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2006/10: Are the Cronulla riots evidence of significant racism in Australia?
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2009/11: Is Australia racist?<BR>

2009/11: Is Australia racist?


What they said...
'I don't believe Australia is more racist than any other country'
Former Australian Medical Association president, Mukesh Haikerwal, who was savagely bashed in 2008

'There is nothing more lame than an Australian defence that points out that racism and policing problems exist in India, too. So what? This is not a point-scoring game'
Greg Sheridan, writing in The Australian on June 4, 2009

The issue at a glance
A number of recent events have refuelled the debate within Australia and overseas as to whether this is a racist nation.
On June 30, 2009, Solomon Trujillo resigned as Telstra's chief executive. Trujillo is an American telecommunications executive with Hispanic origins who had been hired to head Telstra on July 1, 2005. After leaving Telstra Trujillo gave a BBC interview in which he claimed to have been the victim of racist attitudes in Australia.
In May and June, 2009, allegedly racially motivated attacks against Indian international students and a perceived poor response by the police sparked protests in Australia. Rallies were held in both Melbourne and Sydney. Impromptu street protests were held in Harris Park, a suburb of western Sydney with a large Indian population.
The federal government initially appeared to want to downplay the issue; however, in the face of severe criticism in the Indian media and protests on the streets of India, the Prime Minister, Mr Kevin Rudd, reassured the Indian government that Australia took the problem seriously and was attempting to correct it.

Background
Solomon Trujillo's views on racism in Australia
(The following information is taken from Wikipedia's entry on Solomon Trujillo. The full text of the entry can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Trujillo)

After Trujillo left Telstra and Australia, he was quoted in an BBC interview describing Australia as racist, backward and like 'stepping back in time'. During his time in Australia, media commentators and cartoonists repeatedly made reference to Mr Trujillo's Hispanic background including caricatures of him as a 'bandido'. The group of American executives who were recruited to work at Telstra were referred to, along with Trujillo, as the 'three amigos'. In the BBC interview, Trujillo cited Australia's 'very restrictive' immigration policies and rigid rules on company privatisation as his evidence for the nation being backward and racist. When Trujillo's resignation from Telstra was announced, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd gave an 'Adios' response. Trujillo described Mr Rudd's use of the term as racist.

Attacks on Indian students in 2009
(The following list of attacks on Indian students in 2009 comes from Wikipedia. The full text of the entry can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_attacks_on_Indian_students_in_Australia)

'David', a 21 year old Indian student, was beaten unconscious in the Melbourne suburb of Glenroy on 4 May 2009. Four men had surrounded him, the one from behind smashing a bottle over his head before continuing to punch and kick him.

Sourabh Sharma was assaulted and robbed by a gang on a train while travelling to his home in Werribee in Melbourne's western suburbs in May 2009. Sharma said his attackers asked 'Why the f--- did you come here?'

Shravan Kumar, a 25 year old student, was stabbed in the head with a screwdriver in May 2009 while he was partying with three other Indian students.

Rajesh Kumar, an Indian graduate living in the Sydney suburb of Harris Park, had a petrol bomb thrown through his bedroom window on 24 May 2009. Kumar received burns to 30 percent of his body and the blaze was extinguished by his Indian housemates. One housemate, Arminder Singh, said that they had no enemies and he did not know the reason for the attack. Singh also said that the area was not safe, and that he knew neighbours who had been robbed.

Baljinder Singh, a 25 year old Indian student, was stabbed in the abdomen near Carnegie railway station in Melbourne on 25 May. One of his two attackers laughed during the assault.

Ashish Sood was badly beaten by a group of fifteen people on Chappel Street in Melbourne on 30 May.

On 2 June, Nardeep Singh a 21 year old Indian student was slashed across the chest with a box-cutter knife in Frankston. The incident occurred a day after a Sikh temple in Shepparton was vandalised.

On 8 June, Indians were attacked in Harris Park, allegedly by a group of Lebanese men, which sparked a street protest. The local police superintendent said there was no suggestion that these incidents were racially motivated.

On 8 June, 23 year old Kamal Jit was beaten unconscious while walking home from the St Albans train station. In the suburb of Springvale, an Indian student's car was torched.

