Building together in a time of division

On Insiders this week, the Prime Minister said: “The job of social democrats is to build things, to create, to appeal to optimism and hope, which is a powerful force. But sometimes fear can also be a force that gets support.”

His words point to a global reality, where people often look for simple answers or someone to blame in uncertain times.

That observation matters, but it is only part of the picture.

We live in a time when it is tempting to define people by labels and categories — their politics, their tribe, their stance on the issue of the day. But the real work is taking time to talk, listening even when we disagree, and finding common ground in discomfort.

Hope and optimism have their place, but what matters is also a clear sense of purpose and the drive to create, to repair, and to face challenges head-on rather than turning away. To date Australians have not been good at that.

Most people just want to get on with their lives, looking after themselves and those closest to them. In many ways that has become the Australian way. But looking away from the harder issues just leaves them unresolved.

Acknowledging the realities of our history and how they influence our present is an unmet challenge. Exclusion and prejudice have shaped this country and their echoes remain. We need to understand where fear and resentment come from, but understanding is not the same as accepting. Racism and bigotry have no place in shaping the future, and we cannot look away or excuse them. They must be called out and stamped out.

The pace of modern life makes this harder. We live in an age of speed we're we look for the elevator pitch, the quick grab for social media, the ten-second video. These are useful tools, but when we rely on them alone, complexity collapses into slogans. Without the slower work of talking, listening and responding with care, we risk drifting into superficiality, misinformation and division.

Being Australian has never been a fixed idea. It has always been shaped by how we treat each other — in the way we speak, how we disagree, and how we choose to repair and build. The test of us as a nation is how we treat those who spread prejudice and hate, not with silence or excuses but by calling it out and refusing to let it define us.

That is what will define us.