Multicultural Australia welcomes the Queensland Government response to the Parliamentary Inquiry into Serious Vilification and Hate Crimes.
Acts of racial vilification and hate continue to have a debilitating effect on too many individuals in our community and undermines their basic human right to life of safety and stability.
Multicultural Australia is part of the Cohesive Community Coalition, which represents more than 20 of Queensland’s diverse ethnic and religious communities. As part of the Coalition, we call on the State Government to act urgently to implement all of the recommendations in the Committee’s report.
Multicultural Australia repeatedly hears stories of people experiencing racism and believes discrimination can adversely affect people’s ability to socially and economically integrate.
The Committee received 82 written submissions and 40 video and audio submissions, with Multicultural Australia facilitating the provision of 41 video, audio and written submissions to the inquiry.
Christine Castley, CEO of Multicultural Australia said, ’We have worked tirelessly over many months to advocate for action on hate crime and serious vilification.
Community engagement was extremely important, and we must honour the voices of the many people in our communities who took the time to share their stories and experiences.’
During the Parliamentary Inquiry, stories were told of overt and covert racism and a regular theme was the belief among many in the community that reporting their experiences to authorities would not result in action. The Committee’s recommendations set us on a path to ensuring our laws and practices meet communities’ expectations to protect all Queenslanders.
‘When fully implemented, these reforms will help us promote and create a peaceful, cohesive and supportive Queensland community where everyone is welcome and allowed to go about their life safely’ said Ms Castley.
