Australia urged to take key step to stamp out racism
"It's much more than skin deep, it can really scar you in on your soul," Giridharan Sivaraman told AAP.
"It's in every aspect of our society."
The commissioner said one way this manifested was in the workplace, with job hunters with Anglo-friendly names more likely to get a call back for a gig.
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.
In an address to the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday, Mr Sivaraman will say Australia is at a "critical time" where a whole-of-government approach is needed to tackle racism.
He will call on Labor to commit to the national anti-racism framework, handed down by the Australian Human Rights Commission last November.
"It's the racism that's in our systems and institutions, it's stopping people from being able to thrive or simply be safe," he said ahead of his address.
"Taking action against racism doesn't take anything from any person. It actually improves society for everyone."
The commissioner said Australia needed to face the issue with "courage and honesty" as to why this keeps happening.
"There needs to be fundamental change ... that's the real conversation that we should all be having," he said.
Mr Sivaraman 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 added.
"There can be no racial justice in this country without justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, and that is abundantly clear," Mr Sivaraman said.
The commissioner said different ethnic groups could also be 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 survey to ask university students and staff across the nation about experiences of racism.
Mr Sivaraman said this would be done to get a "baseline" of prejudice at the nation's higher education institutions.
The survey will be distributed via email by universities and participants will remain anonymous.
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7NEWS
16 hours ago
- 7NEWS
Kathleen Folbigg review push as $2 million compensation for wrongful imprisonment ‘plucked out of the air'
A $2 million offer to a woman wrongfully imprisoned for two decades will face further scrutiny as decision-makers blame budget constraints for a figure critics say was 'plucked out of the air'. NSW Premier Chris Minns and Attorney-General Michael Daley have been urged to reconsider the ex gratia payment offered to Kathleen Folbigg. Folbigg was jailed in 2003 over the deaths of her four children before being freed in 2023 after new scientific evidence cast reasonable doubt over her convictions, which were later quashed. Minns said the $2 million was taxpayer funds and did not come from a 'magic pot'. 'This was the most amount of money that we believed we could allocate ... without pulling it away from other important programs,' Minns said. Compensation has been paid to others in the past after legal action and Minns said Folbigg was free to sue the government. Daley announced the payment on Thursday, more than a year after a compensation claim was submitted. After telling reporters the payment was offered to close down a push for a parliamentary inquiry, Nationals MP Wes Fang said the government was seeking to avoid scrutiny. 'It wasn't a coincidence,' he told AAP. He said the $2 million was a 'round figure' and the government had not revealed any information on how it was calculated. 'That raises concerns that there's been no evidentiary basis for that offer - it's just been plucked out of the air,' Fang said. He said the push for an inquiry was more important than ever. 'Mainstream everyday Australians have found the figure to be quite an affront,' Fang said. 'There's a growing call to understand how there's been the assessment done, and what assessments have been done.' Greens MP Sue Higginson said the issue went beyond Folbigg. 'It's very rare you get such a serious failing of the legal system and you get wrongful conviction and incarceration to this degree, but to suggest it will never happen again is just wrong,'' she said. 'It will, and we need a system of credibility with a bit of integrity about how we are going to address these injustices.' Higginson accepted the budget had constraints. 'But I know there's room in the budget right now to give Kathleen something more than $2 million, something more commensurate with the harm that the justice system has perpetrated,' she said. Higginson wrote to the premier and attorney-general on Friday, saying it remained 'immensely challenging' to understand how the figure was calculated and urging them to review it. 'I also implore you to meet with Folbigg and her team in negotiating an offer of ex gratia payment that reflects the extraordinary nature of this case,' she wrote. The premier and attorney-general are due before budget estimates later in August while calls for an inquiry into the payment could be furthered when parliament resumes in September.
