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Racism in contemporary society (recent Australian example in the news)

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Racism in contemporary society (recent Australian example in the news)

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Jasmine Kazlauskasnews.com.au·16 Mar, 2025 11:02 PM3 mins to read

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Watch: Checkout worker stands up to ‘racist’ customer

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The video went viral, with almost 250,000 views and thousands of comments.

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Since Corrigan is a small rural town, it is away from the big city and the more abstract ideas it holds, subjugating Corrigan to the town with closed-minded thinking. Since there are fewer people, everyone's ideas are mainly the same because it's easier to plant the seed of influence in a small backward town. They won't deviate from the town's collective ideas and thinking to avoid being singled out and shunned, so they stick with the majority and won't stand up for what's right in times of heavy injustice. The story is set in the 60s, which further amplifies Corrigan's insular thinking. Craig Silvey gives us insights into what it was like to be a person of color back in the 60s, which involved heavy discrimination, persecution, and judgment, shown through characters like Jasper and Mrs Lu. The town had created a fake perception of Jasper to single him out and use him as the scapegoat, while Mrs Lu was verbally and physically attacked by a woman who'd lost her husband in the Vietnam War that Mrs Lu had no hand in. No one helped them because to speak out against Corrigan's community means facing persecution for yourself. Both these attacks against people of color would have been very common back in the day and no one would've come to their defense.

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People in Corrigan have a thinking same like the settlers have with the Aboriginal person in Australia in the 1960s-1970s, being treated like animals. The impact of European invasion and their treatment on the Australian, especially Corrigan's people. They have closed minded and thinking about others

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The impact of the setting in Jasper Jones

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The impact of the setting in Jasper Jones

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Jasper Jones, a novel set in 1960s Corrigan, a rural, rather insular community that has some very strong prejudices against certain groups and minorities within Corrigan. During this timeframe, a revelation for aboriginal rights within Australia and right for them to be considered people within Australia. Since Corrigan was a rural, disconnected town, the people of Corrigan may not have been exposed to these ideas and continued living in their close-minded ways. Throughout the book it has been observed that there is a lot of internalized racism within people that has been passed down through generations and the concept of 'dehumanization' had been so normalized and accepted within the people of corrigan

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There were many events happening in Australia at the time of Jasper Jones (1960s). While there was positive change being made for the rights of aboriginal Australians, there was still a lot of work needed to change deeply-rooted systemic discrimination and stigmas. This change was also occurring in the cities, whereas Corrigan would not have been apart of this movement. Therefore the insular nature of small towns such as Corrigan would need a lot of open-mindedness and work to change town-wide ideologies.

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The setting of the novel is still relevant to us today, because the use of this setting showed us how even though things were starting to change, like how Aboriginal people were starting to be given the right to vote. That in the small town of Corrigan, despite all this they still discriminated against Aboriginal people, like Jasper. It shows us the one sided view these people have, and how they're judging others based on what they've heard through rumours and stereotypes.

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The relationship between Charlie and Jasper highlights the contrasting experiences of the two characters. While Charlie begins to question the opinions and ideals in his town, he realizes how limited his own understanding was before meeting with Jasper. The novel underlines the importance of empathy and questioning societal ideals that perpetuate inequality and racism. 

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The relationship between Charlie and Jasper highlights the contrasting experiences of the two characters. While Charlie begins to question the opinions and ideals in his town, he realizes how limited his own understanding was before meeting with Jasper. The novel underlines the importance of empathy and questioning societal ideals that perpetuate inequality and racism. 

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The town Corrigan seems like because the town is so insular and small minded and no one to blame, they blame the easiest option - which is Jasper

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Schoolboy victim of racially motivated attack on Auckland bus

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The boy hoped his story would encourage others to intervene if they saw an attack.

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A legacy of racism - The Dawn Raids in New Zealand

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A legacy of racism - The Dawn Raids in New Zealand

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Nearly 50 years after the police started a crackdown on Pasifika people in Auckland, people are opening up about their experiences of the Dawn Raids for the first time.

"I don't think there is any Pacific family who was not touched by the Dawn Raids or the random checking in one way or another," says Reverend Alec Toleafoa.

But the shame of it has kept many silent.

"There are Pacific people who find it difficult to stand tall ...because of that, to live a full life carrying this burden."

Today Toleafoa tells The Detail about his own experiences as a teenager living in Ponsonby in the '70s, being randomly checked by the police as he walked down the street, detained without reason and abused. The raids and random checks, he says, were "state sanctioned racism, state sanctioned terror".

He also talks of the role of the Polynesian Panthers Party helping Pacific communities survive, and the legacy of the Dawn Raids today. Toleafoa is part of a collective that is negotiating an apology by the government.

He has also been part of the Polynesian Panthers group touring Aotearoa with a Dawn Raids exhibition.

"Even today it is extremely difficult for people to come forward and tell their story," says Toleafoa. "One of the enduring effects of the Dawn Raids is the sense of shame, the sense of shame that they were labelled as overstayers and illegal.

