By Dr William Jonas AM, Race Discrimination Commissioner
Many speakers at the recent national conference on racism at the Sydney Opera House on 12-13 March, made the point that tolerance is a value we still need to aspire to. Intolerance has reared its head most recently in vilification of asylum seekers and the sometimes violent post September 11 ‘retaliations’ against Muslims and their property, including mosques.
The Mayor of the City of Greater Geelong, Dr Srechko Kontelj, outlined his Council’s efforts to promote the value of tolerance, undermine intolerance and then move beyond tolerance to celebrations of ethnic, cultural and linguistic diversity.He told the conference that Geelong was the first city to permanently fly the Aboriginal flag. In a moving ceremony which was the culmination of months of consultations and discussions about the proposal and an appropriate location, the flag was raised last November on the Geelong waterfront.
The conference was also impressed to hear from Dr Kontelj about the commitment made nationally by Local Governments to the principles of equality for all, cultural diversity and inclusiveness, and indigenous reconciliation, and to actively strive for local strategies to promote the benefits of a cohesive, multicultural society.
Some interesting themes emerged at the conference to challenge us all as we think about race relations strategies.One of these was the notion of building inter racial trust. Professor Ien Ang from the University of Western Sydney suggested our aim should be, the gradual development of a general culture where racial tolerance and respect for difference have become entrenched as part of the common sense of the society.
Another theme was the need to recognise ‘intersectionality’, meaning the problem of multiple disadvantage and double discrimination. Racial discrimination for example affects men and women differently and we need to take these differences into account in planning. Pru Goward, Australia’s Sex Discrimination Commissioner, told the conference that she is particularly interested in the way that gender compounds other forms of discrimination, not only race, but age, disability, sexuality and the myriad other ways that people have found to discriminate against each other.
“One way to combat discrimination is to ‘bring the outside in’, to listen to people whose voices are peripheral and to find ways of including them and bringing them to the centre of discussion,” she said.
As Australia’s Race Discrimination Commissioner, and convenor of the conference, I emphasised the importance for me of working in strategic partnership both to combat racism and racial discrimination and to build community harmony. I also stressed the importance of local action which suits local needs and which builds on local strengths.
Conference presentations can be accessed at www.humanrights.gov.au/racial_discrimination/beyond_tolerance/