The Advertiser
17 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Albanese to travel across the ditch for leaders meeting
Defence, economic partnerships and security will be on the agenda for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese when he meets his New Zealand counterpart. Mr Albanese will spend the weekend in Queenstown for the annual Australia-New Zealand leaders meeting with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. It will be the second time across the Tasman for Mr Albanese, who last visited in 2023 to meet with then-Labour prime minister Chris Hipkins. Mr Albanese and Mr Luxon represent opposite ends of the political spectrum, but both have affirmed their nations share a "deep and enduring bond" as friends, neighbours and allies. "I look forward to discussing how we can work together to build on our single economic market, modernise the rules-based trading system, deepen our alliance, and back our Pacific partners," Mr Albanese said. The single economic market was established in 2009 to grow trade and deepen investment links between the two countries, making it easier for trans-Tasman business. Two-way trade between the two countries is worth $32 billion. Co-operation between the two governments is broad, with more than half of the New Zealand cabinet visiting Australia since Mr Luxon's government took office in late 2023. The "complicated" relationship between opportunities and challenges posed by China was likely to be a focus of talks behind the scenes, Victoria University of Wellington's New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre director Jason Young said. "Both prime ministers have recently visited China," the professor told AAP. "They had, at least, public-facing, very good visits to stabilise and manage the economic relationship. But at the same time, there's a bunch of particularly regional security issues which have an impact on both countries." The pair could also discuss the impact of the US President Donald Trump's tariffs. While Mr Trump raised tariffs against dozens of nations, he showed mercy on Australia and kept levies against most products at 10 per cent. But New Zealand was not spared and was hit with a 15 per cent "reciprocal" tariff. At the most recent leaders' meeting in Canberra in 2024, Mr Albanese and Mr Luxon discussed migration and creating a closer defence partnership. David Capie, another professor from Victoria University of Wellington, said the Luxon government had leaned into its partnership with Australia since coming to power. "You've got a New Zealand government that wants to do more with Australia," the NZ foreign and defence policy expert told AAP. "The upending of the economic order with the Trump tariffs, the Middle East - all of those things NZ and Australia are finding that they're very closely aligned." Yet deportation remains a point of friction, as New Zealand has long protested Australia's practice of deporting criminals with Kiwi passports but with stronger ties to Australia. After the 2024 meeting, the two leaders agreed to "engage closely" on the matter. Prof Capie said the issue hadn't faded away completely but was being more delicately handled compared to the Morrison government era. "You had a lot of deportations and a government that was basically basking in it," he said. "But more importantly, the structural changes to the rights of New Zealanders to be able to find a pathway to citizenship mean that there are going to be fewer and fewer over time." Mr Albanese is expected to be welcomed in a pōwhiri, a formal Māori welcoming ceremony, before he meets with Mr Luxon on Saturday. He will also meet with Australian and New Zealand business leaders and take part in a business roundtable. Defence, economic partnerships and security will be on the agenda for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese when he meets his New Zealand counterpart. Mr Albanese will spend the weekend in Queenstown for the annual Australia-New Zealand leaders meeting with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. It will be the second time across the Tasman for Mr Albanese, who last visited in 2023 to meet with then-Labour prime minister Chris Hipkins. Mr Albanese and Mr Luxon represent opposite ends of the political spectrum, but both have affirmed their nations share a "deep and enduring bond" as friends, neighbours and allies. "I look forward to discussing how we can work together to build on our single economic market, modernise the rules-based trading system, deepen our alliance, and back our Pacific partners," Mr Albanese said. The single economic market was established in 2009 to grow trade and deepen investment links between the two countries, making it easier for trans-Tasman business. Two-way trade between the two countries is worth $32 billion. Co-operation between the two governments