On 11 June, a 22 year old old Indian student was assaulted in Rundle Mall in Adelaide. The fight, which resulted in the students nose being broken, began when the attacker struck at his turban.

On 13 June, 24 year old Hardik Bipinbhai Patel was attacked by three people in Melbourne as he was about to enter his car. He was punched directly in the face by one while another hit him over the head from behind rendering him unconscious. He reported that they stole his mobile phone, wallet and car keys.

On 15 June, 20 year old Sunny Bajaj was attacked by two men as he was about to enter his car in Boronia. He said they slammed the car door on his hand and punched him in the head and stomach and then racially abused him, calling him a "----ing indian c---". He also identified one man as white and one appearing to be of African descent.

Internet information
Wikipedia's entry on Sol Trujillo can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Trujillo

An ABC report broadcast by Sabra Lane on May 26 on the AM program introduced by Tony Eastley, contained excerpts from the BBC program in which Trujillo complained of racist attitudes in Australia. The full text of this program can be found at http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2009/s2580674.htm

On June 13, 2009, Sue Bolton and Chris Peterson wrote a commentary and analysis in which they considered the recent attacks against Indian students in Australia. The piece is titled, 'Indian students speak: Stop the racist attacks!' The full text of this article can be found at http://www.greenleft.org.au/2009/798/41083

On June 1, 2009, West Australia Today reported in detail the Australian Prime Minister's claims that a vast majority of Australians were 'appalled' by the recent attacks on Indian students. The full text of the report can be found at http://www.watoday.com.au/national/rudds-plea-were-not-racists-20090601-bsnj.html

The New South Wales Education Department site dealing with Multiculturalism can be found at http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/events/statecompetitions/webawards/winners2005/secondary/11/multiculturalism.htm

The Indian news site Merinews news includes an opinion piece by Om Prakash Yadav in which he analyses what he believes to be the underlying causes of the recent attacks on Indian students. The full text of this analysis can be found at http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=15771339

The Australian anti-racism site 'Racism: No Way' can be found at http://www.racismnoway.com.au/library/cultural/
This is intended for school use and includes a large amount of useful information. This includes an outline of all Australian laws prohibiting racism.

Arguments suggesting Australia is not racist
1. Many of the behaviours claimed to be racist have other causes
It has been suggested that the issue is not primarily one of racism, but one of violence and theft. Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner, Kieran Walshe, has indicated that he did not believe the attacks on Indian students were racially motivated. Rather, Deputy Commissioner Walshe has suggested, offenders were focusing on 'soft targets'.
The Deputy Chief Commissioner has stated, 'I don't think they are [racist] in general. We think the majority of these things occur through opportunistic activity.'
He has said he believes some Indian students were being attacked because they were by nature quiet and passive people, they travelled late at night, often alone and carried expensive gadgets.
Walshe has further stated,'Really what we're saying to them is to be aware of their surroundings, try and walk in areas that are well-lit. If you're walking on a road walk towards the traffic; if you're out in a public place, don't count money.'
This point has also been made by the former Australian Medical Association president, Mukesh Haikerwal, savagely bashed last year. Dr Haikerwal has said, '"I don't run away from the fact that I am of Indian origin but I was one of seven people attacked that night - and I was the only person with any kind of colour...I don't believe Australia is more racist than any other country and calling something a racial attack doesn't disguise the fact that all these things are wrong. We really have to work out why this is happening and send the message that violence is unacceptable in our society.'
A similar argument was made in The Herald Sun by commentator Andrew Bolt who stated, 'It's the sheer level of violence, not the motives driving some thug to kick in a student's teeth, that should shame and alarm us. After all, it's no less terrifying to be kicked in the head by a saint.
It also hurts just the same whether you're Indian, English or a Colac farmer, so we should be angry that it's not just Indians being bashed, but people born right here who are kicked unconscious at railway platforms, glassed in pubs, shot in Flinders St or pack-attacked to death outside nightclubs.
Where are the police? Where are the punishments? How did we fail to civilise so many young men, now acting like gleeful extras in a Tarantino splatter-fest or an Underbelly celebration of ferals? How did we fail even to make them fear to break the law?...
That so many Indian students are bashed and robbed can be largely explained by the kind of part-time jobs they tend to take, being hard workers - the late shifts in 7-Eleven stores, taxis and petrol stations, for instance.
Imagine how safe these students are when they then go home alone late at night, often walking or taking near-deserted trains back to the tough suburbs where the cheap rents are. How safe would your own children be? '

