Australian Television's invisible Asian-Australian

I cannot help returning to the incident concerning Scarlet Wong (16 December). David Clarke should hang his head in shame and embarrassment at the stupid remark he made to her. Surely, like most of us, he meets daily young Australians from an Asian background – all speaking and behaving like normal young Australian kids. How could he miss it?

It seems to me that migration from Singapore, Hong Kong and Vietnam has been particularly successful. Despite the problem of the Asian gangs, most immigrants from these places have shown themselves smart, diligent and industrious. It is also apparent that assimilation takes place within the first generation. Scarlet Wong said she was second generation Australian. That means her grandparents were the first arrivals in Australia. Really, who could blame her for being annoyed at the suggestion that she was from 'over there' and not from 'here'?

I'm sure that those kids from an Asian background who have been appearing on Channel Seven's 'Brainiest Australian Kid' program would be equally miffed if a similar remark were made to them. Perhaps they are so Australian they would not understand directly what Clarke meant.

There is one aspect of their appearance on Australian Television, though, that may not occur to them. They are amongst the few Asian-Australians who have appeared on Australian television, actually featuring in a program. I invite the reader to do a check.

Where are the Asian-Australians on Channel Nine's news programs? Where are they on A Current Affair, The Sunday program...? Where are they are ABC news? Where are the Asian-Australian weather girls? I passed a young Asian-Australian woman on the way into Myer the other day. She was a head-turner. So it could not be for reasons of beauty that Channel Nine (who sets the pace for selection on the basis of looks) has no Asian-Australians fronting the camera. What then is the explanation for Australian Television's invisible Asian-Australian?

How can Australian TV's legion of sanctimonious PC reporters and journalists explain a situation that seems in their terms so fundamentally racist?