Northern Territory Anti-Discrimination Commissioner speak about challenges facing Territorians

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Australia prides itself on being the "lucky country” where people from all walks of life have equal opportunities to get ahead. But each year, the Northern Territory's Anti-Discrimination Commission receives hundreds of complaints from diverse Territorians of all backgrounds - from women to religious minorities, ethnically diverse people and the LGBTQIA+ community. Commissioner Jeswynn Yogaratnam speaks about the challenges of the role and for Territorians.

Transcript

00:00Discrimination in itself is an area that everyone should give themselves permission

00:07to care because of the human harm that one has to endure as a result of discrimination.

00:13They feel like they don't belong.

00:16Is that from your own kind of personal experience as well?

00:19It's from my personal experience and so vicariously seeing others.

00:23As a migrant to Australia, you are always trying to fit in and because the other doesn't

00:29let you fit in, and the other may not let you fit in in the context of decisions they

00:34make about the sort of work that you do or can do or should do and the sort of opportunities

00:40that you deserve.

00:41You've said the government is watering down the Anti-Discrimination Act.

00:48Do you feel there's an attempt here to defuse your power?

00:51It's not so much about, I think, defusing my power because the functions and powers of

00:59the commission and the commissioner are clearly laid out in the Anti-Discrimination Act.

01:05But it's a struggle when the commission is being told that in order for us to receive

01:14more funding, that we need to respond to the three things.

01:17Are we rebuilding the economy?

01:20Are we restoring territory lifestyle?

01:26And are we reducing crime?

01:28Now that's the mandate of the government.

01:32That is not the mandate of the commission.

01:35Is that an attack on the independence of the commission?

01:38It is an attack on the independence of the commission.

01:42But more to that, I think there's a great misunderstanding of how statutory bodies work.

01:51We do not work in the context of the government of the day's mandate based on its policies.

01:58It works on the mandate as an independent statutory body provided by the legislation.

02:05And for us, it's about the way in which we can achieve equality of opportunity for all

02:10Territorians.

02:11Since the country Liberal Party formed government, Aboriginal leaders have raised repeated concerns

02:18about its law and order changes, such as lowering the age of criminal responsibility, criminalising

02:24public drunkenness, tightening bail restrictions.

02:26Do you share those concerns?

02:28I very much share those concerns in the context of the speed in which such provisions are brought

02:38in, but also the concerns in terms of how it disproportionately impacts Aboriginal people.

02:45Is the Northern Territory government, as it currently stands, racist?

02:49I would not perhaps outwardly say that this government is racist, but the policies in which sometimes that

02:59they propose and enact can have a racist outcome.

03:05If you are bringing in these new laws which could potentially have racist outcomes, you also

03:13then need to ensure that you're also reforming the systems within the organisation.

03:19Otherwise, these new reforms will inherit a system that's already plagued with racism.

03:28And the question that you ask is, are you really making a difference here?

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