Rowan Holzberger (Forde, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise on the 50th anniversary of the Racial Discrimination Act and think that it's a reflection really on how far we've come as a country that it's been 50 years since it was put in place. I know from growing up with a name like Holzberger that, even though I might like look like a lot of the kids that I grew up with, just having a name can invite ridicule, teasing and bullying. And while I guess I took it, in most cases, with the sort of humour with which it was intended, it didn't feel great and it did make me feel excluded. I can just begin to imagine what it must feel like for people in the community who might have a different accent or different skin colour.

The brutality of that reality for people means that there is a role for government when it comes to passing laws on that. So I think this was something, 50 years ago, that really shows that even though we've come a long way there's still a lot to do. It reminds us that 50 years ago Australia was really coming out of that White Australia policy. And it's remarkable to think that I, now at the age of 52, was born so close to that period in time. It's been a great thing for Australia.

Before I conclude, I've got to say that the one thing I never thought I would appreciate so much as a federal member of parliament is going around to school assemblies, particularly primary school assemblies, in Forde, a very multicultural electorate. Seeing all those little kids with different coloured faces and different shaped faces all looking up and singing the national anthem has got to be the most moving thing I have experienced as a federal member of parliament. Multicultural society makes us stronger and all the better for it.

Gabriel Ng (Menzies, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to recognise that it has been 50 years since the introduction of the Racial Discrimination Act, Australia's first antidiscrimination law. For most in this place there would now be broad agreement that we need laws to prevent racial discrimination. However, the Racial Discrimination Act is like many progressive reforms that are now such fundamental parts of Australian society that they are sometimes taken for granted. Reforms like Medicare and superannuation required sustained effort and a deep commitment to principle to get the legislation passed—the kind of effort and principle that only Labor governments show, in this case the Whitlam Labor government. Like other important Labor government reforms, it was opposed by the then Liberal Country Party coalition. And, like other important Labor government reforms, it has required us to show that same effort and commitment to principle to protect it from attacks from the coalition to weaken and undermine it.

The act codified into Australian law our international obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, ratified in September 1975 by Australia. It showed a commitment to international law, to our international obligations to being responsible members of the international community that continues to this day. The act made racial discrimination unlawful in Australia through federal legislation. This historic legislation came only two years after the Whitlam government abolished the final vestiges of the White Australia policy.

The coalition's shadow Attorney-General, on speaking in the second reading debate, stated—with a myopia that mirrors that of the current federal Liberal Party—that 'we in Australia have been singularly free of racial discrimination'. Sadly, that wasn't true then and it isn't true now. There is still racism of both the overt and the covert kind. The Racial Discrimination Act is just one tool to combat it, but it is a crucial one.

Going to the specifics of the act, it includes a general provision making racial discrimination unlawful as well as specific protections to prevent discrimination in areas including employment, the provision of goods, housing and access to public places. This means that when someone goes to purchase a product in a store or to visit a restaurant or tries to access services like their local GP they must be treated the same, regardless of their race, ethnicity or national background. When someone applies for a job or a promotion or asks for leave, they will not face discrimination, under the provisions of this act.

But the act goes further, preventing indirect discrimination, where a person requires another to comply with a term or condition that is not reasonable and that requirement is discriminatory. It goes to that fundamental principle of the rule of law—that all people are equal under the law. Not surprisingly, the act has a significant legacy. It influenced the states and territories to legislate their own antidiscrimination laws. Section 10 of the act, which provides for rights and equality before the law, influenced the decision in Mabo v Queensland (No. 1) to invalidate legislation which would have retrospectively abolished native title rights. Of course, the subsequent decision in Mabo (No. 2) rejected the fiction of terra nullius in Australian law. But most importantly the act made clear to the community, to employers, to businesses and to services that they must treat people the same, regardless of race, and that, where this doesn't occur, there will be consequences.

Vital to the administration of the act is the Australian Human Rights Commission, who are responsible for receiving complaints and attempting to mediate them. The most common type of complaint received are those related to discrimination in the provision of goods and services, followed by discrimination in employment. The AHRC also play a vital role in educating the community about their obligations under the act as well as implementing the national antiracism strategy, commissioned by the Albanese Labor government in 2022.

It is not just the AHRC that plays that vital role of combatting racism within society. There are also many organisations within my electorate of Menzies that play this vital role. We have the Migrant Information Centre in Box Hill, which supports migrants and refugees to settle in the community, links them with essential services, informs them of their rights and their responsibilities as members of the community, and holds a number of functions reaching out to the broader community. We have AMES, who deliver the Adult Migrant English Program to ensure that recent migrants have a level of English that allows them to communicate with businesses and employers and helps them settle successfully in Australia. But our local schools, kindergartens, childcare centres and businesses all play a role in combatting racism.

