Race Discrimination Commissioner Urges Action on National Changes

More than a year on from the release of the Anti-Racism National Framework, what has happened to it?

Speaking with Hope Mornings host Ben McEachen, Race Discrimination Commissioner Giri Sivaraman said the lack of progress on the Anti-Racism National Framework is concerning.

So far, the Federal Government is yet to show clear commitment to acting on Australia’s first plan to tackle racism across all layers of our society.

“At this stage… they’re just sitting on it,” Giri said about the Federal Government’s response to The National Anti-Racism Framework.

“Other than acknowledging that they’ve got it, they’re yet to endorse it, and certainly they haven’t committed to funding any of its recommendations.”

Giri described the delay as disappointing, especially given recent events and what he sees as a growing urgency.

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“We know that racism is an urgent issue and we need change,” he said.

“It’s something that needs urgent action, it’s simply not going to go away.”

Created by the Australian Human Rights Commission, the Framework is the first of its kind in Australia and offered a whole of government, whole of society roadmap to tackling racism.

In the past, efforts have been “ad hoc and disjointed,” Giri explained, with some parts of government avoiding the word “racism” altogether.

“We won’t get along by pretending racism doesn’t exist,” Giri said.

The framework includes 63 recommendations, with a key proposal being the creation of a National Anti-Racism taskforce to prioritise and implement changes.

“We knew that it was big and bold,” Giri said.

“We’re talking about a deeply entrenched problem.”

He pointed to education and workplaces as areas where meaningful change could begin.

“The person that ends up doing that hateful, violent act… they’re on a journey,” he said. “On that journey they would have gone to school and probably had a job.”

“If you intervene in those spaces, you can divert someone… away from a destination of hate to something more productive.”

Yet even amid the frustration, Giri has found reason for hope closer to the ground.

“I’ve had so much support from community organisations, business, unions,” he said.

“There are some… that have decided, look, we’re not going to wait for the government.”

Giri also addressed the challenge of helping people understand systemic racism, which goes beyond individual behaviour.

“They think, ‘if I’m not saying something racist… it’s not happening’,” he said. “I say, actually no… it’s part of the system.”

From job applications to workplace culture, he outlined how barriers can quietly shape outcomes for people from different backgrounds.

But he believes change isn’t only structural, it’s personal too.

“We all have some degree of power, privilege or opportunity,” Giri said. “Think about what influence you can have to make a difference.”

“Maybe… you might speak up next time you hear something and you go, ‘oh actually no, that’s not really appropriate’.”

“It’s hard… but we all have some degree of power… to make that little bit of difference, just to shift the dial that little bit more towards hope,” Giri said.

Listen to the full conversation in the player above.

This article was prepared with AI assistance and then carefully reviewed, fact-checked, and edited by our Digital Team.

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