Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens and spokesperson for Anti-Racism, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, has responded to the Race Reporting Handbook developed by the Australian Human Rights Commission and Media Diversity Australia.
Senator Faruqi urges all media outlets to conduct immediate anti-racism training for all staff, as well as commission independent racism reviews and develop an anti-racism strategy going forward.
As stated by Senator Mehreen Faruqi:
“The shocking dehumanisation of Arabs and Muslims by Australian media over the past year has emphasised the urgent need for all newsrooms to commission independent racism reviews, develop anti-racism strategies for their organisations and conduct anti-racism training for staff immediately.
“An independent review found systemic racism exists within the ABC. But the ABC are not the only ones. People of colour are dehumanised daily in Australian media, and we’ve seen more and more diverse journalists leave the profession due to their workplaces being unsafe. This has to change, and it has to change now.
“The Race Reporting Handbook is a step in the right direction, but the impetus for change must come from the media outlets. They need to recognise that racism is a serious problem in their industry, and it is infecting the way they cover stories as well as harming staff of colour.
“The consequences of not dealing with the racism in Australian media is the further erosion of audience trust. People can see when the media are not covering a story honestly, and are dehumanising sections of the community.”
