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Aus der heutigen "The West Australian"
Perth people among most racist: study
26th June 2009, 8:30 WST
Perth is one of the most racist places in the country, with a higher rate of discrimination against people of minority cultures than other State capitals, a national survey has found.
Academics have studied the results of phone surveys of more than 16,000 Australians, including 850 from Perth, to provide a comprehensive snapshot of community attitudes towards racism and multiculturalism.
The study found the overwhelming majority of Australians, including Perth residents, believed cultural diversity was good for the nation.
However, a significant minority were concerned that ethnic groups posed a threat to mainstream culture by sticking to their old ways, a sentiment that resounded strongly in Perth.
Just over 14 per cent of Perth residents admitted to being prejudiced against other cultures, a higher rate than in any other surveyed population except the NT.
NT and Perth people were the most likely to report discrimination based on their race in the workplace, shops and restaurants.
More than 35 per cent of Perth respondents labelled indigenous people as an “out group”, the highest rate in the country. Almost half saw Muslims in a similar vein.
The surveys were conducted over seven years as part of the “challenging racism project”, spearheaded by University of Western Sydney social sciences professor Kevin Dunn.
It has involved researchers from six universities, including Murdoch.
Professor Dunn said yesterday that it was difficult for him to pinpoint why Perth had some of the highest reported rates of racism. Several factors could have influenced the results, including the relatively recent influx of visible immigrants, such as Africans, and the high indigenous population compared with other cities.
Ethnic Communities Council of WA president Ramdas Sankaran said he did not think it was helpful to point fingers at a particular city and he would rather concentrate on ways to reduce racism. However, the survey results should be of concern to policy makers, politicians and ethnic groups such as his own.
He agreed that the responses were likely to be a reflection of Perth’s cultural mix, which differed from that in Sydney and Melbourne. Perth had a disproportionate number of visible ethnic and religious minorities.
Also, it would not be surprising if Aboriginal respondents had complained about discrimination, considering the level of disadvantage many experienced, he said.
DAWN GIBSON
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