We are having a debate now around the Racial Discrimination Act. We have MPs, in this place,
who want to dilute protections against racial discrimination, who want to give the green
light to hate speech, who want to legitimise views that were previously unthinkable.
When our nation's leaders say such abhorrent things as one group of people should never
have come to Australia, we create fear and division within our community. It is no wonder
that so many people within our community are now experiencing targeted attacks on the basis
of the colour of their skin or the god that they pray to.
It is critical now, at this time more than ever, that we remind ourselves that the words
uttered in this place have an impact, that they sting, that they can cut very deeply,
that they can shape the lived experiences of those people who are suffering through
racism. We are not talking about isolated racism, we are talking about ongoing institutional,
systemic, ideological attacks on people. Let us recognise that at the heart of this is
Islamophobia. I want to tell you about an exceptionally
intelligent and articulate young woman who shared her experiences of Islamophobia with
me. Sadly, her experiences are not unique. We in these privileged positions need to understand
the cause of racism and the level of racism that members of our community are experiencing
every day. This young woman was born and raised in Melbourne. She went to a local primary
school and then to a private girls school. She was 11 years old when 9/11 happened. As
an 11-year-old she said she had no idea that an event on the other side of the world, that
had nothing to do with her, would turn her world upside down. The bullying began from
that day. As an 11-year-old child she was isolated from her friends. She remembers being
ridiculed by peers about her faith. She remembers that overwhelming feeling of fear and sadness
as a child, knowing that things were going to be different for her forever.
She went on to study engineering at university. A few days into her first job as an engineer
she was making a cup of coffee, at her new workplace, when an older colleague came into
the kitchen and told her that Arabs suck. She was confused because she herself was not
an Arab. The abuse continued. A tirade finished with, 'You're all going to be wiped off this
earth in a few years, and I'll be the one to make sure of it.' The young woman returned
to her desk. She cried, wondering how she would ever fit into a workplace or indeed
into a country where this was acceptable office banter.
This is the experience of a 27-year-old woman living in Australia today, and it is not unique.
These stories are occurring all around the country. This country is her home and our
challenge is to make sure that she feels at home here.
I want to ensure that we have a swift return to that inclusive society where we celebrate
and cherish our diversity, where we recognise that our diversity is our strength, and where
we recognise that people from all around the world have made us a stronger, better, richer
country. But to do this those of us in privileged positions have to condemn hateful speech,
not condone it and not legitimise it. We have to condemn it whether it is on the street,
in the workplace or even here in the parliament. We must always take a stand.
For multiculturalism to work, it requires effort, it requires commitment and it requires
those of us in positions of leadership to ensure that we take a stand against those
hateful voices in our community who would choose to divide us. It is for that reason
that I will continue to share people's experience of racism here in Australia to help those
members of our community understand that their words matter. In the face of attacks against
those communities that have made Australia such a wonderful multicultural nation, we
Greens say to those communities, 'We stand with you'.