Brisbane Archdiocese is calling on the federal parliament to take action, stating that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia feel less safe than they did three years ago. Source: The Catholic Leader.
Brisbane Archdiocese made a submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Inquiry into racism, hate and violence directed at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
The archdiocese argued that racism directed at First Nations people was “structural, daily, embedded in public life” and had worsened since the 2023 Voice to Parliament referendum.
It called for stronger anti-racism laws, safer reporting pathways, effective online regulation, hate crime capability, serious investment in education, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led truth-telling and service delivery.
The submission drew on the views of Elders, leaders, staff, students and community members who described racism “as the accumulated texture of daily life”.
The Elders spoke of decades documenting the structural racism shaping their lives.
Students described the same patterns in their schools, online, and in the public spaces they move through every day.
The harms were being lived by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people, in the same forms their grandparents had been describing for 50 years, the submission said.
Racial abuse is also experienced by young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people online.
The archdiocese called for a national Makarrata Commission which would be consistent with the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
“National legislation and independent governance are necessary to provide the security required for genuine truth-telling,” the submission said.
The archdiocese recommends a “stronger anti-racism law” and including a “positive duty” in the Racial Discrimination Act to require organisations to prevent racism before it occurs.
It is also calling for amendments to the Online Safety Act 2021 empowering the eSafety Commissioner to act on group-based hate speech, not just when directed at an individual.
The archdiocese acknowledged the Church’s own “deeply-mixed legacy” in Australia and its participation in the policies that produced the Stolen Generations.
The archdiocese has committed to its own Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan, which includes commitments around staffing, cultural safety, advocacy and partnership with First Nations communities.
FULL STORY
Brisbane archdiocese calls for action as racism against First Peoples worsens online (By Kymberlee Gomes, The Catholic Leader)
