Response should extend beyond schools and into all government services
Federal plans to tackle Islamophobia give schools a central role, but SSI says the response must reach far beyond the classroom.
The Australian Government responded to the National Response to Islamophobia report prepared by Australia’s Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia. Its package includes education and awareness work, funding to strengthen community capacity and resilience, expanded Australian Federal Police Community Liaison teams and a new Social Cohesion Consultative Board.
SSI also backed extra investment in the Office for Multicultural Affairs for anti-Islamophobia measures. However, the organisation argues the office needs enough power and resources to push whole-of-government delivery of the Multicultural Framework Review and National Anti-Racism Framework.
Chief executive Violet Roumeliotis argued that education alone will not fix the problem. “The government’s response includes important and welcome measures, but tackling Islamophobia requires more than education alone. Every part of government has a role to play in removing the structural barriers and inequities that undermine belonging and social cohesion,” she said.
SSI supports the school-based measures, but it wants long-term engagement with Muslim communities rather than one-off consultation. It also wants genuine partnership with Muslim leaders if the new programmes are to work.
Special Envoy recommendations still unresolved
Several major proposals from the Special Envoy’s report are still missing from the government’s response. One is an independent review of counter-terrorism laws, policies and practices to test whether they have discriminatory effects on Muslim Australians.
The response also does not commit to an inquiry into Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian racism and anti-Arab racism.
Roumeliotis warned that lasting progress depends on a system-wide approach across federal departments. She described the National Anti-Racism Framework as the main tool for dealing with structural and systemic racism across all communities.
“The Special Envoy’s report makes recommendations across several federal departments, recognising that real change requires action from the whole of government,” she said.
SSI is urging Canberra to adopt a broader structural response to racism, including Islamophobia. The organisation has also called for a taskforce to oversee the National Anti-Racism Framework and guide detailed plans for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other affected communities.
That wider push already has backing from more than 70 civil society organisations. Meanwhile, SSI argues that social cohesion grows when people are included, treated with respect and given real chances to contribute.