is broad, with more than half of the New Zealand cabinet visiting Australia since Mr Luxon's government took office in late 2023. The "complicated" relationship between opportunities and challenges posed by China was likely to be a focus of talks behind the scenes, Victoria University of Wellington's New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre director Jason Young said. "Both prime ministers have recently visited China," the professor told AAP. "They had, at least, public-facing, very good visits to stabilise and manage the economic relationship. But at the same time, there's a bunch of particularly regional security issues which have an impact on both countries." The pair could also discuss the impact of the US President Donald Trump's tariffs. While Mr Trump raised tariffs against dozens of nations, he showed mercy on Australia and kept levies against most products at 10 per cent. But New Zealand was not spared and was hit with a 15 per cent "reciprocal" tariff. At the most recent leaders' meeting in Canberra in 2024, Mr Albanese and Mr Luxon discussed migration and creating a closer defence partnership. David Capie, another professor from Victoria University of Wellington, said the Luxon government had leaned into its partnership with Australia since coming to power. "You've got a New Zealand government that wants to do more with Australia," the NZ foreign and defence policy expert told AAP. "The upending of the economic order with the Trump tariffs, the Middle East - all of those things NZ and Australia are finding that they're very closely aligned." Yet deportation remains a point of friction, as New Zealand has long protested Australia's practice of deporting criminals with Kiwi passports but with stronger ties to Australia. After the 2024 meeting, the two leaders agreed to "engage closely" on the matter. Prof Capie said the issue hadn't faded away completely but was being more delicately handled compared to the Morrison government era. "You had a lot of deportations and a government that was basically basking in it," he said. "But more importantly, the structural changes to the rights of New Zealanders to be able to find a pathway to citizenship mean that there are going to be fewer and fewer over time." Mr Albanese is expected to be welcomed in a pōwhiri, a formal Māori welcoming ceremony, before he meets with Mr Luxon on Saturday. He will also meet with Australian and New Zealand business leaders and take part in a business roundtable. Defence, economic partnerships and security will be on the agenda for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese when he meets his New Zealand counterpart. Mr Albanese will spend the weekend in Queenstown for the annual Australia-New Zealand leaders meeting with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. It will be the second time across the Tasman for Mr Albanese, who last visited in 2023 to meet with then-Labour prime minister Chris Hipkins. Mr Albanese and Mr Luxon represent opposite ends of the political spectrum, but both have affirmed their nations share a "deep and enduring bond" as friends, neighbours and allies. "I look forward to discussing how we can work together to build on our single economic market, modernise the rules-based trading system, deepen our alliance, and back our Pacific partners," Mr Albanese said. The single economic market was established in 2009 to grow trade and deepen investment links between the two countries, making it easier for trans-Tasman business. Two-way trade between the two countries is worth $32 billion. Co-operation between the two governments is broad, with more than half of the New Zealand cabinet visiting Australia since Mr Luxon's government took office in late 2023. The "complicated" relationship between opportunities and challenges posed by China was likely to be a focus of talks behind the scenes, Victoria University of Wellington's New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre director Jason Young said. "Both prime ministers have recently visited China," the professor told AAP. "They had, at least, public-facing, very good visits to stabilise and manage the economic relationship. But at the same time, there's a bunch of particularly regional security issues which have an impact on both countries." The pair could also discuss the impact of the US President Donald Trump's tariffs. While Mr Trump raised tariffs against dozens of nations, he showed mercy on Australia and kept levies against most products at 10 per cent. But New Zealand was not spared and was hit with a 15 per cent "reciprocal" tariff. At the most recent leaders' meeting in Canberra in 2024, Mr Albanese and Mr Luxon discussed migration and creating a closer defence partnership. David Capie, another professor from Victoria University of Wellington, said the Luxon government had leaned into