There has long been reluctance in dealing with racism in a forthright manner. Some fear that being too direct on matters of racism may have a counter-productive effect, by alienating people or by creating unnecessary division. such a narrative often comes from good intentions, it is also misguided. It can be used to stymie or divert anti-racism. There have been many examples within organisations where conversations begin as being concerned with responding to racism, only to be redefined as conversations about celebrating diversity often with the effect of deflating – people who wanted to do something about racism. If are divisions around the issue of racism, they are not fundamentally caused by the response to racism. The real division is generated by racism itself. There is no equivalence between racism and anti-racism. Within society or within communities or organisations – – if people are committed to treating people fairly and with equal dignity, they should be prepared to reject racism. Guided by these three principles, we highlight the potential for future anti-racism work in the following areas. Public consultation on racism The original development of the National Anti-Racism Strategy involved a major community consultation undertaken by the Commission over six months in 2012, which generated insights into the lived experience of racism in Australia. Since then, the Commission through the Race Discrimination Commissioner has conducted an – – additional national consultation process on racism during February-April 2015, as part of activities to mark the 40th anniversary of the Racial Discrimination Act. It be timely to conduct another public consultation on racism. The social and political climate in Australia has changed in material ways since 2015, as noted in section 2. It is crucial that any future anti-racism work responds to these social and political changes. Anti-racism coordination The Commission is in the process of creating an online platform to connect Racism. It With Me supporters. The platform will allow supporters to directly collaborate and share information, events and recommendations with each other and the Commission. It will also help to increase supporter engagement with the campaign and campaign activities. The National Anti-Racism Strategy has benefited from the contributions of the Partnership group since 2012. Over that time, the composition of the Partnership has expanded, reflecting an acknowledgement that civil society and government departments and agencies can lend expertise in particular areas.
There has long been reluctance in dealing with racism in a forthright manner. Some fear that being too direct on matters of racism may have a counter-productive effect, by alienating people or by creating unnecessary division. such a narrative often comes from good intentions, it is also misguided. It can be used to stymie or divert anti-racism. There have been many examples within organisations where conversations begin as being concerned with responding to racism, only to be redefined as conversations about celebrating diversity – often with the effect of deflating people who wanted to do something about racism. If are divisions around the issue of racism, they are not fundamentally caused by the response to racism. The real division is generated by racism itself. There is no equivalence between racism and anti-racism. Within society – or within communities or organisations – if people are committed to treating people fairly and with equal dignity, they should be prepared to reject racism. Guided by these three principles, we highlight the potential for future anti-racism work in the following areas. Public consultation on racism The original development of the National Anti-Racism Strategy involved a major community consultation undertaken by the Commission over six months in 2012, which generated insights into the lived experience of racism in Australia. Since then, the Commission – through the Race Discrimination Commissioner – has conducted an additional national consultation process on racism during February-April 2015, as part of activities to mark the 40th anniversary of the Racial Discrimination Act. It be timely to conduct another public consultation on racism. The social and political climate in Australia has changed in material ways since 2015, as noted in section 2. It is crucial that any future anti-racism work responds to these social and political changes. Anti-racism coordination The Commission is in the process of creating an online platform to connect Racism. It With Me supporters. The platform will allow supporters to directly collaborate and share information, events and recommendations with each other and the Commission. It will also help to increase supporter engagement with the campaign and campaign activities. The National Anti-Racism Strategy has benefited from the contributions of the Partnership group since 2012. Over that time, the composition of the Partnership has expanded, reflecting an acknowledgement that civil society and government departments and agencies can lend expertise in particular areas.
NARPS_2018_FINAL.DOCX