Former TV host gives voice to fears of gang crisis backlash

A new advertisement aims to remind Victorians that innocent children should not be blamed for the actions of others.

Screengrab from a TV Ad by The Victorian Multicultural Commission and Brotherhood of St Laurence asking people to be "king to South Sudanese kids".

Victoria’s multiculturalism tsar has returned to her broadcasting roots, lending her voice to an ­advertising campaign aimed at tackling perceptions about young South Sudanese people.

Helen Kapalos, a former presenter of the Seven Network’s now-defunct eastern edition of Today Tonight, can be heard saying in the ad that “some members of the community have spread ­hatred and fear” in the wake of this summer’s Melbourne street gang crisis.

The Brotherhood of St Lawrence organised and funded the advertisement, directed by Australian director Richard Keddie. Neither Keddie nor Ms Kapalos were paid for their involvement.

“Yes, some kids have fallen through the cracks, but the police are dealing with that,” the now-chairwoman of the Victorian Multicultural Commission says in the ad.

The past two months have seen Victoria Police and the state government come under sustained criticism over street gangs after a series of robbery sprees and public brawls.

Victoria’s Multicultural Affairs Minister Robin Scott also lent his support to the Brotherhood’s campaign at a media launch ­yesterday.

He said while there was a problem with some African youth, schoolchildren should not be targets for abuse.

“Innocent children should be welcomed in a school environment, they shouldn’t be blamed for others’ actions,” he said.

The ad shows a pair of South Sudanese boys getting ready for school while Ms Kapalos narrates: “These kids are starting school this week and these parents are really scared for them.

“Hundreds of these Australian families have survived a terrible war ... but they’re just as scared now. Don’t hate the majority ­because a few have strayed: that’s not the Aussie way.”

Ms Kapalos has voiced criticisms of the Melbourne media’s reporting of the street gangs issue and the rhetoric of politicians such as Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton.

“I’ve also been a member of the fourth estate ... I’ve had some ­insight into the formation of narratives (about specific ethnic groups), and some insight into negative narratives,” she said yesterday. “Demonising one group or another because of the actions of a few devalues us all.”

The ad will be shown only on social media for now.

Anglican bishop and Brotherhood of St Laurence chairman Philip Huggins, who masterminded the campaign, said he wanted to address the concerns of South ­Sudanese worshippers in his flock.

“What we heard was the shock (in the South Sudanese) community at the portrayal in the media ... and we picked up the particular high anxiety about kids set to go back to school,” he said.

“So we wanted to respond to that. We wanted to do something to ease their anxiety.”

Keddie, who directed ads for the Your Rights to Work campaign against Work Choices in 2007, said he volunteered his services out of fear of racist attacks on South Sudanese students.

“I think it’s really important they (the South Sudanese community) have a voice and I think Aussies will respond really well (to the advert),” he said. “When you put a really fair set of values out into the market, people respond well and they’re really fair.”