Labor accused of ignoring anti-racism plan as documents reveal repeated pleas to take action | Australia news
Federal Labor has been accused of stalling on a plan to tackle systemic racism in Australia, nearly 18 months after receiving advice from the human rights commission.
New documents tabled to the Senate show no progress has been made on a national strategy submitted to the government and published in November 2024, despite the race discrimination commissioner pleading with the government to take action in five letters and at least two meetings.
The documents requested by the Greens, released days before the first hearings of the royal commission into antisemitism, cover communications between the commission and attorney general Michelle Rowland.
They reveal that racial discrimination commissioner Giridharan Sivaraman corresponded with Rowland five times and held at least two meetings, pleading with the government to accept the proposed anti-racism framework. Rowland answered this four times recommendations were being “carefully considered.”
The government defended its response to tackling racist hatred by citing the upcoming royal commission as well as the work of special envoys on Islamophobia and antisemitism; The first is a study to which the government has not yet responded.
Greens deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi said the documents showed a “clear and disturbing pattern” of the government preparing and receiving reports but failing to act on them.
“The racial discrimination commissioner has repeatedly called on this government to take action and each time his pleas have been ignored,” Faruqi told Guardian Australia.
The framework includes 63 recommendations, including the creation of a national anti-racism taskforce, the creation of a standalone Human Rights Code and the implementation of a positive duty to eliminate racism for employers and businesses, as well as across the health and housing sectors. The Labor Party has also introduced a similar duty to eliminate sexual harassment in 2022.
“Unless we address the structural roots of racism and reform our systems and institutions, this racist bile will continue to pour into our streets and make us all less safe,” Sivaraman wrote in a letter to the minister on September 1, following anti-immigration demonstrations targeting the Indian community.
Three weeks later, Rowland said the government was still “carefully considering” the framework recommendations as well as the special envoys’ reports. The royal commission is expected to present its findings in December.
Some in the Labor Party, including former cabinet minister Ed Husic, the first Muslim pioneer, are clearly frustrated by the government’s lack of response to the framework and have repeatedly called on his party to address the issue.
“We have a problem with racism in this country,” he told the Rational Fear podcast in March. “We haven’t responded to the anti-racist framework yet, we need to start working on it.”
Other Labor MPs have told Guardian Australia exclusively that they want to see a formal response to the framework to show the government is taking racism seriously.
One MP said the commissioner was “owed” a response and questioned whether the royal commission could address racism broadly.
But others in the Labor Party said the issue had changed dramatically in the past year and the framework was no longer the best policy route.
Islamic and Jewish groups have also called on Labor to consider the framework.
President of the Australian National Imams Council (ANIC), Imam Shadi Alsuleiman, said “we need the implementation” of the plan. President of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC), Dr. Rateb Jneid called on the government to implement a positive duty to prevent racism.
“Given the rise of Islamophobia since the beginning, it is disappointing that the government has not responded formally and ministers have described this as a guide for future work,” he said.
Bart Shteinman, chief executive of progressive advocacy group the Jewish Council of Australia, described the framework as the most “comprehensive, evidence-based and consultative” approach to tackling antisemitism and racism, and the JCA will encourage the royal commission to support it.
Australian Ethnic Communities Federation Council President Peter Doukas said implementing the framework was “a no-brainer”.
“There is a crisis of social cohesion going on, it is likely to get worse, and we want to work to combat the growth of narrow-minded, ahistorical policies and views.”
