Mehreen Faruqi (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to Minister Watt, representing Minister Giles. Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. It's observed throughout the world on the day police in South Africa killed 69 people at a peaceful protest against apartheid in 1960. Only in Australia is 21 March celebrated as Harmony Day, with barely a mention of racism. Harmony Day is a Howard government invention that whitewashes racism and sweeps it under the rug.

We know that in Australia too many people feel the fear of racism every single day. On the weekend, Melbourne saw the despicable allowance of hate, with neo-Nazis saluting on the steps of the Victorian parliament. Will the government ditch Harmony Day and Harmony Week and restore the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, with its original purpose of recognising the pervasive nature of racism and combating it?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You are indeed correct that today is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. As you say, this recognises both the tragic event that occurred in South Africa all those years ago and 75 years since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and focuses on the urgent need to combat racism and racial discrimination. The reason I am aware of that is that I am reading directly from the tweet that Minister Giles, the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, has put up today in recognition of this important event. So, to the extent that your question suggests our government does not adequately recognise the importance of this day, I have to reject that.

The minister himself has made public the fact that this is an important day for us to remember the importance of eliminating racial discrimination. He's gone on to make the point that the Albanese Labor government has invested $7.5 million into the Australian Human Rights Commission in order to develop a national antiracism strategy to tackle racism and promote racial equality in Australia, and of course he makes the point—which I would hope that everyone in this chamber shares—that, no matter where you were born, the language you speak or the faith you practise, the Albanese government is committed to a multicultural Australia where everyone belongs.

I don't think there can be any doubt where the minister himself or this government stands on these issues. I think there can be some doubt about the level of commitment across the political spectrum to eliminating racial discrimination, because I, like you, Senator Faruqi, was highly disturbed to see the neo-Nazi demonstration outside the Victorian parliament and the fact that it included a serving Liberal Party member of the Victorian state parliament. I think there are some serious questions for Victorian Liberal Party and, indeed, Mr Dutton as to where his party lines up on these issues. (Time expired)

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Faruqi, first supplementary?

Mehreen Faruqi (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, last week was the fourth anniversary of the Christchurch mosque massacre, where 51 Muslims were killed by an Australian white supremacist driven by an extreme right-wing Islamophobic ideology. This morning the fourth Islamophobia in Australia report was launched, and it shows hatred towards Muslims in Australia remains high, with women and children bearing the brunt of this on the front line. What will the government commit to today to obliterate Islamophobia in Australia?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I said in my answer to the primary question, we have already made a commitment that backs up our position on the need to eliminate racial discrimination. As I've said, we have committed $7.5 million to the Australian Human Rights Commission to develop a national antiracism strategy to tackle racism and to promote racial equality in Australia, and we've commenced work on our election commitment to deliver a multicultural framework review. I notice that your primary question asked when the government intends to eliminate Harmony Day or words to that effect. I guess that might be a question you might also like to put to Mr Bandt, who in March last year hopped on Facebook to say: 'Fantastic to be at Carlton Harmony Day at Carlton Primary School with Ellen Sandell today, celebrating just what makes Melbourne so brilliant.' So maybe we've all got a little bit to think about on this International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Once again, the Greens like to tell people what to do but are not so good at doing it themselves. (Time expired)

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Faruqi, second supplementary?

Mehreen Faruqi (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, the climate crisis is a racial justice issue. Those who contributed least to the crisis—black and brown people in the global south—are experiencing and will experience the worst of it. The IPCC report today makes clear that a liveable future means no new fossil fuels. Will the government finally listen to science and rule out new coal and gas?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think we're jumping portfolios here, but I do agree that it is people living in the developing world who are most at risk of the effects of climate change. That is self-evident. It is an important reminder why all of us in this chamber should get behind initiatives to do something serious about climate change. I've got an idea: it's called the safeguard mechanism. Perhaps that might be the kind of thing the Greens might back in as a means of trying to reduce emissions and reduce the impacts of climate change, whether they be here or in developing countries.

This fortnight this parliament, this chamber, is going to have the opportunity to actually do something about tackling climate change, not just performing, not just doing stunts, not just doing memes for social media but actually doing something concrete to tackle the impact of climate change in developing countries. So, Senator Faruqi, I look forward to your support when it comes to a vote for that, to have an opportunity to actually do something real. (Time expired)