Latest news with #GiridharanSivaraman
ABC News
4 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Cut off welfare, DEI in Australia + travel insurance miscalculations
Nearly 1,000 jobseekers had their payments cancelled over a 2 year period, even with laws in place to stop it happening. Here's what went wrong, and why the federal watchdog is calling it a "catastrophe". And is Donald Trump's war on DEI coming here? We ask Australia's Race Discrimination Commissioner. Plus: lost luggage, ski injuries, scooter accidents. Ever thought you were covered by your travel insurance... when you really weren't? We're breaking down what's actually in the fine print. Listen now: 01:20 - Why jobseekers were cut off out of the blue 05:55 - How the government should tackle racism in Australia 15:15 - The nightmare of not being covered properly by travel insurance 22:00 - What you need to know about the fine print Guests: Giridharan Sivaraman, Race Discrimination Commissioner Giridharan Sivaraman, Race Discrimination Commissioner Tim Bennett, insurance expert Get the whole story from Hack:
SBS Australia
4 days ago
- Politics
- SBS Australia
Australia at a 'critical time' to stamp out 'terrifying surge' of racism, commissioner says
More Australians are facing antisemitism, anti-Arab racism, anti-Palestinian racism, and Islamophobic hate, as the race discrimination commissioner says, "some government approaches pit communities against each other". Giridharan Sivaraman and his team at the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) have found communities in Australia have felt "dehumanised" amid conflict in the Middle East. In an address to the National Press Club on Wednesday afternoon, Sivaraman urged the government to act on several recommendations to combat racism. "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."
Perth Now
4 days ago
- Politics
- Perth Now
‘Terrifying surge': Aussie racism warning
Skilled migrants are hitting barriers in every aspect of their lives in Australia, the Race Discrimination Commissioner says. Speaking in Canberra on Wednesday, Giridharan Sivaraman said systemic and structural racism was limiting Australia's economic output and quality of life. 'Structural racism goes beyond racist slurs or harassment, though these are harmful enough,' he said at the National Press Club. 'Just as sexism isn't just about individual men treating women badly, racism isn't just about personal prejudice. It's the way our laws, policies, institutions, and entrenched norms consistently produce worse outcomes for people based on their race.' Efforts to address systemic racism could follow other anti-discrimination reform, Mr Sivaraman said. Giridharan Sivaraman says there are clear steps which can be taken to address systemic racism in Australia. NewsWire / Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia 'When employers could fire women for falling pregnant, we didn't just shrug and accept it,' Mr Sivaraman said. 'Women, unions and allies advocated and we changed the law … That sense of justice you felt when fighting for equality, for what's right – that's exactly what we must supply to structural racism.' Mr Sivaraman's speech traversed the ongoing racism and dehumanisation felt by First Nations people, the difficulties migrants faced settling into modern Australia, and the effects of the war in Gaza on communities here. 'The war in Gaza has triggered a terrifying surge of anti-Semitism, anti-Palestinian racism, anti-Arab racism and Islamophobic hate,' he said. 'Mentioning those different forms of racism doesn't mean equating them. Mentioning one doesn't invalidate another.' The Race Discrimination Commissioner's speech touched on broad facets of Australian society, including racism, sexism, multiculturalism and identity. NewsWire / Glenn Campbell Credit: News Corp Australia Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim Australians were dehumanised by the Israeli-caused devastation in Gaza, he said. 'When the massacre of 1200 Jews and Israelis by Hamas on October 7 is not acknowledged, it dehumanises them. By extension, Jewish and Israeli Australians,' Mr Sivaraman said. International conflicts affected Australians for varying reasons, he said. 'Of course we don't want conflict here, but we can't distance ourselves from the inhumanity that occurs, wherever it is occurring, overseas,' Mr Sivaraman said. Communities here were deeply impacted by what was happening overseas in many different ways, he said. 'Sometimes it's because their families, friends and relatives have been killed or hurt,' Mr Sivaraman said. 'Or it's because they can identify with the people that are being killed or hurt.' Mr Sivaraman told an anecdote of a couple who moved to Australia on skilled migrant visas but whose qualifications were not recognised and their workplace interactions were layered in idioms. These skilled migrants were forced to take jobs that did not make full use of their skills, there was nowhere for them to pray, and they were shut out from advancing up the hierarchy into leadership positions. In November, the Australian Human Rights Commission released a National Anti-Racism Framework. The road map has 63 recommendations across the legal, justice, health, education, media and arts sectors. 'We are talking about solutions that actually benefit everyone. They benefit everyone in terms of the general happiness and wellbeing of the society,' Mr Sivaraman said. 'They will benefit in terms of the economic impacts.' Mr Sivaraman called on Prime Minster Anthony Albanese to publicly support, and fund, the recommendations.
