text: A South African writer has claimed Australia is more racist than her homeland - where segregation by skin colour used to be law. While she originally called South Africa home, Sisonke Msimang, 41, moved to Australia with her husband and children in the last few months. As a journalist and an activist, she has spent years writing about and commenting on human rights, race relations and government accountability in South Africa, including a stint working for the United Nations. However, upon relocating she said she's been faced with the realisation, that much like her native South Africa: ‘The deepest and most abiding forms of racism’ in Australia are directed toward our own indigenous population. 'A lot of the people I speak with say ‘I just treat you as a human, I don’t see race’ but they have to remember that people have different experiences because of their race everyday' ‘When I say something or someone is racist, it’s not meant to be the worst insult in the world, people really get their backs up and this has only made the conversation about race so immature,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'I think the racist element [in Australia] lies in the difficulty in grappling with past and present. There is a reluctance to admit and accept that this country, like the U.S. or Canada, has deep seeded race issues.' While protests about Islam infiltrating Australia have dominated the media, Ms Msimang said she started to recognise a systematic approach to 'assimilate’ and 'eradicate' Australia’s Indigenous heritage, simply by denying that Aboriginal Australian's have different needs to white Australians. 'A lot of the people I speak with say ‘I just treat you as a human, I don’t see race’ but they have to remember that people have different experiences because of their race everyday,' Ms Msimang told Daily Mail Australia. While protests about Islam infiltrating Australia have dominated the media, Ms Msimang said she started to recognise a systematic approach to 'assimilate’ and 'eradicate' Australia’s Indigenous heritage, simply by denying that Aboriginal Australian's have different needs than white Australians. ‘We are all committed to building a better Australia by talking about principals that we hold dear, one of which is the entitlement to a fair go, however at the same time people don't realise that people of colour don’t always have a fair go.' Ms Msimang said we can only reach level footing by recognising that difference isn't always a bad thing. She beleives while we continue to ‘treat everyone exactly the same’ we'll only further deny how race affects those with different values. In her article  Ms Msimang said the Australian government employed tactics of ‘trickery, disposition and violence’ that are ‘as ugly as you’ll find anywhere in the world’. ‘Aboriginal people are over-represented in the criminal justice system, and have health and educational outcomes that – if they were taken alone – would make Australia look like a developing country,’ she wrote. Ms Msimang slammed Prime Minster Tony Abbott for his 'out of touch' comments that claim Australia could no longer ‘subsidize lifestyle choices if those lifestyle choices are not conducive to the kind of full participation in Australian society that everyone should have.’ She condemned the federal government’s plans to cut funding for ‘remote’ communities in June this year that could lead to the closure of around 150 rural communities predominately populated by Aboriginals. Ms Msimang slammed Prime Minster Tony Abbott for his 'out of touch' comments that claim Australia could no longer ‘subsidize lifestyle choices if those lifestyle choices are not conducive to the kind of full participation in Australian society that everyone should have.’ ‘Tony Abbott is the poster child for foot in mouth and it’s not really surprising that he would make a racist statement and not apologise for it,’ Ms Mismang told Daily Mail Australia. She said Aboriginal people don't make a 'lifestyle choice' to live on the land, instead, it's their connection with country that's meant they've stayed there and the fact that such plans could be even contemplated speaks to a ‘far larger problems in this country.’ In Ms Msimang’s eyes, forcing Indigenous communities who have an innate ‘connection to country’ to leave their homes and ‘assimilate’ into normal ‘civilised’ society mirrors our gruesome history where children were systematically torn from their families and ‘taught the ways of white society.’ In Ms Mismng’s eyes, forcing Indigenous communities who have an innate ‘connection to country’ to leave their homes and ‘assimilate’ into normal ‘civilised’ society mirrors our gruesome history where children were systematically torn from their families and ‘taught the ways of white society.’ ‘Right now the conversation in Australia exists in the past which only allows people to say ‘oh, they need to get over it, we used to be racist but we aren’t anymore' While Ms Msimng made note that these ‘startling’ practices are all too similar to those implemented during South Africa’s apartheid, she maintains South Africa has started to move forward by recognising race difference where Australia continues to deny the issue. ‘Right now the conversation in Australia exists in the past which only allows people to say ‘'oh, they need to get over it, we used to be racist but we aren’t anymore'',' she said. Ms Msimng thinks we need to start thinking about reconciliation in a more 'balanced' way that accurately recognises history and difference. ‘In my country it is incredible how far admission of guilt has gotten people. For many, the beginning of building better race relations is saying ‘yes I have benefited from a system that has been really crappy for you and your people'.’ Black South Africans are pictured burning the passbooks they were forced to carry which stopped them accessing white only areas during the apartheid . ‘The issue for aboriginal people is that they're still such a minority and that makes it hard for them to define the terms of the conversation.’ She said Australian's need to ‘lance the wound’ so they can have conversations based on honesty rather than 'fake kindness’ ‘Australian’s are the nicest racists I have ever met but you have to realise we [black people] are not going to break if we start to have real conversations about difference. In fact, it will only make us stronger.’ South Africa’s apartheid illustrates a dark history of  institutionalised racial discrimination that was enforced between 1948 and 1994. The controversial race laws touched on every major aspect of life including, prohibition of marriage between non-whites and whites, the sanctioning of ‘white only’ areas, the banning of political protest and the classification of all South Africans as either white, black or mixed. All coloured people were required to carry ‘passbooks’ that contained a photo, fingerprints and information on accessing ‘non-white’ areas. Non-compliance with race laws were dealt with harshly including fines, whipping and imprisonment. Notably in 1960, a large group of South Africans refused to carry their passes and the government responded by declaring a state of emergency that lasted for 156 days, leaving 69 dead and 187 wounded. ‘Australian’s are the nicest racists I have ever met but you have to realise we [black people] are not going to break if we start to have real conversations about difference. In fact, it will only make us stronger.’
target: Writer Sisonke Msimang said Australians are being racist by denying there are no differences between races .
  Msimang slammed Tony Abbott for cutting funds to remote communities .
  Many of these communities comprise Indigenous Australians .
  She compared treatment of Aboriginal people to South Africa's apartheid .
  She thinks Australians need to recognise and celebrate difference rather than deny its existence.