An act of terrorism occurred on Noongar Country in Boorloo on 26 January 2026. The people targeted were supporting a First Nations Invasion Day event.
The first Facebook comment to appear under the recent AAP article published in the New England Times, Anti-racism work collects dust as MPs ‘drive division’ (5 February 2026) was:
“The only people I see that are racist are on the left.”
This statement is not unique. Social media is flooded with similar comments, either blaming the ‘left’ or the ‘right’.
The statement is purposively aggressive and divisive.
The statement is also wrong. It’s as wrong as the statements: ‘everyone who voted NO for the Voice is racist’, and; ‘everyone who voted YES for the Voice is not racist.’
Sadly, these kinds of statements send a clear message … ‘I am not responsible, someone else is at fault, and I am not part of the solution.’ It does appear to acknowledge that racism exists, and that it is a problem. It just fails to acknowledge that we are all part of the problem, and we all have an obligation to combat racism. We are all in this together!
The article, which prompted the above statement, is correct. We live within a system where our leaders/politicians go out of their way to avoid dealing with racism. Not because we do not have the knowledge, skills and resources to tackle it. But because they are scared. Inaction keeps them safe.
It is no more obvious than now that a vast majority of the people we voted for to represent us in government are no longer governing, and instead have submitted to being managed by non-elected people and lobby groups.
In my opinion, a true leader should not care about the loss of power when considering action regarding human rights matters. Every Politician should care about confronting racism and all forms of bigotry. It should be a priority and it must be nonexclusive. Their first job is to protect us, all of us. Every single one of them should be lobbying for Human Rights to be enshrined in every one of our Constitutions.
While the majority of our politicians sit in silence, many encourage racism. The politicians who do speak out are shouted down, or ignored. The politicians who experience racism are ridiculed; told to ‘go back where they came from’, or to ‘get over it’, or to ‘stop playing victim’, and sent abhorrent messages that would send chills down most of our spines.
The majority of Australians started taking notice of how prolific racism is in our country when Ms Hanson first appeared on our viewer screen late last century. Ms Hanson, believe it or not, is probably responsible for raising our collective national awareness of how we are as people, and how deeply entrenched racism is in Australian institutions and cultures. She proudly threw back the curtains on our racism and has stood firm in her allegiance to it. While her actions have given license to other divisive and destructive voices, her rhetoric also forced many of us to look in the mirror, to look at ourselves more deeply. So, there is at least one thing we can thank her for …
We all live with the ramifications of racism. This has never been more obvious to those of us alive today in Australia than during the last few months. We keep being told that what happened on 14 December 2025 impacted the entire Nation. We have not been told this about 26 January 2026. Both of these violent acts sent fear into our communities. We should all know, without any doubt, that the people who were targeted live with constant fear. I believe them when they tell us that they are now living in a state of heightened awareness and fear.
Our social contract expects that we will protect and comfort each other. We all shatter that contract when we allow certain groups of people to be thrown to the wolves.
To quote the Australian Human Rights Commission: ‘… Australia is now a very culturally diverse country – about half of us were born overseas or had one or more parents born overseas. When racial tensions develop, they don’t just affect one or two of us – they affect us all… as neighbours, workmates, friends and fellow Australians. Racism creates a society where people don’t trust and respect each other. When it’s allowed to flourish, it lessens us as a people.’
I don’t want to lose respect and trust in my fellow Australians.
We are all responsible for what happens in our communities.
We either believe in human rights for all or we don’t.
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