2. Australia has taken legislative action against any racism that does occur
Australia has a variety of laws which give form to its opposition to racism. These laws are intended to protect Australians of a variety of cultural and ethnic backgrounds from acts of negative discrimination. These laws seek to educate the total Australian population as to how we should treat each other. They also include sanctions or punishments for those who discriminate against others.
There is the Commonwealth Racial Discrimination Act (1975). There is the Commonwealth Racial Hatred Act (1995) and the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act (1986)
The Racial Discrimination Act (RDA) aims to ensure that all Australians can enjoy their human rights and freedoms in full equality regardless of their race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin, being an immigrant (in some circumstances) or being a relative or associate of someone of a particular ethnicity or other status. The RDA applies to everyone in Australia including businesses, schools, local governments, State and Territory government agencies and departments and Commonwealth government agencies and departments. It overrides racially discriminatory State or Territory legislation, making it ineffective. However, Commonwealth legislation which is racially discriminatory is not necessarily overridden by the RDA.
The Racial Hatred Act extends the coverage of the Racial Discrimination Act (RDA) to allow people to complain about racially offensive or abusive behaviour. In 1995, the Racial Hatred Act amended the RDA by adding in new laws specifically dealing with racial vilification. The Racial Hatred Act gives effect to some of Australia's obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act (HREOCA) is another Commonwealth law which applies throughout Australia. HREOCA gives effect to the following relevant international conventions and declarations, such the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Declaration on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious or Linguistic Minorities. It also gives effect to International Labour Organisation Convention on Discrimination in Employment and Occupation and United Nations declarations concerning the rights of people with disabilities.
In Victoria sentencing laws will be amended by the end of 2009 to require judges to consider racially motivated factors and prejudice in sentencing violent offenders.

3. Some degree of racism occurs in all nations
It has repeatedly been claimed that Australia has no more racists than any other country.
In an editorial published in The Australian on June 2, it was stated, 'But while we must be fast and firm in denouncing all such attacks, we must be equally resolute in rejecting any idea that these attacks explain anything about Australia. Certainly our nation, as with all other countries, includes individuals who act out their own social incompetence and evil aggression by attacking innocents in the streets. Nor is there any doubt that people who stand out due to the colour of their skin, the cut of their clothes or whose hand they hold in public can be singled out by cowards who fear anybody who is different to them. But while no society can forgive such behaviour, Australia has no more than the same share of violent outcasts as exist in any other nation where the rule of law exists because the vast majority of its citizens wish it.'
In a letter published in The Age on May 30, 2009, Farhad Billimoria stated, 'I am an Indian and have been living in Australia for 17 years. Australia is one of the most accepting nations and one of the most multicultural. I have no doubt that these acts, while abhorrent, do not reflect the attitudes of the majority of the public.
It is a shame the Indian Government has used this as an excuse for politicking. It has tried to paint the whole country as racist, and seems to be putting the blame on the authorities.
While I have experienced the odd racial incident, it is a minority element. Unfortunately, making that known does not seem as newsworthy or politically dramatic as trying to impugn an entire country.'
In another letter published on June 1, 2009, in The Age, Munusami Kumaramangalam stated, 'After reading the reports about attacks on Indian students in Melbourne and watching the television interview with the Indian High Commissioner, I looked at three different Indian newspapers online. The following headlines of incidents in Indian cities attracted my attention: "High-ranking police officer faces sexual harassment charge"; "Jain temple priest killed and eight kilograms of gold stolen in Chennai"; "Lab technician killed in Bangalore"; "Man murders three-day lover"; "Interstate bike-lifters nabbed"; "Case against police constable for causing a bleeding injury with a knife"; "Quarrel leads to murder".
Admittedly, there is no alleged racial element to any of these incidents. However, it shows that violent attacks are not confined to Melbourne or Australia, as we are lead to believe by the Indian media and officials.'

