MINISTER FOR INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS, MALARNDIRRI MCCARTHY: Good morning, everyone. I just would like to acknowledge that we're coming together on the lands of the Gadigal people and pay my respects to Elders, past, present and emerging. And I especially want to say a massive, big hello to Linda Burney, our previous Minister for Indigenous Australians, but also just an extraordinary leader for all people right across the country. So good to see you here in your role with UTS and Jumbunna. I'd also like to acknowledge Jumbunna Institute and the staff here under Lindon. I think it's really important that we've all gathered here and also George Newhouse and his team. Today is a significant day. The Commonwealth Government is going to support the work of Call It Out, a register which focusses on racism against First Nations people in Australia, and we see the incredible work that needs to be done here. And we've heard, through the current inquiry that’s underway, the evidence that's been given, and no doubt that inquiry, once it makes its recommendations, will say more about that. But I have to say, in listening to some of those and reading the submissions, you can see how prevalent racism is in Australia in regards to First Nations people. So it is, with that in mind, that we have allocated $2 million towards Jumbunna, and to the Call It Out Register team, to be able to do the work it needs to do, to really tackle this scourge on our country against First Nations people. Racism is a scourge. It's hateful, it's horrid, it hurts, and it really can paralyse people, in terms of reaching their potential as citizens in this country. And it's not on. And our government is totally against it. Whoever you are, wherever you are, that hateful commentary and those hateful attitudes are not who we are as a country. Whether it's against First Nations people or any person, we expect all citizens of Australia to be treated with dignity and respect. As Minister for Indigenous Australians, my focus is First Nations people. So, I'm very proud to be able to work collaboratively with Jumbunna and with the Call It Out Register, and everyone involved in that, and I look forward to seeing the work ahead of us. I'm just going to ask Lindon if he'd like to say a few words.
JUMBUNNA INSTITUTE FOR INDIGENOUS EDUCATION AND RESEARCH, PROFESSOR LINDON COOMBES: Thankyou Minister, and thankyou for funding this initiative, that's been a joint initiative of the National Justice Project and the Jumbunna Institute. Here at the University of Technology, Sydney we've been doing this pro bono for the last four years. And we've always said with a little bit of a push in resourcing, this will really take off. Let people know that it's out there, let people know about the app. And the idea is that we gather a lot of data about where racism happens, whether it's at school, the workplace or in sport. And we take that data and we do something about it. So, we encourage everyone to look at Call It Out, to call out racism on the app or through the website and look forward to growing our program over the next two to three years.
MINISTER: I might call George up, part of the partnership.
NATIONAL JUSTICE PROJECT CEO, GEORGE NEWHOUSE: This is the culmination of years of work. I think we've been working on this for nearly half a decade. There were other communities in Australia that were recording incidents of antisemitism, or Islamophobia, and we learned from those communities, and we came to Jumbunna with the concept of collecting data on racism against First Nations people. It's hard to believe that after 220 to 30 years, no-one has kept records of data of racism against First Nations people. And if you don't have data, it's an invisible scourge on our society. It's visible to people who receive it and feel it, but governments don't see it, because they don't see the data. So, this is a really important initiative. We're so thankful to the government for funding it, we're thankful to Jumbunna for taking the lead and looking after the data with sovereignty, and I'm sure that this funding will lead to serious change and acknowledgement of a scourge that faces First Nations Australians. So, thank you.
REPORTER: Minister, why is it important that the government is investing $2 million into Call It Out Register now?
MINISTER: Simply because racism is not on. We have seen numerous examples for a number of years. I can speak personally as well in terms of my experiences and family members. But also, more importantly, around systemic concerns with it. This investment in Jumbunna is about saying the work you're doing with the Call It Out Register matters and the Commonwealth Government want to support you going forward, because the data that you provide will assist in many policy decisions, I hope, going forward.
REPORTER: The recent report made by Jumbunna found more than half of the racism involved is systemic and institutional issues. What does the government need to do more to address racism embedded in institutions rather than just individual acts?
MINISTER: Clearly, there is a real concern about systemic racism. I've certainly heard it from health workers, doctors who work in the medical space, concerns in the workplace. We have to reach every single area, not just at the Commonwealth level, but through states and territories as well. It's something that my work with the Coalition of Peaks on the Joint Council, it matters, as we look at Closing the Gap. We know that a large portion of the gap is because of some of the resistance towards empowering First Nations people to be the people that we're here to be.
REPORTER: The report found that children and young people, 31% of the incidents occurred online, is that concerning that these young people are experiencing that?