I'm lucky enough to visit a lot of schools around my electorate, and I know that they all have strong antiracism strategies so that all the children from diverse backgrounds should, as much as possible, feel safe attending school, knowing that they won't face racism or discrimination. Menzies has a higher-than-average proportion of people born overseas and a higher-than-average proportion of people who speak a language other than English at home, and it's really important that all of our services, especially those that support young people, are sending that message that racism is not acceptable under any circumstances.

We also have some great local festivals that play an important role in building bridges and celebrating and sharing cultures in our local community. On the weekend just past, I was lucky to attend the Persian Fair at Box Hill Town Hall, which was organised by the House of Persia and the Australian Iranian Society of Victoria. I was fortunate to be able to watch their amazing performances with dancing and music. The food was really incredible as well, and I was very grateful to the community for being so welcoming but also for providing the opportunity for members of the wider community to experience the richness and the colour of Iranian culture.

Next year we will have the Box Hill Chinese New Year Festival, which is one of the highlights of our local calendar and one of the biggest Chinese New Year festivals in Melbourne. It attracts over 100,000 people, and it's a real staple of our calendar. I was proud to advocate and secure an election commitment of $150,000 to support the Box Hill Chinese New Year Festival. We will also be holding the inaugural Manningham Chinese New Year Festival. It was held for the first time last year and was a huge success. I'm looking forward to seeing it back in the northern part of my electorate next year and seeing how it benefits our local traders around Jackson Court and in Doncaster East. We have been able to support that as well with a federal election commitment of $50,000. Both of those events are run by the Asian Business Association of Whitehorse. We're very active in our community in running these local festivals and advocating for small businesses.

In 1995 the Racial Discrimination Act was strengthened by the Keating Labor government, following a number of inquiries into racist violence in Australia as well as in response to a recommendation of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. One of the more debated amendments to the act is section 18C, which provides that 'it is unlawful for a person to do an act, otherwise than in private, if the act is reasonably likely to offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate another person or a group of people' due to their race. Now, there are some in this place, some on the opposite side, who believe that people have a right to be bigots. That is something we in the Labor Party will never support.

The Racial Discrimination Act is more important than ever. As much as we would like to believe that the arc of justice bends towards history, this is not something we can take for granted. Anti-immigration rallies organised by neo-Nazis have been held in our major cities; foreign narratives and conspiracy theories spread on social media erode our trust in democracy; and conflicts abroad have tested our social cohesion here.

The Labor Party will always stand up for modern multicultural Australia. We are the party that enacted the Racial Discrimination Act, we are the party that acted to address apartheid and we are the party that will always back modern multicultural Australia.

Ash Ambihaipahar (Barton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I rise to acknowledge and honour the 50th anniversary of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975.

A division having been called in the House of Representatives—

Sitting suspended from 16:22 to 16:46

This is one of the most profound legislative markers in Australia's modern story and a law that has shaped the lived experience of millions, including families like mine and communities like Barton. The passage of the Racial Discrimination Act was not just a legal reform. It was Australia declaring formally and finally that equality before the law is not optional, not conditional, not aspirational, but fundamental. Half a century on, we recognise that this act continues to be a pillar of our democracy, our social cohesion and our identity as a nation that believes in fairness.

When I delivered my first speech in this place, I spoke about the journey of my life. So many migrants arrived here with hope, humility and a fierce determination to build a much better life. I spoke about growing up in my electorate, about the pride I feel in my Sri Lankan and Papua New Guinean heritage—raised by a Maltese and Italian family—and about the pride I feel being Australian. I spoke about the lessons of my late grandfather, a man who taught me that service, kindness and dignity are the measure of a life well lived.

What I did not get the chance to say, but wish to say today, is that their lives and mine would have been very different if not for the Racial Discrimination Act. When the Racial Discrimination Act passed this parliament in 1975, it did something incredibly simple yet profoundly transformative. It recognised that everyone in this country is entitled to the same respect, the same safety and the same dignity, regardless of race or background. That principle sits at the heart of the electorate of Barton.

Barton is one of the most multicultural communities in the nation. Our residents come from every continent, every faith tradition and every culture, and we are stronger because of this. I'm proud to represent a community where diversity is not just tolerated or accepted but absolutely celebrated as our greatest asset. But the truth is that, for many decades in this country, people of colour, First Nations people and multicultural communities faced systemic discrimination. It occurred in housing, in employment, in education and in access to services. Many still face it today.

