Australia’s social fabric is fraying as it grapples with worsening racism, anti-Semitism and other challenges that are undermining citizens’ basic dignity.
That’s the view of Australian Human Rights Commission president Hugh de Kretser, who also called out politicians stoking social division as he launched the nation’s first annual assessment in Canberra on Wednesday.
The landmark evaluation is drawn from United Nations reviews of Australia’s performance against human rights benchmarks, as well as local and global data sources, the commission said.
Among the findings was what Mr de Kretser described as a sharp rise in racism against several groups.
“For First Peoples it rose with the failed Voice referendum,” he said.
“For Jewish, Muslim, Arab, Palestinian and Israeli communities in Australia it surged after the October 7 attack and the war in Gaza.
“We must not allow racism to be normalised.
“We must not accept Jewish children attending schools, which have to be protected by armed guards, and we must not accept Muslim women being spat at and abused when they go shopping.
“We must not accept First Peoples parents fearing their children and grandchildren will be harmed by the police and justice systems meant to protect them.”
The assessment also documented rising anti-immigrant sentiment, stating that migrants were being scapegoated for cost-of-living issues.
Asked whether politicians, such as Opposition Leader Angus Taylor, were responsible for this, Mr de Kretser urged caution.
“Our leaders have a responsibility to choose their words really carefully,” he said.
“You can’t – on the one hand – say you’re worried about social division and social cohesion, and on the other hand stoke it.”
Mr de Kretser said racism “left unchecked can lead to violence”, drawing a link to December’s deadly Bondi shooting and January’s attempted bomb attack in Perth.
The everyday racism experienced by many Australians is detailed in the AHRC’s “Seen and Heard” report, published earlier in April.
The report detailed shocking everyday experiences of Australians being abused, including a Jewish community member being called a “baby-killer” and Islamic Australians questioning whether they can call their country home.
Mr de Kretser used his platform at the National Press Club to again call for the federal government to adopt the commission’s national anti-racism framework.
That framework – funded by Anthony Albanese’s government and backed by the special envoys against anti-Semitism and Islamophobia – is yet to be implemented.
It has also failed to pick up the commission’s signature reform call for a federal human rights act.
Australia is the only developed democracy without a charter or bill of rights.
Attorney-General Michelle Rowland has been “carefully considering” a human rights act since a cross-party parliamentary committee recommended it in May 2024.
The inaugural assessment also delved into issues of economic justice, equality and fairness, declaring poverty and homelessness as “urgent human rights issues” deserving of national plans.
Mr de Kretser called out “populist, blunt and harmful law and order policies” which led to the incarceration of children.
“Mandatory sentencing, sentencing children as adults … these are lazy non-solutions,” he said.
“At the same time as we are banning children under 16 from having social media accounts, the age of criminal responsibility in most of the country is 10.”
Several states have introduced measures that have led to more children being held in custody, including moves to punish youths as adults and make it harder for alleged offenders to get bail.
The commission’s assessment was not wholly negative, with federal hate speech and modern slavery laws lauded.
“Australia has done a lot well on human rights: we live in one of the safest, most stable and prosperous countries on the planet,” Mr de Kretser said.
“The fact that many of us rarely think about our rights reflects Australia’s success but … the reality is that for many people in Australia, human rights are not guaranteed.”
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