Grievance Debate

Racism

Mr WILLIAMS (MacKillop) (15:05): Today I want to talk about racism. I am doing this because I am disturbed by evidence which suggests that some, although enthusiastic to pay lip service to the anti-racism cause or embrace campaigns designed to foster and promote harmony, fail to stand up when it really counts. It seems that some people would wish that others see them as being devoutly anti-racist, but their actions belie such desires. Apparently, internally, they just do not believe their own rhetoric. They fail to rationalise and master their own thoughts and standards, failing to see the hurt and damage that they both cause and perpetuate.

If we truly want to stamp out racist behaviour in our multicultural society, it is not enough to merely state, 'I'm against it.' It is not enough to stand shoulder to shoulder making pledges. The true test is when our belief and our commitment are such that we are prepared to stand even as an individual and denounce racist actions whenever we see them, to look the perpetrators in the eye and to tell them that their actions are insidious, hurtful and wrong, that they should not only desist but it would help if they showed true contrition and remorse for the pain and suffering inflicted on others and, importantly, recognise that their actions gives succour to others perpetuating this scourge. The Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission as far back as 1998 used the following definition:

Racism is an ideology that gives expression to myths about other racial and ethnic groups, that devalues and renders inferior those groups, that reflects and is perpetuated by deeply rooted historical, social, cultural and power inequalities in society.

This is a comprehensive definition, but the essential elements are that racism exists because members of one ethnic group harbour and promote misconceptions or myths about the culture of another, and the manifestation involves the denigration of individuals and groups based on such beliefs. Generally, racism is designed to undermine the character of the target by referring to their ethnicity, invoking a negative response based upon the aforementioned misconceptions and myths.

Of course, we saw this very tactic utilised in the last state election campaign in the seat of Elder. The Labor Party stands alone in its claim that there was no racist intent in material distributed in its name. Every political commentator reviewing that campaign has refuted those pathetic claims. As such, South Australian Labor stands condemned for its actions and from top to bottom remains condemned for its lack of acknowledgement or apology since.

Many of us witnessed the incident involving Sydney Swans player Adam Goodes and a spectator during an AFL match last year. Some may have thought that Goodes and the AFL overreacted. I say they did not. If we are to live in a society where this behaviour does not happen, where it is not even contemplated, then we must be prepared to stand up and decry it whenever we see such an offence. Failure to do this is to condone it. In that case, we forgave the 13-year-old girl, principally because of her age, but the incident I am sure has had a positive benefit in the war against racism. Society has not moved on but moved forward from that particular incident.

In the case of SA Labor, we certainly have not moved forward and there is no appetite for forgiveness as there are no mitigating circumstances. The campaign against the ethnicity of Caroline Habib was both premeditated and calculated. It was designed to delve into the darkest and most sinister corners of minds and to prey upon ignorance, and it was conceived in order to benefit Labor, irrespective of its impact on a minority or its action of perpetuating such insidious behaviour—indeed, in spite of these outcomes.

The racist campaign, as reprehensible as it was, has been exacerbated by Labor's ongoing failure to address its wrongdoing. This has now been further compounded by Labor's collective action of censuring those whose conscience demands that they stand up. Failure to stand up to racism is akin to condoning racism. Censuring those who do stand up is akin to supporting racism. Sir, the ends of racist behaviour are never justified.