‘To be an inclusive society, we need an embedded national strategy to combat systemic racism’, says Commissioner Sivaraman

Race Discrimination Commissioner Giridharan Sivaraman has welcomed the release of the Multicultural Framework Review by the Federal Government, calling it a significant step towards the greater recognition of the rights of racially marginalised Australians.

“For years, people of racially marginalised backgrounds have been calling for a greater say in the policies that affect them and shape their lives,” Commissioner Sivaraman said.

“We agree that listening to and including the voices of hardly-reached communities in policy-making should be a priority. The Multicultural Framework Review is a necessary first step to help dismantle systemic racist practices that restrict the rights of so many in our country.”

Minister for Immigration Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs ​the Hon. Andrew Giles MP, said “I often reflect on the fact that when the post-war immigration program began just after World War Two, Australia was a country of seven million people, 90 per cent of them of British and Irish descent. It was institutionally racist through its formal embrace of the White Australia policy.

“Today, we welcome people from all over the world, and invite them to become citizens and enrich our society and nation, as 7.5 million migrants in the past 75 years have done before them​.

No other country has achieved such a transformation so peacefully, and in the space of an average life span. This is what my ministerial colleague, Chris Bowen, once called “the genius of Australian multiculturalism.”

The Multicultural Framework Review challenges standard perceptions that the home of multiculturalism lies in the suburbs of our big cities by pointing to the increasing cultural diversity of regional, rural and remote Australia.

It finds that successful multiculturalism starts with greater understanding and celebration of First Nations peoples, who for at least 65,000 years have sustained many cultures on this continent, and built trade and cultural connections between groups and with neighbouring peoples in Asia and the Pacific.

It calls on governments and all citizens to actively combat racism, which is still experienced by far too many Australians. Of the top ten themes identified in submissions to the Review, second on the list were experiences of discrimination and racism.

Commissioner Sivaraman said many of the recommendations are aligned with the Commission’s work in developing a National Anti-Racism Framework, which is a comprehensive and coordinated approach against racism for the whole of society. That includes governments, business, schools, and the wider community. 

“If Australia wants to live up to its dream of being an inclusive society that truly embraces its diversity, we need an embedded national strategy to combatting systemic racism,” emphasised Commissioner Sivaraman. 

The Commission’s National Anti-Racism Framework for Australia is set to be delivered to the Federal Government before the end of the year. 

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