The Racial Discrimination Act was a promise to all of those communities that the law would stand with them, not against them. It was a promise that the lapses of our past—including the White Australia policy, exclusionary practices and harmful sways—would not define our future. It is a promise that we must continue to uphold. Over the last 50 years this act has changed lives. It has empowered people who face discrimination to seek justice. It has shaped policies and behaviours across both public and private sectors. It has strengthened multiculturalism as a core Australian value. It has shown generations, including mine, that belonging is not something you must earn at the expense of your identity. Belonging is a right.

In Barton I see the legacy of this legislation every single day. I see it in the confidence of young people who grow up speaking two or three languages at home. I see it in the parents who know their children will be judged on their character, not the colour of their skin. I see it in the friendships, in the local businesses, in community organisations and in faith groups that together form the social fabric of our community.

But anniversaries are not only moments of celebration; they are moments of reflection, because the work of the Racial Discrimination Act is not finished. It cannot be finished while racism, in any form, still exists in this country. We know it persists. We see it in the rise of online abuse. We see it in misinformation campaigns targeting migrant communities. We see it in casual racism that still sits beneath the surface of national conversations. We see it in the prejudice experienced by our First Nations people, whose rights and voices must never be ignored. We see it in humiliating behaviour, particularly this week from Senator Hanson in the Senate, who's clearly said she has no respect for the people in this House, let alone the people of Islamic faith. We also see it in new forms, including algorithmic bias, discrimination in AI and inequalities in data and technology. These are challenges the original drafters of this act could never have imagined, yet they now fall on us to confront. It is our responsibility, as parliamentarians and as Australian citizens, to ensure the Racial Discrimination Act continues to evolve so it remains powerful and relevant for the next 50 years.

As someone who has worked closely with communities through the St Vincent de Paul Society, I've seen the way discrimination, even subtle or systemic, compounds disadvantage. It limits pathways to employment. It affects health outcomes. It creates social isolation. It sends a message that some people are less valued. We are not simply recognising a historical achievement. We are recommitting ourselves to the vision of a nation where equality is real and not rhetorical.

The founding words of the act are as relevant as they were in 1975. They say that racial discrimination is unlawful in any area of life. Those words must continue to guide us, especially in the era of global uncertainty, rising extremism and economic pressure. History has shown that in times of hardship, racism can resurface. It can be used by those who seek division. It can weaken the social cohesion that all Australians rely on. As leaders, it is our duty to push back clearly and firmly.

In my first speech I spoke about the privilege of being the daughter and granddaughter of people who sacrificed so much so that I could stand in this Chamber. I spoke about representing a community that embodies the best of multicultural Australia. I spoke about the responsibility I feel to fight for fairness, for justice and for the dignity of every person in Barton. Those convictions are strengthened by the legacy of the Racial Discrimination Act. As we mark the 50th anniversary, let us pay tribute to the lawmakers who passed it, the activists who demanded it and the communities who needed it. But let us also honour the next 50 years, the generations who will depend on us to defend it.

The fight against racism is not a moment; it is absolutely a movement. It's not a single law; it is a lifelong effort. It's not the work of one parliament; it is the work of an entire nation that believes in fairness. Australia is at its best when we treat every person with respect. Australia is at its strongest when we cherish our diversity as a source of pride. Australia is at its most united when we stand up clearly and courageously against racism in all forms.

The Racial Discrimination Act gave us the foundation. It is our task to build the future. On behalf of the people of Barton, a community shaped by migration and strengthened by diversity, I am proud to stand today to honour the 50th anniversary of this landmark legislation.

Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I congratulate the member for Barton for putting it so eloquently and so well. It's just great to see some of these young people that are here today in our parliament. When I compare it to the parliament that I joined in 2004 and the faces all around us, how it's changed and how it's changed for the better is just incredible. When I see members like the member for Barton, it gives me great joy that we are finally coming of age in this parliament. We still have a long way to go, but we're just coming to that point where we are truly a reflection of our communities. It's so important to ensure that we honour and celebrate those things—just as it's important to honour and celebrate milestones in our political history, such as the 50th anniversary of the Racial Discrimination Act.

