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I think you have a few things confused here. There is a difference between being racist and offensive. This may not have been racist but it certainly was offensive.
Your comments on the Australian perspective are interesting too. I am English and my perspective is that Australia just doesn't have much of the cultural diversity you get in Europe and the US. So in that respect many Australians do not think about how offensive comments can be. As cultural diversity is increasing, it is time to grow up and realize that you can't do some things without it being offensive. Chaser can get away with it as they offend anyone and everyone.
I have to add in my piece here to and say it is time to stop selling golliwogs. I was horrified when I first came here and saw them for sale, and to this day a physically cringe when I see them in a shop.
Lastly, what is it about hey hey? I can't understand why it is on the air at all! Obviously there are some cultural differences there too.
— Simon Griffiths
I don't agree. We live in a world where we're on show to everyone, and that means being aware of what is racist in other places, and not doing it. Apart from that, Australia has a long history of racist depictions of Aboriginal people in cartoons, anti-aboriginal jokes and so on. EG: "What do you call an aboriginal driving a car? A thief".

These cartoons and jokes have exactly the same intent as blackface does - to depict black people as stupid, lazy, and worth less than white people. Before coming to a final conclusion, I think it's worth considering what dark-skinned people like Stan Grant and Kamahl have had to say about this matter.

Stan Grant, the aboriginal TV presenter now working for CNN says:

"Australian popular culture has a long held an often embarrassing tradition of wrapping racism in supposed humor".

and

"The ham-fisted 'Jackson Jive' routine achieved none of that. Appearing in blackface belongs in Australia's own dark past, back there, with the 'White Australia Policy', silly songs about Aborigines and Joliffe cartoons".

and Kamahl, the dark-skinned Malaysian singer who used to appear regularly on Hey Hey says that "he had endured years of racist remarks" on the show.

— David Jackmanson