Monash Says No to Racism

'Racism - It Stops With Me' logo

Monash Council supports the 'Racism - It Stops With Me' campaign.

Run by the Australian Human Rights Commission, the campaign invites all Australians to reflect on what they can do to counter racism wherever it happens.

Monash was one of the first Victorian councils to support the campaign. This is fitting given our community is the third-most culturally diverse local government area in Victoria, after Greater Dandenong and Brimbank. Nearly half (49%) of Monash's population was born overseas, with 44.3% of Monash residents born in non-English-speaking countries.

The campaign aims to:

  • Ensure more Australians recognise racism is unacceptable in our community
  • Give more Australians the tools and resources to take practical action against racism
  • Empower individuals and organisations to prevent and respond effectively to racism

Report race or religious discrimination

You can report incidents of discrimination or racial/religious vilification directly to the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission using the Community Reporting tool - incidents of race or religious discrimination.

Council welcomes backdown to Racial Discrimination Act changes

Monash Council has welcomed the Abbott Government's decision to withdraw its proposed changes to the Racial Discrimination Act.

The Government had proposed repealing parts of the Act including Section 18C which makes it unlawful to publicly "offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate" a person (or a group of people) because of their race, colour or national or ethnic origin.

But the Government announced on 5 August 2014 that it would not be pursuing changes to the Act.

Council had objected strongly to any changes to the Act. At its April 2014 Council meeting, Councillors voted unanimously to oppose the changes.

Council also sent a submission to the Federal Government advising of its strong opposition to any changes to the Act.

Council believes the government's decision to back away from those proposed changes is the right decision and reinforces the message that racism in any form will not be tolerated in our community.

Council welcomes backdown on Racial Discrimination Act(PDF, 271KB)

Monash Council's submission about the Racial Discrimination Act(PDF, 107KB)

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