National Anti-Racism Framework

Abstract

The Concept Paper outlines the reasons why a national framework is needed.

The Commissioner states:

“A framework would outline a coordinated, shared vision to tackle racism and promote racial equality in Australia. It would be a statement of our commitment to tackling racism and our intention to protect and promote racial equality. The Framework would seek to not only guide work to address racism but also reflect our commitment to inclusion, equality and social cohesion. It would be an important step in building a common vision of the society we want to build.
It is time that we looked at the scourge of racism in the same way that we look at the scourge of domestic violence or child abuse. On those issues, we have in place longstanding national frameworks, signed onto by all governments in Australia with multi-year plans with priorities, backed up by measurement and evaluation.
Let me be clear: racism is a significant economic, social and national security threat to Australia. It is time we treated it as such.
We need a new approach to combatting racism – one that is more cohesive across government, that builds community partnerships to prevent racism from flourishing, and one that is smarter and more effective.
This paper sets out my initial thinking as Race Discrimination Commissioner of the key elements of a new approach to anti-racism for Australia.”