its partnership with Australia since coming to power. "You've got a New Zealand government that wants to do more with Australia," the NZ foreign and defence policy expert told AAP. "The upending of the economic order with the Trump tariffs, the Middle East - all of those things NZ and Australia are finding that they're very closely aligned." Yet deportation remains a point of friction, as New Zealand has long protested Australia's practice of deporting criminals with Kiwi passports but with stronger ties to Australia. After the 2024 meeting, the two leaders agreed to "engage closely" on the matter. Prof Capie said the issue hadn't faded away completely but was being more delicately handled compared to the Morrison government era. "You had a lot of deportations and a government that was basically basking in it," he said. "But more importantly, the structural changes to the rights of New Zealanders to be able to find a pathway to citizenship mean that there are going to be fewer and fewer over time." Mr Albanese is expected to be welcomed in a pōwhiri, a formal Māori welcoming ceremony, before he meets with Mr Luxon on Saturday. He will also meet with Australian and New Zealand business leaders and take part in a business roundtable. Defence, economic partnerships and security will be on the agenda for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese when he meets his New Zealand counterpart. Mr Albanese will spend the weekend in Queenstown for the annual Australia-New Zealand leaders meeting with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. It will be the second time across the Tasman for Mr Albanese, who last visited in 2023 to meet with then-Labour prime minister Chris Hipkins. Mr Albanese and Mr Luxon represent opposite ends of the political spectrum, but both have affirmed their nations share a "deep and enduring bond" as friends, neighbours and allies. "I look forward to discussing how we can work together to build on our single economic market, modernise the rules-based trading system, deepen our alliance, and back our Pacific partners," Mr Albanese said. The single economic market was established in 2009 to grow trade and deepen investment links between the two countries, making it easier for trans-Tasman business. Two-way trade between the two countries is worth $32 billion. Co-operation between the two governments is broad, with more than half of the New Zealand cabinet visiting Australia since Mr Luxon's government took office in late 2023. The "complicated" relationship between opportunities and challenges posed by China was likely to be a focus of talks behind the scenes, Victoria University of Wellington's New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre director Jason Young said. "Both prime ministers have recently visited China," the professor told AAP. "They had, at least, public-facing, very good visits to stabilise and manage the economic relationship. But at the same time, there's a bunch of particularly regional security issues which have an impact on both countries." The pair could also discuss the impact of the US President Donald Trump's tariffs. While Mr Trump raised tariffs against dozens of nations, he showed mercy on Australia and kept levies against most products at 10 per cent. But New Zealand was not spared and was hit with a 15 per cent "reciprocal" tariff. At the most recent leaders' meeting in Canberra in 2024, Mr Albanese and Mr Luxon discussed migration and creating a closer defence partnership. David Capie, another professor from Victoria University of Wellington, said the Luxon government had leaned into its partnership with Australia since coming to power. "You've got a New Zealand government that wants to do more with Australia," the NZ foreign and defence policy expert told AAP. "The upending of the economic order with the Trump tariffs, the Middle East - all of those things NZ and Australia are finding that they're very closely aligned." Yet deportation remains a point of friction, as New Zealand has long protested Australia's practice of deporting criminals with Kiwi passports but with stronger ties to Australia. After the 2024 meeting, the two leaders agreed to "engage closely" on the matter. Prof Capie said the issue hadn't faded away completely but was being more delicately handled compared to the Morrison government era. "You had a lot of deportations and a government that was basically basking in it," he said. "But more importantly, the structural changes to the rights of New Zealanders to be able to find a pathway to citizenship mean that there are going to be fewer and fewer over time." Mr Albanese is expected to be welcomed in a pōwhiri, a formal Māori welcoming ceremony, before he meets with Mr Luxon on Saturday. He will also meet with Australian and New Zealand business leaders and take part in a business roundtable.
