Australia’s notion of the “fair go” isn’t being applied to everyone, with racism stopping people and the economy from reaching their full potential, the nation’s race discrimination commissioner says.
Giridharan Sivaraman said the nation was at a critical time where a whole-of-government approach is needed to tackle structural racism, in an address to the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday.
He called on Labor to commit to the “first of its kind” national anti-racism framework, handed down by the Australian Human Rights Commission in November.
Mr Sivaraman said the “road map” contained 63 recommendations for proposed reforms across justice, health and media sectors.
One way it manifested was in the workplace, with job hunters with Anglo names more likely to get a call back for a gig, he said.
People with qualifications from non-English speaking countries were more likely to be employed in jobs below their levels of experience, or in roles in entirely different fields.
“It’s the racism that’s in our systems and institutions, it’s stopping people from being able to thrive or simply be safe,” the commissioner said ahead of his address.
“Taking action against racism doesn’t take anything from any person. It actually improves society for everyone.”
Australia needs to confront the issue with “courage and honesty” and examine why racism keeps happening.
“There needs to be fundamental change … that’s the real conversation that we should all be having,” he said.
The issue needed investment as opposed to the ad hoc and disjointed approaches from past governments.
The voice to parliament referendum, held in October 2023, had led to an increase in discrimination and prejudice against Indigenous people, he said.
“There can be no racial justice in this country without justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, and that is abundantly clear.”
The commissioner said different ethnic groups were also targeted in Australia during points of rupture in society.
He pointed to the “bile” that was directed towards people of Asian heritage during the COVID-19 pandemic, and most recently, soaring levels of anti-Semitism and anti-Palestinian sentiment fuelled by the war in Gaza.
The Australian Human Rights Commission will next week launch an online national survey asking university students and staff about their experiences of racism.
The survey aimed to get a “baseline” of prejudice at the nation’s higher education institutions, Mr Sivaraman said.
The questions would be distributed via email by universities and participants would remain anonymous.
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