Stopping racism
Minister for Citizenship and Communities Victor Dominello and Member for Coogee Bruce Notley-Smith today announced the roll-out of Racism. It Stops with Me display posters on 30 bus stops and 500 buses across the eastern suburbs of Sydney.
Minister Dominello and Bruce Notley-Smith at a bus stop in Queens Park
Mr Dominello and Mr Notley-Smith visited Queens Park where the first posters were installed today to promote the Australian Human Rights Commission’s national anti-racism campaign.
Mr Dominello said campaign posters would be displayed at bus stops across the catchment areas of schools in the eastern suburbs.
“The NSW Government is pleased to continue its partnership with the Australian Human Rights Commission on this campaign to educate the public about the insidious impact of racism in our community,” Mr Dominello said.
A signed bus stop outside Moriah College
“When we launched Multicultural NSW’s strategic plan Harmony in Action in August, we made sure initiatives to combat racism were a core focus and responsibility for the agency.
“With today’s campaign launch on Sydney buses, Transport for NSW joins a wide range of community, government and private organisations actively supporting and promoting the Racism. It Stops with Me campaign.
“The posters provide information about the new Multicultural NSW Speak-Out Hotline, making easy for people to report incidents of race and religious-based harassment in public.”
Mr Notley-Smith said the electorate of Coogee represented the full spectrum of the State’s linguistic, cultural and religious diversity, and local residents were acutely aware of the devastating impact of racial vilification.
“By displaying posters on buses and bus stops the campaign will remind commuters in this area that everyone has the right to feel safe on public transport and racist behaviour is not acceptable,” Mr Notley-Smith said.
Federal Race Discrimination Commissioner Tim Soutphomassane said he welcomed the NSW Government’s decision to increase exposure for the campaign across Sydney buses.
“Living in multicultural society requires us to be vigilant about racism and bigotry. The Racism. It Stops With Me campaign aims to empower people to challenge prejudice and discrimination in their daily lives,” Mr Soutphommasane said.
The campaign posters will be displayed on both school and general commuter bus routes and Transport for NSW will monitor their effectiveness to determine whether they could be rolled out further across the public transport network.
If Jew-hatred (often cynically disguised as “Anti-Zionism”) qualifies as racism, then I suggest to distribute a big pile of these posters to the ABC, SBS, the Fairfax Press, the Greens and certain members of Labor.
Guess they’ll need to undergo brain transplants first. Oops, that not nice of me even though it’s true.