The Advertiser
17 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Folbigg review push as $2m 'plucked out of the air'
A $2 million offer to a woman wrongfully imprisoned for two decades will face further scrutiny as decision-makers blame budget constraints for a figure critics say was "plucked out of the air". NSW Premier Chris Minns and Attorney-General Michael Daley have been urged to reconsider the ex gratia payment offered to Kathleen Folbigg. Ms Folbigg was jailed in 2003 over the deaths of her four children before being freed in 2023 after new scientific evidence cast reasonable doubt over her convictions, which were later quashed. Mr Minns said the $2 million was taxpayer funds and did not come from a "magic pot". "This was the most amount of money that we believed we could allocate ... without pulling it away from other important programs," Mr Minns said. Compensation has been paid to others in the past after legal action and Mr Minns said Ms Folbigg was free to sue the government. Mr Daley announced the payment on Thursday, more than a year after a compensation claim was submitted. After telling reporters the payment was offered to close down a push for a parliamentary inquiry, Nationals MP Wes Fang said the government was seeking to avoid scrutiny. "It wasn't a coincidence," he told AAP. He said the $2 million was a "round figure" and the government had not revealed any information on how it was calculated. "That raises concerns that there's been no evidentiary basis for that offer - it's just been plucked out of the air," Mr Fang said. He said the push for an inquiry was more important than ever. "Mainstream everyday Australians have found the figure to be quite an affront," Mr Fang said. "There's a growing call to understand how there's been the assessment done, and what assessments have been done." Greens MP Sue Higginson said the issue went beyond Ms Folbigg. "It's very rare you get such a serious failing of the legal system and you get wrongful conviction and incarceration to this degree, but to suggest it will never happen again is just wrong,'' she said. "It will, and we need a system of credibility with a bit of integrity about how we are going to address these injustices." Ms Higginson accepted the budget had constraints. "But I know there's room in the budget right now to give Kathleen something more than $2 million, something more commensurate with the harm that the justice system has perpetrated," she said. Ms Higginson wrote to the premier and attorney-general on Friday, saying it remained "immensely challenging" to understand how the figure was calculated and urging them to review it. "I also implore you to meet with Ms Folbigg and her team in negotiating an offer of ex gratia payment that reflects the extraordinary nature of this case," she wrote. The premier and attorney-general are due before budget estimates later in August while calls for an inquiry into the payment could be furthered when parliament resumes in September. A $2 million offer to a woman wrongfully imprisoned for two decades will face further scrutiny as decision-makers blame budget constraints for a figure critics say was "plucked out of the air". NSW Premier Chris Minns and Attorney-General Michael Daley have been urged to reconsider the ex gratia payment offered to Kathleen Folbigg. Ms Folbigg was jailed in 2003 over the deaths of her four children before being freed in 2023 after new scientific evidence cast reasonable doubt over her convictions, which were later quashed. Mr Minns said the $2 million was taxpayer funds and did not come from a "magic pot". "This was the most amount of money that we believed we could allocate ... without pulling it away from other important programs," Mr Minns said. Compensation has been paid to others in the past after legal action and Mr Minns said Ms Folbigg was free to sue the government. Mr Daley announced the payment on Thursday, more than a year after a compensation claim was submitted. After telling reporters the payment was offered to close down a push for a parliamentary inquiry, Nationals MP Wes Fang said the government was seeking to avoid scrutiny. "It wasn't a coincidence," he told AAP. He said the $2 million was a "round figure" and the government had not revealed any information on how it was calculated. "That raises concerns that there's been no evidentiary basis for that offer - it's just been plucked out of the air," Mr Fang said. He said the push for an inquiry was more important than ever. "Mainstream everyday Australians have found the figure to be quite an affront," Mr Fang said. "There's a growing call to understand how there's been the assessment done, and what assessments have been done." Greens MP Sue Higginson said the issue went beyond Ms Folbigg. "It's very rare you get such a serious failing of the legal system and you get wrongful conviction and incarceration to this degree, but to suggest it will never happen again is just wrong,'' she said. "It will, and we need a system of credibility with a bit of integrity about how we are going to address these injustices." Ms Higginson accepted the budget had constraints. "But I know there's room in the budget right now to give Kathleen something more than $2 million, something more commensurate with the harm that the justice system has perpetrated," she said. Ms Higginson wrote to the premier and attorney-general on Friday, saying it remained "immensely challenging" to understand how the figure was calculated and urging them to review it. "I also implore you to meet with Ms Folbigg and her team in negotiating an offer of ex gratia payment that reflects the extraordinary nature of this case," she wrote. The premier and attorney-general are due before budget estimates later in August while calls for an inquiry into the