A government-sponsored inquiry into racist violence in this country has concluded that new legislation is urgently needed because existing laws are inadequate to deal with the level of racist violence here.
Among 66 recommendations made to the federal government in the two-year study were reform of the criminal code to outlaw racial harassment, racial violence and racist behavior likely to incite hostile acts.
The inquiry, which received more than 600 reports of racism since it was established in 1989, found “serious incidents of violence, harassment and intimidation” against minority groups, their property and their places of worship.
One of its recommendations called for amending the laws to prevent racists from evading prosecution by using religion, specifically Judaism and Islam, as “surrogates” for race.
The groups especially subjected to racist violence, according to the inquiry, were Asians, aboriginals, Jews and Torres Strait islanders. The Torres Straits separate northeastern Australia from Papua New Guinea.
The study also found that anti-racist activists were targeted by members of extremist groups.
A survey of more than 160 incidents of specifically anti-Jewish nature that occurred after the inquiry completed its surve, was presented to Federal Race Commissioner Irene Moss by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry.
Council President Leslie Caplan lauded the inquiry and said Australian Jewry “fully supports the call for national legislation to combat racial violence.”
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