4. Australia's political leaders have spoken out against racism.
On May 28, 2009, after meeting with the Indian High Commissioner, Sujatha Singh, the Victorian Premier, John Brumby stated that violence against Victoria's Indian community is 'completely unacceptable and should not be tolerated...
We agree that while the overall rate of crime in Victoria is low compared to other jurisdictions, any incidence of crime or violence against a member of Victoria's Indian community is one too many, completely unacceptable and should not be tolerated.'
Mr Brumby went on to say that any attack on an individual because of race, culture, gender or appearance is disgraceful and unacceptable.
On June 1, 2009, the Australian Prime Minister, Mr Kevin Rudd, stated, '"I speak on behalf of all Australians when I say that we deplore and condemn these attacks. I said to (Manmohan) Singh [India's Prime Minister] that the more than 90,000 Indian students in Australia are welcome guests in our country ... and the more than 200,000 Australians of Indian descent are welcome members of the Australian family.'
Mr Rudd further said, 'Australia is a country of great diversity, harmony and tolerance. We are a multicultural nation and we respect and embrace diversity, diversity which has enriched our nation," he said.
The Australian government is committed to developing a stronger, closer relationship with India ... (we are) also committed to the safety of all Australians and all those that visit our nation.'

5. Perceptions that Australia is racist are outmoded
It is argued that claims that Australia is a racially intolerant nation still marked by policies such as the 'White Australia Policy' are outmoded. Critics of this view note that Australia now has a high level of racial and cultural diversity and that this variety of peoples generally live in harmony.
On a New South Wales Department of Education school's Internet page dealing with multiculturalism it is noted, 'Multiculturalism is wide-ranging and therefore a unifying force in our developing nationhood and our growing identity. Multicultural Australia emphasises the things that unite us as people- our common membership of the Australian community, our desire for social harmony and the benefits of our diversity.
According to the 2001 census, Australian's come from over 200 countries. Every one of these groups of people has its own cultural diversity as an outcome of history, regional differences, internal and external population movements, as well as variations associated to factors such as class, gender, intermarriage and urban and rural environments.
Australian multiculturalism means that as a nation we recognise, accept, respect and celebrate our cultural diversity. Australian multiculturalism is about embracing the heritage of Indigenous Australians, early European settlement, our Australian grown customs and those of the diverse range of migrants now coming to Australia.'
The Leader of the Opposition, Malcolm Turnbull has stated, 'Australia is a country of great diversity, harmony and tolerance. We are a multicultural nation and we respect and embrace diversity, diversity which has enriched our nation.'

Arguments suggesting Australia is racist
1. The treatment of foreigners in Australia, including some in prominent positions, is racist
Sol Trujillo, the former head of Telstra, has commented on a general racism in Australia, of which, as someone with an Hispanic background, he believes he has been a victim. Mr Trujillo remarked, 'But you know, my point is that ... [racism] does exist and it's got to change because the world is full of a lot of people and most economies have to take advantage - including Australia - of a diverse set of people.
And if there is a belief that only a certain people are acceptable versus others, that is a sad state.'
Mr Trujillo further remarked, 'I would say that Australia definitely is different than the US.
You know, in many ways it's like stepping back in time, just simply because of some of the policies, some of the laws that, you know, are more recent.
So if you think about, you know, the immigration policies that weren't changed until about 30 years ago or so, which were very...restrictive. If you think about privatisation of companies - you know that's only that's 10 or 15 years old, you know, in terms of what most people would call a developed economy.
And essentially you know, the isolation of the country, by virtue of distance, you know there's a lot of considerations there that say it's a much different operating climate, environment than most other countries.'
In response to a specific question as to whether Australia were racist, Mr Trujillo answered, 'Well I think it was evidenced in a lot of ways there, you know, with me personally, but more importantly with others as you look at some of the events that have occurred over the last five or ten years, some of them before I was there, some while I was there.
But, I'm sure that that will continue because of you know, what I would call the evolution, and the maturation of a country.'