payment could be furthered when parliament resumes in September. A $2 million offer to a woman wrongfully imprisoned for two decades will face further scrutiny as decision-makers blame budget constraints for a figure critics say was "plucked out of the air". NSW Premier Chris Minns and Attorney-General Michael Daley have been urged to reconsider the ex gratia payment offered to Kathleen Folbigg. Ms Folbigg was jailed in 2003 over the deaths of her four children before being freed in 2023 after new scientific evidence cast reasonable doubt over her convictions, which were later quashed. Mr Minns said the $2 million was taxpayer funds and did not come from a "magic pot". "This was the most amount of money that we believed we could allocate ... without pulling it away from other important programs," Mr Minns said. Compensation has been paid to others in the past after legal action and Mr Minns said Ms Folbigg was free to sue the government. Mr Daley announced the payment on Thursday, more than a year after a compensation claim was submitted. After telling reporters the payment was offered to close down a push for a parliamentary inquiry, Nationals MP Wes Fang said the government was seeking to avoid scrutiny. "It wasn't a coincidence," he told AAP. He said the $2 million was a "round figure" and the government had not revealed any information on how it was calculated. "That raises concerns that there's been no evidentiary basis for that offer - it's just been plucked out of the air," Mr Fang said. He said the push for an inquiry was more important than ever. "Mainstream everyday Australians have found the figure to be quite an affront," Mr Fang said. "There's a growing call to understand how there's been the assessment done, and what assessments have been done." Greens MP Sue Higginson said the issue went beyond Ms Folbigg. "It's very rare you get such a serious failing of the legal system and you get wrongful conviction and incarceration to this degree, but to suggest it will never happen again is just wrong,'' she said. "It will, and we need a system of credibility with a bit of integrity about how we are going to address these injustices." Ms Higginson accepted the budget had constraints. "But I know there's room in the budget right now to give Kathleen something more than $2 million, something more commensurate with the harm that the justice system has perpetrated," she said. Ms Higginson wrote to the premier and attorney-general on Friday, saying it remained "immensely challenging" to understand how the figure was calculated and urging them to review it. "I also implore you to meet with Ms Folbigg and her team in negotiating an offer of ex gratia payment that reflects the extraordinary nature of this case," she wrote. The premier and attorney-general are due before budget estimates later in August while calls for an inquiry into the payment could be furthered when parliament resumes in September. A $2 million offer to a woman wrongfully imprisoned for two decades will face further scrutiny as decision-makers blame budget constraints for a figure critics say was "plucked out of the air". NSW Premier Chris Minns and Attorney-General Michael Daley have been urged to reconsider the ex gratia payment offered to Kathleen Folbigg. Ms Folbigg was jailed in 2003 over the deaths of her four children before being freed in 2023 after new scientific evidence cast reasonable doubt over her convictions, which were later quashed. Mr Minns said the $2 million was taxpayer funds and did not come from a "magic pot". "This was the most amount of money that we believed we could allocate ... without pulling it away from other important programs," Mr Minns said. Compensation has been paid to others in the past after legal action and Mr Minns said Ms Folbigg was free to sue the government. Mr Daley announced the payment on Thursday, more than a year after a compensation claim was submitted. After telling reporters the payment was offered to close down a push for a parliamentary inquiry, Nationals MP Wes Fang said the government was seeking to avoid scrutiny. "It wasn't a coincidence," he told AAP. He said the $2 million was a "round figure" and the government had not revealed any information on how it was calculated. "That raises concerns that there's been no evidentiary basis for that offer - it's just been plucked out of the air," Mr Fang said. He said the push for an inquiry was more important than ever. "Mainstream everyday Australians have found the figure to be quite an affront," Mr Fang said. "There's a growing call to understand how there's been the assessment done, and what assessments have been done." Greens MP Sue Higginson said the issue went beyond Ms Folbigg. "It's very rare you get such a serious failing of the legal system and you get wrongful conviction and incarceration to this degree, but to suggest it will never happen again is just wrong,'' she said. "It will, and we need a system of credibility with a bit of integrity about how we are going to address these injustices." Ms Higginson accepted the budget had constraints. "But I know there's room in the budget right now to give Kathleen something more than $2 million, something more commensurate with the harm that the justice system has perpetrated," she said. Ms Higginson wrote to the premier and attorney-general on Friday, saying it remained "immensely challenging" to understand how the figure was calculated and urging them to review it. "I also implore you to meet with Ms Folbigg and her team in negotiating an offer of ex gratia payment that reflects the extraordinary nature of this case," she wrote. The premier and attorney-general are due before budget estimates later in August while calls for an inquiry into the payment could be furthered when parliament resumes in September.
