The British Australian Community has called on the Race Discrimination Commissioner, Giridharan Sivaraman, to apologise for the publication of the statement that says white people “cannot experience racism” in an Australian Human Rights Commission document.
The statement appears in a “Myths and Misconceptions about Racism” explainer released by the Australian Human Rights Commission as part of its National Anti-Racism Framework. Under the heading ” Can white people experience racism?”, it explicitly states,
“Whilst white people can experience multiple forms of discrimination or prejudice based on gender, sexual orientation, ability, age, or class; they cannot experience racism.”
The BAC argues that the claim is inconsistent with the wording of the Racial Discrimination Act, which does not exempt any racial group from protection, and warns that publishing such guidance could undermine public trust in the Commission’s neutrality.
Their letter also refers to a recent Senate Estimates hearing in which the Commissioner was asked to clarify his position on the statement, and to earlier public remarks in which he characterised anti-white racism as negligible relative to structural discrimination affecting other groups.
Speaking to The Noticer, BAC President Harry Richardson said the statement about white people was “an invidious generalisation about an entire race and as such is clearly racist”.
“The statement also conflicts with Australia’s anti-discrimination legislation, risks eroding public confidence in the AHRC, and undermines the idea that Australia’s government bodies are fair and unbiased,” he said.
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