2. There has been a growing number of attacks on foreign nationals, particularly Indians, in Australia
Greg Sheridan, writing in The Australian on June 4, 2009, noted, 'Last financial year nearly 1500 assaults and robberies were committed on people of Indian origin in Victoria, up by nearly one-third from the year before.'
The Indian online news site Merinews published an opinion piece by Om Prakash Yadav on June 1, 2009, which made very similar claims. Om Prakash Yadav claims, 'The recent attacks on Indian students studying in Australia have attracted global attention...One Sravan Kumar Theerthala was hit with petrol bottles by some unidentified teens while he was reading book in his house at Melbourne.
Baljinder Singh, another student from India studying in Melbourne, was robbed and stabbed in his abdomen. Both are struggling for life in hospitals. Sravan's condition is reported to be very critical, he is still in coma.
In a separate incident, four students were attacked and burgled by racist elements in Australia. One Suketu Modi, a businessman from Surat, was attacked in train by a group of students when he had gone there for IT business. According to student's organisations, these racist attacks have been taking place in Australia for quite some time; most of them went unreported. According to a report, about 20 racial attacks on Indians have taken place last month in Sydney alone.'
On May 29, 2009, Yadu Singh, a cardiologist who heads the Indian Student Welfare Committee set up by the Indian Consulate in Sydney, described the phenomenon as 'curry bashing', and that 'They are not random at all, the people are targeting them. They know these students are easy targets.'
Critics of Australia's supposedly racist treatment of immigrants have also noted that in 2007, the then immigration minister, Kevin Andrews, referred to the Sudanese community when he said, 'Some groups don't seem to be settling and adjusting into the Australian way of life as quickly as we would hope.' A spate of violent attacks against Sudanese migrants followed, and one was bashed to death by a group of white men.
Violence against people from Middle Eastern, South Asian and Indonesian backgrounds escalated after the US launched its 'war on terror' in 2001.

3. Australian leaders have denied the problem, sometimes for economic and diplomatic reasons
On June 1, 2009, Sam Varghese, a subeditor with The Age Online, argued, 'Nobody, but nobody, is willing to call a spade a spade and slam the perpetrators for what this is - latent racism in society coming to the fore. Everyone, the police first and foremost, is pussyfooting around the problem and trying to characterise the naked violence as anything but an expression of racial hostility.
As long as this goes on, we'll continue to see more of such senseless violence in the suburbs. And it will embolden others in other regions of the country who have feelings of the same kind to express themselves with sticks, stones and knives.'
In a letter published in The Age on May 30, 2009, David Vorchheimer stated, 'It is little wonder the Indian Government is furious with the lack of response to the continued assaults of Indian students. For five years Mr Brumby, Mr Cameron and Victoria Police have denied there is race-hate based crime in Victoria.
The Government's "decisive" actions have included telling victims how to behave, setting up a helpline and even travelling to India. The basic problem, however, is that police attitudes have not changed. Police do not take the incidents seriously and seek to blame victims rather than the aggressors. It is time for a fundamental change in policing and government attitudes to tackle race-hate crimes.'
Victoria University's Hurriyet Babacan, who is leading a research project into violence against Indian students, said there was evidence of a 'new' racism in Australia against groups seen as not fitting in.
Professor Babacan said efforts to tackle racism in the past had been hampered by a reluctance to admit it existed, not least because it could hurt the nation's $15.5 billion-a-year international student market.
'We don't like to talk about it. It is a confronting and difficult topic and it implicates us all in the indigenous history,' Professor Babacan said. She said the Indian community had long complained that the attacks were racially motivated but there was an initial reluctance on the part of the police to acknowledge that.

