Recently many Australians have expressed concern about the growing tensions in the community arising from issues such as how we treat refugees and asylum seekers, our involvement in the war against terrorism and the unresolved question of reconciliation between Indigenous and non Indigenous Australians. These concerns all seem to have a common point – how do we as a community, as a nation, approach and resolve issues that require an understanding and acceptance of diverse cultural values and lifestyles?
In 2001 the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission conducted a series of community consultations listening to the concerns of Australians across the country.
The Commission sought to engage communities in a dialogue about racism – the extent to which it exists and measures to overcome it. The responses and comments received indicate an overwhelming sense that racism is widespread, systemic and practised throughout all levels of society. As one Indigenous woman said during one of the consultations, “We just live with racism everyday. It’s like getting up, washing your face and having a cup of tea.”
This is the context for the Commission’s national conference on racism to be held on 12 and 13 March at the Sydney Opera House. As well as offering a timely opportunity for the reflection and evaluation of Australian race relations, the conference will launch the process for drawing up a national plan of action to combat racism.
The Acting Race Discrimination Commissioner, Dr William Jonas, hopes to deliver to government a National Action Plan to Combat Racism, developed jointly with all sectors of Australian society, by mid 2003.
For further information on this conference, contact Janis Constable on (02) 9284 9785.
