Despite police assertions – and the statistical fact – that crime is going down, state and federal Coalition leaders and some media commentators insist that people in Melbourne are more afraid than usual.
“Many Victorians are feeling unsafe for no other reason than they’re being told to feel unsafe,” says Rebecca Wickes, a criminologist and director of the Monash Migration and Inclusion Centre.
If anyone should be afraid, it’s people of colour in Australia whenever an election is scheduled.
These leaders have shown little reluctance to sacrifice whole communities on the altar of self interest. Demonisation, fear-mongering and scapegoating result in our neighbours finding it harder to get work, experiencing higher levels of mental ill-health and enduring overt acts of racism and violence.
We’ve seen this story regularly reprised in Australia – Pauline Hanson stoking anti-Asian sentiment in the ‘90s, John Howard using the arrival of the Tampa in 2001 to amplify our already disproportionate fear of people seeking asylum, and then the anti-Muslim hysteria that enabled the resurrection of Pauline Hanson, Mark II.
The common theme is politicians utilising fear and division to gain the support of Australians experiencing financial insecurity and rapid cultural change.
Thankfully, eight Melbourne mayors from councils that are members of the Welcoming Cities network – a national initiative supporting local governments to advance communities where everyone can belong and participate in social, cultural, economic and civic life – and who represent more than 1.2 million Victorians stood together on Monday with Australian-Sudanese leader Maker Mayek in solidarity with those bearing the brunt of the ugly public discourse.
City of Melton mayor, Cr Bob Turner demonstrated the kind of leadership missing from the Coalition’s approach in saying, “Making young people and their families feel welcome in the place they now call home is the best way to make our communities healthier – this is how we create jobs, help people complete school or provide pathways to training and employment.”
In my home state of South Australia something seems different. Although people of colour still experience discrimination and exclusion, our leaders have largely avoided turning South Australians against each other for the sake of vote-winning.
People of Sudanese background made up 0.2% of South Australia’s population in 2016, a doubling of their proportion since 2011 when the percentage was the same as Victoria’s current density – 0.1%. Despite twice the likelihood of having a Sudanese neighbour as our Victorian rivals, we’re entirely unafraid to go out to dinner as – according to home affairs minister Peter Dutton – people in Melbourne are.
While even the prime minister has bought into the race-based politicking in the lead-up to the Victorian state election, new South Australia premier, Steven Marshall, actively lobbied for an increase in migration to our state.
It seems an increase in diversity wouldn’t make our premier afraid of going out for dinner or, like Andrew Bolt, concerned about the destruction of our identity.
For most of past six years the annual Walk Together march – a celebration of diversity with a powerful message of welcome to people seeking asylum, refugees and other new arrivals – has been led by former premier Jay Weatherill and then-opposition leader Steven Marshall walking side-by-side. They are both ambassadors for Welcome to Australia, a national movement started in Adelaide to cultivate a culture of welcome for immigrants. This title is also held by lord mayor, Martin Haese, who led the City of Adelaide to become the first state capital to join the Welcoming Cities network. Our governor, Hieu Van Le, is a former refugee who arrived by boat from Vietnam.
Perhaps these leaders recognise that belonging is a gift given by a community that has been set free from fear – and that we are all better off when everyone is able to belong, contribute and thrive.
Tony Abbott asked recently why we would import people into our nation who will cause us trouble. A better question is, “Why would we import people into parliament who infect our communities with prejudice along with all the damage we know it brings?”
Nothing good comes of teaching Australians to fear their neighbour – and so long may our South Australian leaders avoid the temptation of dogwhistle politics and reject the example set by their national and interstate counterparts.
- Brad Chilcott is the founder and chair of Welcome to Australia