4. Legislative and other responses to racism are an acknowledgement there is a problem
It has been claimed that the legislative responses to the recent attacks on Indian students are an acknowledgement that there is a problem.
Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said he had discussed the problem with his Indian counterpart, S.M. Krishna, and had promised that Australia was doing all it could to prevent the violence and prosecute the perpetrators.
Mr Smith said, 'We have a particular current problem with Indian students. It's an issue we're very well aware of and we're working very closely with the relevant state authorities as a consequence.'
The Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, has has reassured Indian authorities and Indian students in Australia that these attacks are being treated seriously and that appropriate actions are being taken.
A multi-agency taskforce has been set up to deal with the issue, and tougher sentencing will be introduced so that judges will take ''hatred for or a prejudice against a particular group of people' into account when punishing offenders.
These has been a dedicated help line has been set up for Indian students who have been victims of crime. The students will be offered advice about how attacks might be avoided in future.
Victorian Premier, John Brumby, has announced he will lead a 'harmony walk' through Melbourne on July 12 to demonstrate Victoria's strong support for multiculturalism.
Critics of supposed racist attitudes in Australia have argued that none of these measures would be necessary if Australia did not have a problem with racial intolerance.

5. That other nations have a problem with racism does not mean there is no problem in Australia
Greg Sheridan, writing in The Australian on June 4, 2009, noted, 'There is nothing more lame than an Australian defence that points out that racism and policing problems exist in India, too.
So what? This is not a point-scoring game.'
A similar observation was made by Sandy Gifford in an article published in The Age on June 13, 2009, which stated, 'The argument that Australia has less racism or is less racist than other countries is not an excuse.
Racism, like rape, like genocide, like torture, is wrong and having less of it or being better than other countries does not make it right. Acts of hate violence such as in the recent attacks on Indian students must be seen as stemming from deeper problems in our society.'
A 2008 survey of more than 4000 Victorians found 90 per cent support for diversity, with 82 per cent of respondents feeling comfortable with people from different ethnic backgrounds.
But 37 per cent agreed with the statement that Australia was weakened by different ethnic cultures sticking to their 'old ways'.
And 36 per cent believed there were groups that did not fit into Australian society. Of these, Muslims and people from the Middle East were mentioned most often, possibly reflecting security concerns in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US.

Further implications
In the short-term a number of actions have been taken to allay concerns among Indian students studying in Australia and to placate the Indian government. Some members of the Indian community in Australia have also begun to take steps to ensure the safety of their people.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has offered reassurances to India, and the Indian community here, that the attacks are considered abhorrent by Australians and are being taken very seriously. A multi-agency taskforce has been set up to deal with the issue, and tougher sentencing will be
introduced so that judges will take 'hatred for or a prejudice against a particular group of people' into account when punishing offenders.
A dedicated help line has been set up for Indian students who have been victims of crime, with advice being offered about how attacks might be avoided in future.
Members of the Indian community, who believe the police have not been supportive enough, have responded by gathering in large numbers at one of the trouble spots, St Albans station, to protect students travelling late at night.
Some have suggested that police have shown a 'lack of sensitivity', or have been slow in reacting to student complaints. However, police have given assurances that extra resources will be made available to deal with the problem.
Premier John Brumby will lead a 'harmony walk' through Melbourne on July 12 to demonstrate Victoria's strong support for multiculturalism.
Additionally there is concern that reports of attacks on Indian students studying in Australia will have a negative effect on the Australian tertiary education sector. Currently providing tertiary courses for Indian students is an important source of income for Australian universities and other tertiary institutions.
The education sector in New Zealand has moved to distance itself from attacks on Indian students, saying they were 'totally different societies'. The Chief Executive of the New Zealand Education Trust, Robert Stevens, has stressed to prospective students from India that New Zealand 'is a different country from Australia - in the nicest possible way', and is striving to market New Zealand to Indians in this manner. Education authorities in New Zealand are hoping recent attacks on Indian students in Australia will make New Zealand a more attractive option.

Newspaper items used in the compilation of this issue outline
The Herald-Sun:  May 27, page 27, comment by cartoonist Mark Knight, `Amigo? Of course you are'
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25543554-5000117,00.html

Cartoon by Mark Knight
http://media.crikey.com.au/Media/images/090227-trujillo-733c317b-f4af-4e5c-ad2a-b7ac05dfb32e.jpg

The Herald-Sun:  May 27, page 26, comment (photo) by Andrew Bolt, `Sol's heavy saddlebags'.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,,25543539-5000117,00.html

The Australian:  May 27, page 3, news item by Bingemann and Ooi, `Trujillo's "racist, backward" claims dismissed as sour grapes'.
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25545131-15306,00.html

