Fed govt shooting the messenger: Greste

Peter Greste says the Abbott government is shooting the messenger in its attacks on the ABC and Human Rights Commission president Gillian Triggs.

The Australian journalist, who spent 400 days in an Egyptian prison cell for reporting on political events following unrest, says he's worried by the tone of public discussion in Australia.

"What we're seeing I think is an attack on the messenger increasingly rather than engagement with the message," Mr Greste told a media lunch in Melbourne.