MINISTER: Racism anywhere is just not on. It is of course a concern. Irrespective, if you're young, if you're old, if you're a man or a woman, this is really at the heart of what stops people from becoming who they should be when they've been impacted in such a hateful way. Whether it's directly or indirectly, it does impact them. So, everything we're doing matters. And I'd just like to give Lyndon an opportunity, to actually talk about some of the aspects of the report.
PROFESSOR COOMBES: Thanks, Minister. We were talking earlier to the Minister about the particular focus of the last Call It Out report which focussed on young people, their experience of racism, particularly online, but also socially and at school. And we made the point that during a particularly contentious time in Australia leading up to the 26th of January, where tensions are often high, our kids go back to school after a long summer in that environment. And it’s a particularly difficult environment, and you can only think of the impact that has on school attendance for our kids. So, that was a particular report that really affected me.
REPORTER: What does the $2 million funding announcement mean for Call It Out in practical terms? Will that allow the register to expand, improve data collection or how does it provide support to those who report racism?
PROFESSOR COOMBES: All of those things. So, it allows us, as I said, we were doing this pro bono, it allows us some dedicated resources to interrogate the data. It allows us to update our technology; both the app and the website, that will make everything far more accessible, and create an opportunity for a lot more data to come in. As well as spreading the word on this, because it has been pro bono, we haven't had a marketing or promotion strategy, we'll be able to do that and promote it more broadly across the country.
REPORTER: So, the $2 million, obviously, there's a lot more than pro bono. But is that enough to keep going?
PROFESSOR COOMBES: It's enough for two to three years. During that time, we'll obviously build it up and go to seek other funding for it, but certainly the need is there with that funding. So, there's always a case for more, but we'll make very good use of that funding.
REPORTER: And just on that, like the data that's been collected, you're saying that hopefully more people now start to report it because there'll be more awareness. Is that the idea?
PROFESSOR COOMBES: Absolutely. So, we want, particularly Indigenous people, to know the data, the information that you give us comes to an Indigenous-led, Indigenous majority staffed institute here at Jumbunna. That information will be looked after and it'll be used. You won't just be making a submission for data purposes. We'll be looking at that, looking to create a picture of where racism happens and then build on that data to create strategies to address that racism.
REPORTER: And strategies could look like?
PROFESSOR COOMBES: Strategies in schools, for particular sectors, whether that be sport, education. We have our own issues at universities, and there's been a process on that over the last couple of years. So, we can really drill down into that data and get some good responses.
REPORTER: And when do you actually get the most amount of people like writing in?
PROFESSOR COOMBES: We certainly had a peak after the referendum. I think tensions were really high after that. And as I said, in the lead up to Australia Day, it's often a very difficult period once people sort of come back to work. The social media kind of takes off talking about the history of this country and it can be a really difficult time for Indigenous people. So, we will be better able to really pin down through data when those particular instances occur.
REPORTER: What needs to change beyond just simply recording racism?
PROFESSOR COOMBES: That's the idea. So, we want the message to go out there, to our people, to allies, that when you submit a submission through Call It Out, that it will go somewhere. That information will be protected, it will be read and it will be used to come up with strategies to work against racism, and inform, hopefully, public policy a bit better.
REPORTER: Minister, obviously you've been listening and seeing that racism inquiry. What have been some of the standout things that you've heard that really have been alarming?
MINISTER: I'm not so sure if there is a standout moment. I think, if anything, what the inquiry has done with the submissions that I've read, or any of the evidence that I've heard, is a very strong universal realisation that it is everywhere. That racism is everywhere in this country. But there's also a lot of goodness in this country too. And I think the real challenge for all of us, governments and the people of Australia, is to grab hold of what is good and make sure that rises higher than what is not so good.
REPORTER: And obviously, the recommendations will come out in December. But there's been a lot of people that gave evidence to that inquiry, concerned that it'll be just another report that gathers dust, that recommendations won't be implemented. What commitment can you make that that won't happen?
MINISTER: It was the first time I've written to the Parliament for an inquiry and in terms of one of this magnitude, and I am absolutely determined to make sure that this inquiry matters, and that the recommendations that come from it are certainly respected. And we will have that deliberation, as we do with all the inquiries, and I'll certainly be guiding that as best I can.
REPORTER: And if they call for a Makarrata commission, which some of the people have asked for, is that something that you will do?
MINISTER: Well, let's see what the recommendations are. I think that's really important here. I'm not here to jump ahead of the inquiry. I won't do that. But I will say this, that today's announcement is significant, and it is an acknowledgement that racism is in this country, and that's why we are investing in the Call It Out register to support the staff here in the work they do.
REPORTER: So, more money could be coming to tackle racism in the future?
MINISTER: Well, let's wait and see for the recommendations, and I'm happy to have that conversation with you once they come down.
REPORTER: Thank you.