The Racial Discrimination Act was the cornerstone of our modern-day society in ensuring that everyone was treated equal under the law, even though that was the case under our Constitution. This value-added to the significant pieces of legislation in Australia's history. It was a cornerstone of our journey towards becoming a truly multicultural nation but also a truly egalitarian nation. This landmark act came into effect on Friday 31 October 1975, under the Whitlam Labor government. It was the first legislation of its kind in Australia to focus squarely on human rights and to prohibit discrimination on the basis of race. So what did that mean? It meant that, even though we had a Constitution that looked at all of us equally and fairly—unless you were of Aboriginal descent, of course; we know that it took many years to come up to the mark there, and we still have a long way to go. But what this meant was that under the law you could not be vilified on the basis of race. It embodied a principle that has long been part of our Australian spirit.

The Racial Discrimination Act gave life to Australia's commitment under the UN International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. It signalled a new direction for our nation—a future built on acceptance, inclusion and respect for all cultures. This legislation protects people across Australia from unfair treatment based on race, colour, descent, national or ethnic origin in many areas of public life. It also ensures equal footing and preserves fundamental freedoms. It goes further by prohibiting insults, humiliation and vilification—actions that deny basic human rights. In short, it guarantees equal enjoyment and exercise of those rights for all Australians.

We've seen some pretty horrific things on our TV news and other media on national days such as Anzac Day and just recently, a couple of weeks ago, on Remembrance Day. There are certain groups that take great enjoyment in vilifying people and ensuring that people are made to feel lesser than all of us. Those are areas where governments and police et cetera can take action because of this particular act. If you removed this act from 50 years ago, there would not be much action that you could take against groups like that. So it is squarely one of our fundamental laws in this country that ensures that equality that I spoke about and the rights of everyone to coexist in a respectful way.

At the heart of the act is section 18C, which provides protection against racial vilification. Alongside it is section 18D, which offers exemptions for actions done in good faith, such as artistic works, research et cetera.

The pathway to getting this act through wasn't easy. It is testament to the determination and grit of then senator Lionel Murphy, as Attorney-General, who introduced the bill into the Senate not once but three times. Three times it was introduced, and it was rejected—voted against—all three times. It's something just mind boggling, if you think about it today, that a racial discrimination act to ensure that everyone's rights are protected had people in this place voting against it.

The debate was divided. But the Whitlam government understood that the bill was more than just another bill or more than just law; it was about social change. We see the fruits of that social change today. Attorney-General Kep Enderby said at the time:

… the Bill will perform an important educative role. In addition, the introduction of legislation will furnish legal background on which to rest changes reflecting basic community attitudes. The fact that racial discrimination is unlawful will make it easier for people to resist social pressures that result in discrimination.

Australian laws exist to express the values of a civilised society. The Whitlam government reflected the future of where we are today and the current values of Australia: a multicultural country that embraces diversity and is proud of it.

When I think of our diggers that died in World War I, in Gallipoli, and right through World War II, and I think of the many theatres of war that we've engaged in—Afghanistan, Vietnam—it's all about the individual freedom, the ability to be free in a nation with a vibrant democracy, where everyone is treated equally regardless of race, religion, the colour of their skin et cetera.

Going back to part 18C, which forms a very important part of this act, it hasn't been without its challenges. Section 18C, the core protection against racial vilification, came under threat not that long ago. In 2016—or maybe it was 2014—the then Attorney-General of the coalition government introduced and argued for a bill proposing the repeal of 18C. It would have basically meant people would have had the right to be bigots, if that had gone through back then.

How could we allow that? How could we permit open racism and discrimination to creep back into our society? Imagine if that bill had passed. Australia would not be the country it is today. Migrant families could have been relegated to a second-class citizenship and denied the fair life that they deserved. I've made this statement in this place a couple of times that, if you think back to when we were negotiating mass migration in the late 1940s, there was a mindset in this place before the bills went through that enabled us to bring migrants in to fill labour shortages and basically 'populate or perish'. The argument was that migrant workers should be paid less than Australian workers. That was the argument that was taking place in this chamber back then. Thank God the unions and the Labor Party relentlessly disagreed to it. Can you imagine what sort country that Australia would be today had that gone through?

So you need people with foresight like Mr Whitlam and Lionel Bowen to ensure we put acts into place that preserve those rights, preserve dignity and preserve an equal society that ensures everyone is treated fairly, which is in our Constitution. But you also have to insure against that ability of vilification to creep in. It could creep in slowly but gradually and then become a mass vilification, and we could have an entire upheaval of our society. So that's why this law from 50 years ago that we're discussing today is worth celebrating. And it's worth honouring, because it's laws like this that give the direction of the country. They change the country and benefit future generations, as we see today in our wonderful multicultural Australia that actually treats everyone fairly. We have good laws in place. Regardless of your religion, your ethnicity and your place of birth, we ensure that people are treated equally with the same opportunity and can have the same hopes for future that everyone has.