whether climate change is real or not. What matters to the average John / Jane is not public health, wars, civil rights, or media diversity but whether you get to watch the “footy” on Wednesday nights. I say this as a European who has resettled in Australia and become a citizen. The country has welcomed me and given me a good life style, but how I wish sometimes Australia would wake up to the things that really matter.