The events of the past week in Sydney involving assaults, mob violence and talk of racial conflict have been deeply worrying. The recall of the NSW Parliament to enact additional laws to strengthen police powers raising the question of whether we are at a new and difficult stage in community relations in this city.
As the issues of race and culture, influenced by media commentary, inter mingle in a toxic cocktail of male aggression fuelled by beer and testosterone the question arises; is this now a different kind of Australia?
I don’t think so. True there are some very big challenges here. But we have, over the past 150 years, seen a gradual absorption of over 120 different nationalities into our country where they live, work and raise families who in turn become the Aussies of tomorrow.
Each successive wave of immigrants starting with Chinese at the Goldfields in the 1800’s through to the period of post war European immigration after WW2, the South East Asian immigration following the Vietnam War and our ongoing acceptance of refugees and new immigrants including from Afghanistan and the Middle East, has meant that we are a truly diverse and multicultural society.
As new arrivals continue to find their feet and as those already here seek to accommodate the changes in population, there have always been tensions-some marked, some hidden- which are to be expected in periods where communities experience great flux with new inhabitants moving in.
On occasion political figures have talked in coded language which has sparked the flames of resentment and ignorance, their role is deplorable.
But our capacity to handle these changes has, in the main, been pretty good. The “wogs” and “reffos” of yesterday are the TV chefs, sporting heroes and business and political success stories of today.
Many people have grown up as kids who’ve come from some other place and had a label stuck on them. But the Australian experience has been that over time the label doesn’t stick, and in adult terms neither was it ever meant to.
The riots and violence in Sydney, whilst troubling, does not mean that this proud period is over. What it does mean though, is that where there are entrenched pockets of resentment or criminality, or where, more broadly, there is a clear and distinct lack of cultural understanding and respect and when this spills into violence then we need to speak and act to oppose it.
What we saw last Sunday in Cronulla and the next morning at Maroubra was not pretty; indeed it was a complete affront to the values of our community.
Along with a number of well known actors, sportspeople, business and community leaders I sought to respond by issuing a joint statement called “Wave of Respect”, to speak to what happened.
Part of what we said was this:
“Our society is made up of many cultures, beliefs, religions, priorities and interests. They are diverse, but come together to form our way of life in Australia. There is room for them all, as long as they are law-abiding, tolerant, respectful and non-violent.
Violence is never to be tolerated; it is never excusable. No matter who does it – your best mate; your neighbour; a relative. It cannot be condoned; it cannot be dismissed as understandable. And to incite it is inexcusable.
History teaches us that intolerance, hatred – whatever its basis – and revenge bring endless misery. They are destructive. No-one wins. We all lose.
It’s actually pretty clear and simple: violence and racism are bad. Whenever they occur, they are to be condemned. We should not turn a blind eye to them.”
We concluded. “It is about Respect. Respect for the rights of everyone to go about their lives in a peaceful way – a wave of respect. “
Off course we need more than statements, we need action too. And we need responsible leadership from the communities involved, and from politicians on all sides, reaffirming that we can continue to build a country where we live peacefully and in respectful ways with all our neighbours-to this critical task our kids are depending on us.