“Racism does not need knee-jerk policies. Do we have some way to go? Indeed! However, it is worth also noting how far we have come. And it was not through knee-jerk reactions,” writes political columnist MICHAEL MOORE.

Governments are renowned for disproportionate, knee-jerk responses. The real danger of such responses is that they undermine democratic rights and freedoms.

Legislation put through the NSW parliament following attacks on Jewish facilities by the Minns government to address “antisemitism” was knee-jerk and disproportionate.

It turned out to be a futile attempt to address a problem that we now know was orchestrated from abroad.

A more proportionate response would have been to reassess human rights legislation and antiracist behaviour in general.

At the Federal level, the appointment of Jillian Segal as the Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism in Australia on July 9 last year was a knee-jerk response. Ms Segal’s report that followed made recommendations that were also seriously disproportionate.

Having caved into pressure from parts of the Jewish lobby in Australia to make an appointment to combat antisemitism, Prime Minister Albanese realised the response, while good politics, was a kneejerk and disproportionate response.

However, after three months, he realised he had to even the playing field. He appointed Aftab Malik as Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia in Australia. 

It is popular to think of Australia as a racist nation. However, the country has come a long way since the White Australia policy of the mid-20th century. Racism does still exist – but for those who travel the world, it is apparent that racism is much more apparent in many, many other countries.

Racism does not need knee-jerk policies. Sensible human rights legislation, agreed across the political spectrum, have driven a much more tolerant and inclusive society. Do we have some way to go? Indeed! However, it is worth also noting how far we have come. And it was not through knee-jerk reactions.

In looking around the world, it is instructive to see how the US is heading in the opposite direction. The Trump administration’s attacks on immigrants, and the way the Immigration and Customs Enforcement forces are used, is illustrative of a growing intolerance.

The rules for students, cultural exchange visitors and journalists heading to the US are about to change. According to Reuters, the US is to “resume long-dormant visits to citizenship applicants’ neighbourhoods to check what it termed residency, moral character and commitment to American ideals”. Intolerance grows, and racism builds through disproportionate policies.

Journalists are a favoured target for those who act disproportionately. Current visas for journalists entering the US in the last four years will now be limited to 240 days, except for Chinese journalists who will have a limit of 90 days. It is a disproportionate reaction to the impact of foreign reporters.

Nowhere is a government’s disproportionate behaviour more apparent than in Gaza. Put aside the years of appalling treatment of the Palestinians by the Israeli government and defence forces. Overlook the impact of the increasing number of Jewish settlements displacing so many Palestinians on the West Bank. The Israeli government’s reaction to the October 7 2023 attacks by Hamas was, and remains, totally disproportionate. 

PM Benjamin Netenyahu’s government claims more than 1000 deaths of Israeli citizens in those attacks. Israeli forces have killed more than 19,000 children under 10 years old. Palestinian deaths have now reached more than 60,000 in Gaza, with the vast majority being women and children.

All members of the United Nations Security Council, bar one, have recently declared “the famine in Gaza is a ‘man-made’ crisis”. They are “calling for justice, claiming that using starvation as a weapon of war is banned under international humanitarian law”. 

The disproportionate response of the Netanyahu government has undermined the rights and privileges of many Israelis who have not accepted the dehumanising of Palestinian women and children. As the Israeli government continues this disproportionate response, all citizens of their country will be cloaked with the international censure of attempted genocide.

Although the Israeli government attempted to claim some role, the expulsion of the Iranian ambassador was a proportionate reaction by Prime Minister Albanese. 

The behaviour of the Iranian government in Australia has been under scrutiny for a long time. This was not a knee-jerk response, rather the orchestrated antisemitic attacks proved the catalyst for action. 

Knee-jerk political responses feed into populist movements as do disproportionate responses. It looks like governments are doing something effective. 

However, rather than improving conditions for marginalised populations, such actions undermine democratic processes, whittle away our government institutions and reduce our freedoms.

Michael Moore is a former member of the ACT Legislative Assembly and an independent minister for health. He has been a political columnist with “CityNews” since 2006.

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