Race-hate inquiry launched

THE Victorian Government has commissioned a major investigation into race hate over the past decade.

Minister for Multicultural Affairs Nicholas Kotsiras said he was motivated to launch the inquiry after learning that white supremacists were placing offensive stickers around suburban Melbourne.

After realising there was little he could do without a member of the public lodging a formal complaint over the stickers, last week, Kotsiras launched an in-depth study into race-hate incidents, particularly white supremacy activities, not covered under existing legislation.

“In order to be proactive, I’ve asked the Victorian Multicultural Commission to work with the Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission to investigate incidents from the past 10 years,” Kotsiras said. “ I think 10 years is perfect to find any incident that has occurred and they [investigators] will work with Victoria Police as well.”

While the scope of the review has not been announced yet, the Jewish community will no doubt contribute data on anti-Semitism, with the Community Security Group keeping statistics and the Executive Council of Australian Jewry recording incidences on an annual basis.

President of the Anti-Defamation Commission Anton Block said the inquiry would give an insight into the scale of white supremacy activity in Victoria in particular. But he added: “I would encourage the Government to broaden its study to all forms of hate crime.”

According to the minister, the aim of the state-wide investigation is to develop mechanisms to deal with any future race-hate actions that occur.

“That could be policy, that could be legislation, I’m not going to pre-empt what they need to recommend to me, but to investigate and then to recommend to me the proper protocols to put in place to react and to address issues like the stickers, should they happen again,” he said.

At the moment, race hate is dealt with via different mechanisms depending on the type of offence. But Kotsiras said there were still some offences that “fall between the gaps”.

“It is these incidents that I need  some advice on what action I should take,” he said. “It is about what I need to do.”

Block agreed he there were some hate crimes that were not being properly followed up.

“I do believe that there is hate crime that falls through the cracks, mainly because I do not believe there is proper understanding as to what it is and where it is taking place,” he said. “A study that helps address these issues is a step in the right direction.”