Australia at a 'critical time' to stamp out 'terrifying surge' of racism, commissioner says
"Each experience of racism is unique to the victim, but the fact remains more people are being harmed in these ways than before," Sivaraman said in his speech.
'Equating' racisms Sivaraman described the world as going through "febrile times". "The war in Gaza has triggered a terrifying surge of antisemitism, anti-Arab racism, anti-Palestinian racism, and Islamophobic hate," he said. "Mentioning those different forms of racism doesn't mean equating them. Mentioning one doesn't invalidate another." Israel has bombarded Gaza since Hamas' October 7 attack in 2023, in which more than 1,200 people, including an estimated 30 children, were killed and over 200 hostages taken, according to the Israeli government. More than 60,430 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to the health ministry in Gaza.
The AHRC has been undertaking consultations with members of the Jewish, Palestinian, Arab and Muslim Australian communities as part of its Seen and Heard project.
The federally-funded initiative has found these communities feel dehumanised and "stripped of their humanity", when suffering is not recognised at home or overseas. "When the massacre of Jews and Israelis by Hamas on October 7 is not acknowledged, it dehumanises them — and, by extension, Jewish and Israeli Australians," he said. "When the devastation caused by Israel in Gaza — the deaths of 18,000 children, mass starvation, the destruction of homes — is ignored, it dehumanises Palestinians, and by extension, the Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim Australians who identify with them."
Israel has consistently rejected allegations it has fuelled a hunger crisis in Gaza, instead accusing Hamas of deliberately creating a humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory.
Recommendations for the government Sivaraman said he believes "some government approaches pit communities against each other rather than fostering shared solutions". It calls for several major legal and policy changes, such as the introduction of a national framework with 10-year commitments that include acknowledgement of the "systemic and structural nature of racism" and "historical and ongoing impacts of settler colonisation on First Nations peoples".
Nine months since its release, the AHRC is still waiting for a commitment from the federal and state governments.
Efforts to combat racism must be 'First Nations-centred' The framework would also include an agreed-upon national definition of racism for Indigenous people. "There can be no racial justice in Australia without justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. That's why the National Anti-Racism Framework, and all efforts to combat racism in Australia, must be First Nations-centred," Sivaraman said.
"We cannot fix a problem without addressing its root cause. And every manifestation of racism in this country stems from the original violence against First Peoples."
Sivaraman said it is vital to look to the past to inform future decision-making. "We cannot achieve true progress without acknowledging the realities of colonisation — from massacres to land theft. "Sometimes, we've got to have difficult conversations. Hear uncomfortable truths. But doing so isn't a means to divide us. It is a powerful act of unity."
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ABC News
4 minutes ago
- ABC News
Labor and the Coalition have very different ideas about ties to the United States
The prime minister's well-telegraphed announcement this week that Australia will recognise a Palestinian state surprised precisely no one in the end. Nor did the opposition's rejection of this diplomatic step. But the arguments from both sides this week revealed more than just a foreign policy split over the Middle East. The growing divide over how deferential Australia should be towards the United States has become a chasm. The prime minister and opposition leader have expressed starkly different views on whether Australia should be prepared to "break" with its great ally on such a major foreign policy question. The partisan divide over how closely to align with the US has been steadily building since Donald Trump's return to the White House. The Albanese government remains committed to the US alliance. It wants AUKUS to survive the ongoing Pentagon review and is confident it will. But at the same time, the prime minister is demonstrating greater independence from the US than any of his recent predecessors would have dared. The unpopularity of Trump in Australia has allowed him the room to move. Australia and the United States are now at odds on climate change (Albanese is sticking with net zero and the Paris Agreement), trade (Trump's tariffs are "not the act of a friend") and defence spending (Australia is resisting US calls to reach a 3.5 per cent of GDP target). In his John Curtin oration last month, Albanese spoke of this greater independence within the US alliance as a virtue. He sees a more sovereign stance benefiting Australia's relations in the region and Labor's political standing at home. When pressed this week on the implications of splitting with the US on Palestinian recognition, the prime minister's response was revealing. 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On trade, it seeks to blame the Albanese government, at least in part, for Trump's tariffs. On defence spending, the Coalition's pledge to reach a 3 per cent of GDP target was re-stated immediately after the election, while everything else remains under review. Barely a day goes by when the opposition isn't criticising the prime minister failing to secure a face-to-face meeting in the Oval Office. The Coalition views this as vital. It derided the length of Albanese's recent visit to China, on the grounds he should be in Washington instead. On Palestinian recognition, the opposition leader revealed just how heavily she thinks the US relationship should weigh in Australia's thinking. "There can be no breaking with our closest ally," Ley declared at a press conference after a shadow cabinet decision to oppose and reverse Palestinian recognition. "It's disrespectful of the relationship with the US," she told 2GB. 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A White House official told the Nine newspapers while the president's position is clear, he "is not married to any one solution as it pertains to building a more peaceful region". Still, Trump is nothing if not unpredictable. He may well say something much stronger if directly asked. This difference over Palestinian recognition could add to strains in the Australia-US relationship. The Albanese government has no doubt factored in that risk, along with all the other risks that go along with the decision to recognise a Palestinian state. The fear of upsetting Trump, however, isn't stopping US allies from moving towards Palestinian recognition. And here in Australia, this decision has exposed an even wider gap between the prime minister and opposition leader over whether "breaking with our closest ally" is OK. David Speers is national political lead and host of Insiders, which airs on ABC TV at 9am on Sunday or on iview.
ABC News
34 minutes ago
- ABC News
Leaked Treasury advice lists possible outcomes of Labor's yet-to-be held roundtable
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Shadow Treasurer Ted O'Brien last month warned the government not to approach the economic summit with an "agenda", or else it would risk it becoming a "talkfest". A spokesman for Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the government was consulting widely and broadly on economic reforms ahead of the round table. "We aren't pre-empting ideas floated there, but Treasury is preparing for them as you would expect," the spokesman said. "It should come as no surprise that Treasury provides advice on issues raised with the government, including issues raised in the context of the round table." The advice issued ahead of the three-day Economic Reform Roundtable reveals what the government expects to achieve during the talks, and while the document has been prepared for cabinet, the government does not have to accept all of it. 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"We certainly believe that we should have modest, regular changes to the code that keep pace with construction methods," Mr Husic said in November. The new Treasury advice does not specify how long the government should pause changes to the code for. But Master Builders chief executive Denita Wawn said she is lobbying to freeze the code for residential homes for four years, while the government tries to reach its goal of 1.2 million homes by mid-2029. "Our ask is that you pause it for residential, you review the whole document and we ensure that there is a level of consistency to enable people to actually have the certainty of what their costs will be when they invest in housing in this country," Ms Wawn told the ABC. "That is critical if we're going to meet those targets." She said the government so far seemed "sympathetic" to her calls for the pause. 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News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects ‘genocide' claims, says ‘no starvation' in Gaza
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