The Age:  May 27, page 13, comment by Peter Costello, `There are 30m reasons why it's not about race, Mr Trujillo'.
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/there-are-30m-reasons-why-its-not-about-race-mr-trujillo-20090526-bm0v.html

The Age:  May 30, page 6, news item by Dan Oakes, `Trujillo's successor says we're not racist'.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/trujillos-successor-says-were-not-racist-20090529-bqbc.html

The Australian:  June 6, page 24, comment by Jason di Russo, `Chk-chk bigotry boom'.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25593656-7583,00.html

The Age:  February 19, page 1, news item by Jewell Topsfield, `Indians told to keep a low profile'.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/indians-told-to-keep-low-profile-20090218-8bjz.html

The Age:  February 24, page 15, comment by Sushi Das, `Quiet, you down the back - you're not in India now'.
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/quiet-you-down-the-back-x2014-youre-not-in-india-now-20090223-8fxt.html

The Age:  February 21, Insight section, page 2, analysis (photo of attack victim) by Sushi Das, `The lowest of low blows'.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/the-lowest-of-low-blows-20090220-8dqu.html

The Age:  March 15, page 21, comment by Chris Berg, `More police, fewer daft ideas, the answer to city violence'.
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/more-police-fewer-daft-ideas-the-answer-to-city-violence-20090314-8ygd.html

The Age:  March 14, Insight section, page 6, editorial, `The thin blue line grows ever thinner'. (Online version reprinted on a police support website)
http://www.policeforcesexposed.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=226

The Age:  March 14, page 5, news item (with statistics) by Topsfield, `(Victorian) Police shortage, gangs roam wild in west'.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/police-shortage-gangs-roam-wild-in-west-20090313-8xy2.html

The Age:  May 13, page 3, news item by Paul Millar, `Police visit India to brief students on staying safe'.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/police-visit-india-to-brief-students-on-staying-safe-20090512-b1wa.html

The Age:  May 12, page 5, news item (photo - with list of attacks this year) by J Topsfield, `Helpline thrown to Indian students'.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/helpline-thrown-to-indian-students-20090511-b0mt.html

The Australian:  June 4, page 14, comment by Greg Sheridan, `Blind eye to racism'.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25583278-7583,00.html

The Australian:  June 4, page 8, news item by Rowan Callick, `Aussie Indians fear backlash as homeland hysteria grows over student assaults'.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,25584046-25837,00.html

The Age:  June 4, page 19, comment by Paul Austin, `Ugly times, yes, but let's not take the big stick to Victoria' (see also page 18 cartoon).
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/ugly-times-yes-but-lets-not-take-the-big-stick-to-victoria-20090603-bvm3.html

The Herald-Sun:  June 3, page 28, comment by Andrew Bolt, `We're not the racists'.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25578055-5000117,00.html

The Age:  June 3, page 5, news item by Amrit Dhillon, `Lure of Australia remains high'.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/lure-of-australia-remains-high-20090602-buc8.html

The Australian:  June 2, page 11, editorial, `Attacking our values'.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25571554-16382,00.html

The Age:  June 2, page 15, comment by Akash Aurora, `Don't believe the media hype: racism is often a two-way street'.
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/dont-believe-the-media-hype-racism-is-often-a-twoway-street-20090601-bsto.html

The Herald-Sun:  June 11, page 33, comment by Neil Mitchell, `No, we are not racists'.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25616952-5000117,00.html

The Australian:  June 11, page 11, analysis by Greg Sheridan, `Student danger zones'.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,25616905-12332,00.html?from=public_rss

The Herald-Sun:  June 8, page 20, comment by Alan Howe, `Indians can learn from us'.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25600927-5000117,00.html

The Age:  June 8, page 15, analysis (photos) by Farrah Tomazin, `Beyond them and us'.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/education/beyond-them-and-us-20090605-by7x.html

The Age:  June 13, Insight section, page 7, comment by Sandy Gifford, `Lifting the veil on our ingrained racism'.
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/lifting-the-veil-on-our-ingrained-racism-20090612-c637.html