Australia’s Race Discrimination Commissioner has launched a plan to establish a National Anti-Racism Framework.
The Commissioner, Chin Tan said his Concept Paper for a National Anti-Racism Framework detailed key components that needed to be included in the Framework and he would soon commence a series of roundtables with peak anti-racism organisations to progress the plan.
“Racism is an economic, social and national security threat to Australia, and we need to treat it as such,” Commissioner Tan said.
“Too many Australians are regularly the targets of racism,” he said.
“It is time we dealt with the scourge of racism in the same way we deal with the scourge of domestic violence, or the scourge of child abuse.”
Mr Tan said there were longstanding national frameworks in place to deal with domestic violence and child abuse, signed by all Governments, with three-year action plans.
“I am calling on the Federal Government to engage with this process of establishing a National Anti-Racism Framework, to actively support its development, and to commit to resourcing it appropriately,” the Commissioner said.
“Australia has not had a national anti-racism strategy in place since 2018, and Federal funding for that strategy ended in 2015,” he said.
Mr Tan said events like the Christchurch terrorist attack, the growth in nationalist extremism, and racism in relation to COVID-19 highlighted the need for urgent action to address racism.
“There is now unprecedented community support to address these issues, now is the time to implement a national framework dealing with racism,” he said.
The Commissioner’s 26-page Concept Paper can be downloaded at this PS News link.
