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I think Australia is just a great place to bring up a family.

Sometimes when Australians go overseas, it's as though the 'Aussie' is refined out of them. I don't know why. It's never happened to me, because I'm really proud of it. I'm not embarrassed about where I'm from or who I am any more. I know who I am. I don't fit in everywhere, but I know where I do fit in.

A lot of my identity as an Aboriginal person is about family.

Australians are a fantastic bunch of people but the attention can be overwhelming for someone like me.

I grew up in a world that was clannish - old Tasmanian-Irish families with big extended families.

I was shocked when I moved to Sydney how very few indigenous people I came across. And so when I go to places like Maroubra or Redfern or Waterloo or Erskineville, I feel more at home because of the people I'm around - anywhere I can see a face that reflects someone that looks like my family, I feel much more at home.

I'd say the majority of my friends are Australians, although I have some good American friends, but I think with Aussies, we just get it. We don't take each other too seriously, which is a relief.

Australians don't have a preconceived notion of what things have to be... we can go on a fantastic journey.

I was the most Australian child ever in the world, even though my home was in Africa.

Australians love to pump you up when you're nobody. Then, when you start to put your head above water and say, 'Well, actually, I am a bit different, I am an individual and I do have a particular talent', or whatever, they want to go after you. But the good news is that once you reach a certain level, I think they start to leave you alone.