Meet Jon Faine

My Story lunch with Jon Faine at the RaCV club, yours truly was there, autograph book et al. as i settled on my table as close as possible to Jon’s, i noticed that i was the only under 40 and brown person there, other than the club staff. The RaCV club dining room was packed with members and guests all wanting to hear from the wizard of words. it wasn’t likely that Jon and i would get a chance to engage in an intimate confab.

To put things into a bit of perspective let me tell you that in my line of work as a journo i meet plenty of interesting people, celebrities, stars and hoi polloi; however i rarely whisk out an autograph book or get starry eyed with any of them. This however was an exception, i even queued up to talk to Faine, something i never thought i’d ever do. To cut a long gushing story short, meeting Jon Faine was worth making any exceptions to self-imposed rules.

Jon Faine is an articulate, well informed, meticulously prepared and witty radio presenter. after seven years as a lawyer, Jon entered radio broadcasting in 1989 to produce and present Radio national’s Law Report. He then presented 3Lo’s Morning and afternoon programs, worked on aBC TV’s Investigators, First Edition and Wise UP and has been presenting the morning program on 774 aBC Melbourne since 1997. From 1997 he has hosted aBC’s local radio morning program from 8.30 am to 12.00 pm in Melbourne, including the Conversation Hour which is heard across Victoria from 11.00 am.

Jon was at the RaCV club to talk about his yet-to-be-released publication about a road trip from Melbourne to London with his young son, Jack. Jon took six months of service leave and his son took a gap year in 2008 to fulfill a cherished dream of navigating by road across several continents. The father and son team drove across Malaysia, China, Turkey, Franceand ended their adventure at London’s Piccadilly Circus for new Year’s eve.

With characteristic candour, Jon shared his memorable journey and experiences with a rapt audience. Meandering through the Silk Road or the highways in Uzbekistan, getting a tankful of diesel in iran for the price of one litre in France, meeting an australian aid worker in the remotest corner of Mongolia, getting lost several times in harsh terrain, Jon talked about his adventure and answered questions posed by guests. Judging by his captivating talk, Jack and Jon’s journey will make a compelling read.

Says Jon, “it was a remarkable journey but my lasting memories will be not of the fake antiques, the scenic spots and the museums, but always the people we met and the friends we tried to make as we went through their towns. not once did we feel scared, not once did anyone make us other than totally welcome. So a final message? The world is noT a scary place - get out there and have a look around!” anyone who has observed Jon’s rather brilliant career as a top radio presenter would agree his interviews are thought provoking, his comments interesting and his speech inspirational. Will his book prove to be a master seller on all those counts? We hope to find out soon.

Look around i surely will - for Jon’s bookwhen it releases sometime this year.

Jon, who is known for his ability and willingness to ask the stickiest of questions, was noncommittal while answering mine. i asked him about his views on the indian student issue and whether he thought allegations of racism in australia were justified. “If the Indian community and students feel there is an issue then they have the right to voice their angst,” he said.

Jon has aired conversations with Gautam Gupta from the Federation of indian Student’s association, former student Yogesh Malhotra and Vasan Srinivasan of Federation of indian associations of Victoria in relation to this issue last month. He has also raised the issue with local ministers, police and relevant authorities.