Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It gives me great pleasure today to talk about the anniversary of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975. But it is worth reflecting that racism visited Australia long before European settlement. The very first description of an Indigenous Australian was by the English explorer, William Dampier. He observed our continent's first peoples in 1699 and was less than complimentary, to say the least. Dampier was a man, I suppose you would say, of his less enlightened times. But his description of Indigenous Australians, when he encountered them, was miserable, simply because they did not keep livestock and they did not wear clothes like Europeans. I think this demonstrates the narrow prism through which significant difference is too often viewed. Our history, like that of any nation, is replete with these sorts of examples: from the punitive expeditions against local Aborigines, undertaken by the first settlers in Sydney Cove, to the anti-Chinese riots during the gold rush and the first acts of the Australian parliament in 1901 to restrict migration based on race and to deport specific islander labourers—the so-called beginning of the White Australia policy.

As we stand here today, it is not very hard to realise just how far we have come since we first arrived in this place. But it began slowly with the abolition of the infamous 'dictation test' for new migrants in 1958, among other developments. This was followed by the effective dismantling of the White Australia policy in the 1960s and the historic 1967 referendum that saw power given to the government to legislate for the benefit of Indigenous Australians. We learnt to celebrate diversity and difference instead of fearing them. We began to realise the benefits of difference by recognising that, underneath our traditional dress and the colours of our skins, all people are pretty much the same.

I think it is important to note some of those brave activists and trailblazers who championed and forced this recognition: people like Charles Perkins, who organised the Freedom Ride of 1965 to expose discrimination and racism; people like Sir Douglas Nicholls, the first Indigenous Australian to hold a viceregal office as governor of my home state of South Australia; people like Egon Kisch, who embarrassed the Lyons government in 1934 by passing the dictation test in every possible European language, except for Gaelic, and won the right to stay in Australia after the High Court ruled he had been unfairly discriminated against; people like Eddie Mabo—who is a tremendous example—David Passey and James Rice, whose efforts led to the rejection of the false concept of terra nullius and laid the foundation for native title. There were just so many great people, most from groups suffering from some level of discrimination, who made us recognise that, underneath, we are all essentially the same. The formation and creation of the Racial Discrimination Act in 1975 formalised the recognition that these people in our past had put so much hard work into achieving.

We now have an act, despite what has been said by those opposite in some of the more negative contributions that we have heard on this matter of public importance, that will ensure Australians of all backgrounds are treated equally and have the same opportunities. This act makes it against the law for you to be treated unfairly or to be discriminated against on the grounds of race, colour, descent, national or ethnic origin and immigration status. The act also makes racial hatred against the law. We have seen a lot of debate in this place over recent times about the interpretation of that. But, at the end of the day, we must ensure that we are very clear that it is the act of racial hatred that does not happen.

It is a great pleasure to be standing in a parliament at the moment that does not seek to perpetuate the problems that we have seen of the past but to learn of the problems of the past and operate under an act—like this particular act—that gives protection to every Australia, no matter what colour, creed, race or nationality; where they have come from; how they have come here; or when they have come here and, for that matter, those who were here before any of us got here. This act is 40 years old. It should be cause for great celebration that we stand here today and celebrate the fact that for 40 years we have had a racial discrimination act that looks after the people of Australia.