'Racism still prevalent in Australia'

Last Updated: Thursday, January 19, 2012, 15:18

Tags: Australia, Racism

Sydney: World-renowned neurosurgeon, Dr Charlie Teo, has said that racism is still practiced on a wide scale in Australia.

Dr Teo has been selected to give the NSW Australian Day speech and his address to the audience is expected to revolve around existing racism in Australia.

He stressed that despite Australia being the world’s best nation, claims made by some Australian politicians denying racism in Australia, annoys him.

“I don't quite like it when I hear politicians reassuring the Indians there's no racism in Australia. That's b******t. Racism is still very much alive in Australia,” The Telegraph quoted, Dr Teo, as saying.

He said his daughter was recently a victim of racism. “My daughter, for example, was saying to me just the other day, very sadly, she doesn't like Australia Day. She has in the past dressed up, got into the spirit of things, put a sticker on her face, worn the green and gold and been told by drunk Australians to go home because she looks Chinese. That's so sad. You can't get more Australian than my daughter,” he added.

Dr Teo also gave another example of an Indian neurosurgeon, who experienced racism in Australia. “He was an Indian and it was so sad. He came in one day and says 'I was just standing on the side of the road waiting at the traffic light' and someone spat at him and told him to go home, back to India. Just spat on him. How sad is that? That still exists,” he added.

Meanwhile, an expert panel in Australia has called for new section (116A) to prohibit racial discrimination. The expert panel of 19 indigenous leaders, politicians and legal minds, also urged to increase efforts to recognise indigenous Australians in the constitution. Few obsolete discriminatory sections were also suggested to be removed including Section 25, which says an Australian voter could be excluded from voting on the basis of race and section 51(xxvi) on ‘race power’, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

“For many Australians, the failure of a referendum on recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples would result in confusion about the nation's values, commitment to racial non-discrimination, and sense of national identity,” the report said.

ANI

First Published: Thursday, January 19, 2012, 15:18

Comments

Ian - Australia
Being born in Australia of white Australian parents, you may accuse me of racism. The truth is stranger than fiction. In spite of Dr Teo`s remarks the truth is that 1 in 4 people living here have been born overseas, 2 our of 4 kids have at least ONE parent born overseas. With that HUGE accurate statistic it is impossible to have national racism. It IS possible to have individuals display hatred, as occurs in ALL countries, India and China included, the world over. This is NOT racism but merely individual hatred and should be stamped out. In actual fact if you examined policies in both India and China, you would see that Australia is a far fairer society in which to live in MANY MANY ways! In regard to Michelle`s comments - while there are elements of truth in her remarks, with such a small population, Australia , with immigration, at the levels which give it the 1:4 ratio of residents born overseas etc., is actually the ONLY country on the face of this planet that is evolving a completely NEW PEOPLE! I would encourage her to read some of the writings of the British Historian. General J Fuller. His study of civilisation led him to the conclusion that those civilisations that flourished were those that bought forth a NEW people. I wont go in to the reasons for his conclusions, so why don`t you find out?

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Ian - Australia
I was born in Australia, as were my parents, but the comments that people make about racism here is not tempered with logical thought. One in FOUR AUSTRALIANS have actually been BORN OVERSEAS, while 2 out of 4 kids have at least ONE parent born overseas. SO Dr Teo`s comments may be relative to an occurrence

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Michelle - Sydney
na·tion/'naSH?n/ Noun: A large aggregate of people united by common descent, history, culture, or language, inhabiting a particular country or territory. So you see. His definition of nation is WRONG. There is no such thing as a civic nation only one put into his head by his television receiver and marxist text books. All these multiracial nations lead to DEATH and history proves me right. Nations are ONLY forged by people of common descent. Then they fade out and DIE when they are plagued with immigrants as the host people are replaced. You would think this would be common sense for a ``brain surgeon`` huh? China is China because of Chinese people. Australia is what it is because of Europeans. Its that simple. He`s a hypocrite.