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Spotlight on Racism

Politicians and Public Figures

John Lazarou

John Lazarou, Australian businessman and philanthropist

What do you do?

I am one of three owners of "The Coffee Club" The Largest Australian owned Coffee Shop Group. 115 stores nationally. My role within the company is Public Relations Director.

How old are you?

I am 42 yrs old soon to be 43, very soon. Born: 25th June 1962

Where were you born?

Brisbane

Where did you grow up?

Brisbane

Describe your cultural/religious/ethnic family background

I come from a traditional Greek background and upbringing, I am one of 6 children, my father was a factory worker and my mother was a very religious Greek Orthodox housewife.
My parents migrated to Australia from Greece in 1958 with 3 young children to "give a better life to the kids" they had another 3 children in Australia. We lived in a very ethnic area of Brisbane where several nationalities settled and now called home.
Growing up in this area was great as there was safety in numbers, Greeks, Italians, Chinese, Vietnamese, Germans and Russians, we stuck together at school whenever there was a situation which involved a gang or group of non ethnics, picking on one of us. Most of our parents were passive people and didn't want to create trouble so although we were the victims at school we were also the victims at home.

Do you know any other languages? If so what are they?

I speak fluent Greek and enough Italian to get me out of trouble in Italy.

What is your favourite place in the world and why?

My favourite place to holiday is Greece as we have so many relatives there which we don't get to see all that often. My favourite place in the world to live is Brisbane, Australia. We have 4 children and 4 safety reasons I am happy to call Brisbane home.

Have you ever experienced or witnessed racism? How did it make you feel?

Yes, regularly, whilst growing up there were peers at school, neighbours, shop assistants and even school teachers who treated me and others as second rate citizens simply because we were ethnic and or they were racist.

What did you do about it?

I hated it. I told myself that I would move forward and rise above these type of people, I was determined to be successful and put myself in a position where I can make a difference to others in the future. I promised myself that I would never practise or condone racism in any way through out my life, both in my work place and in my personal life.

What advice would you give kids experiencing racism?

Be proud of your heritage, you are who you are, your parents and their parents and their parents were all proud of their race and their culture and you should be too. You live in Australia, which I believe is the best country in the world.
Stop and think that our families and their forefathers who migrated here many years ago have contributed to making Australia the country it ids today.

What kind of Australia would you like to see for our children?

I would like to think that in this day and age our children will not experience any type of racism or discrimination against religion. Australia is such a young country and the foundations we have laid consist of numerous countries. I'm hoping that the children of the future will see the various cultures and nationalities as a talking point as opposed to something you would finger point.