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Politics
- News.com.au
‘Terrifying surge': Race Discrimination Commissioner calls out festering hatred
Skilled migrants are hitting barriers in every aspect of their lives in Australia, the Race Discrimination Commissioner says. Speaking in Canberra on Wednesday, Giridharan Sivaraman said systemic and structural racism was limiting Australia's economic output and quality of life. 'Structural racism goes beyond racist slurs or harassment, though these are harmful enough,' he said at the National Press Club. 'Just as sexism isn't just about individual men treating women badly, racism isn't just about personal prejudice. It's the way our laws, policies, institutions, and entrenched norms consistently produce worse outcomes for people based on their race.' Efforts to address systemic racism could follow other anti-discrimination reform, Mr Sivaraman said. 'When employers could fire women for falling pregnant, we didn't just shrug and accept it,' Mr Sivaraman said. 'Women, unions and allies advocated and we changed the law … That sense of justice you felt when fighting for equality, for what's right – that's exactly what we must supply to structural racism.' Mr Sivaraman's speech traversed the ongoing racism and dehumanisation felt by First Nations people, the difficulties migrants faced settling into modern Australia, and the effects of the war in Gaza on communities here. 'The war in Gaza has triggered a terrifying surge of anti-Semitism, anti-Palestinian racism, anti-Arab racism and Islamophobic hate,' he said. 'Mentioning those different forms of racism doesn't mean equating them. Mentioning one doesn't invalidate another.' Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim Australians were dehumanised by the Israeli-caused devastation in Gaza, he said. 'When the massacre of 1200 Jews and Israelis by Hamas on October 7 is not acknowledged, it dehumanises them. By extension, Jewish and Israeli Australians,' Mr Sivaraman said. International conflicts affected Australians for varying reasons, he said. 'Of course we don't want conflict here, but we can't distance ourselves from the inhumanity that occurs, wherever it is occurring, overseas,' Mr Sivaraman said. Communities here were deeply impacted by what was happening overseas in many different ways, he said. 'Sometimes it's because their families, friends and relatives have been killed or hurt,' Mr Sivaraman said. 'Or it's because they can identify with the people that are being killed or hurt.' Mr Sivaraman told an anecdote of a couple who moved to Australia on skilled migrant visas but whose qualifications were not recognised and their workplace interactions were layered in idioms. These skilled migrants were forced to take jobs that did not make full use of their skills, there was nowhere for them to pray, and they were shut out from advancing up the hierarchy into leadership positions. In November, the Australian Human Rights Commission released a National Anti-Racism Framework. The road map has 63 recommendations across the legal, justice, health, education, media and arts sectors. 'We are talking about solutions that actually benefit everyone. They benefit everyone in terms of the general happiness and wellbeing of the society,' Mr Sivaraman said. 'They will benefit in terms of the economic impacts.'
SBS Australia
4 days ago
- Politics
- SBS Australia
Australia at a 'critical time' to stamp out 'terrifying surge' of racism, commissioner to say
More Australians are facing antisemitism, anti-Arab racism, anti-Palestinian racism, and Islamophobic hate, as the race discrimination commissioner says, "some government approaches pit communities against each other". Giridharan Sivaraman and his team at the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) have found communities in Australia have felt "dehumanised" amid conflict in the Middle East. In an address to the National Press Club on Wednesday afternoon, Sivaraman will urge the government to act on several recommendations to combat racism. "Each experience of racism is unique to the victim, but the fact remains more people are being harmed in these ways than before," Sivaraman will say in a speech seen by SBS News. '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 believed "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."