"Stories are surfacing as recently as a fortnight ago where, at the age of 20, a young Pacific person experienced the Dawn Raids, and since that time they've never been able to tell anybody about their experience and they've lived with that in silence."

After World War II, Pasifika workers were encouraged by the government and businesses to migrate to New Zealand. They were attracted by job opportunities, money and education for their children.

But by the early '70s New Zealand faced two economic shocks - soaring oil prices and Britain joining the European Economic Community.

As unemployment grew so-called overstayers became scapegoats. The Labour Government set up police taskforces and in March 1974 the Dawn Raids began in Auckland.

After just a few weeks they were scrapped but the next National Government picked up the policy with more draconian measures.

"It was a horrible, horrible time," says Joris de Bres, a former Race Relations Commissioner who is part of the push for an apology. For a short time in the '70s de Bres was a reporter but he also was active in the Citizens' Association for Racial Equality (CARE) and other campaign groups.

"You had immigration policy and you had discrimination in terms of applying the law. You had government and businesses' complicity in encouraging people to come to New Zealand and turning a blind eye when their permits expired. Then you had a turnaround when jobs became more tight, when there was an economic downturn."

Both Toleafoa and de Bres took the stories of the Dawn Raids and random checks to, in particular, The Auckland Star and The Dominion. Their efforts included the publication of names of people who had been randomly stopped.

"This was in the face of denials by the government, denials by the police that there were random checks on Pacific and Māori people happening," says Toleafoa.

Telling the stories to the media was important "in terms of the ultimately moving public opinion and putting pressure on the government", says de Bres.

Along with an apology there are calls for better pathways to residency for Pasifika people, the teaching of Dawn Raids as part of the school curriculum, and steps to speed up the process of lifting people out of poverty.

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Why an apology is needed over the 70's Dawn Raids

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The Dawn Raids of the 1970s carry a shameful legacy to this day - and those who haven't forgotten, want an apology.

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Link to our own country's history - The Dawn Raids were based on scapegoat-based racism

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Link to our own country's history - The Dawn Raids were based on scapegoat-based racism

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Tā Kim Workman was a policeman during the 1976 Dawn Raids, when the police were pulled into "a political campaign that was racist, discriminatory and unfair".
In 1976, I was a senior sergeant at the Lower Hutt police station.

I'd been a policeman for 18 years, but I was st arting to question whether policing was really the best vocation for me. By '76, I'd spent two years as a senior sergeant and was due to be promoted to Inspector, but a psychometric test suggested I was more suited for journalism and pastoral care than the police or military.

It was a time of activism - we were in what was known as the Vietnam generation - and Māori claims around land and tino rangatiratanga were starting to break through into the national consciousness. Increasingly, I was finding myself on the side of those activists.

But the final straw for me was the government's treatment of Pacific overstayers in 1976, which accelerated my decision to move on from the police.

The shortage of workers in New Zealand had seen the reintroduction of assisted-passage schemes for British migrants - which lasted from 1947 to 1973 - and the recruitment of smaller numbers from the Netherlands and southern Europe.

Immigrants from the Pacific, closer to home but less familiar to Pākehā, were also encouraged to enter the country. Workers, and sometimes also their families, from Sāmoa, Tonga and other Pacific Islands, arrived in increasing numbers from the 1950s.

When economic conditions deteriorated in the 1970s, the political and public response to the situation was appalling, and echoed earlier treatment of ethnic minorities.

Pacific Islanders were singled out as potential overstayers, and those with short term work visas were subjected to "dawn raids" in an unprecedented collusion between the government, the Department of Immigration, and the police.

The matter came to a head in June 1976, when the Minister of Immigration, Frank Gill, announced that everyone who had overstayed their immigration permits should register with the Department of Labour by the end of the month. After that date, deportation would be recommended against overstayers who had not registered.

More than 3000 illegal immigrants registered, and about half of those were permitted to remain permanently in New Zealand. The other half were mainly single people and those with a poor work record.

Over and above the 3000 who registered, there were a considerable number of overstayers who remained in the shadows, most of whom were thought to be Pacific Island peoples.

Frank Gill's next move was to ask the Minister of Police, Allan McCready, to "send officers to places where there was reason to suspect that they would find overstayers", according to an Evening Post story.

McCready then held discussions with the Commissioner of Police, Ken Burnside - and while what was said was never publicly revealed, the outcome was immediate.

Commissioner Burnside convened a meeting of district police commanders from Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland, and instructed them to become "more deeply involved in inquiries to locate illegal immigrants and overstayers".

The district commander for Christchurch, Chief Superintendent George Twentyman, told the newspaper that as a result of the commissioner's instructions, "if we see anyone on the street whom we have reason to suspect, naturally we will question him. . . . Naturally, Polynesians, being a lesser segment of the community, are easy to identify".

Twentyman added that he expected some controversy about the policy, but said it was "a necessity" to have some degree of firmness. "Many people will interpret this as a racist move," he said, "but we are here as agents of the Crown, to uphold the law." He said that the new policy would involve detaining persons who did not "look or speak" like native-born New Zealanders.

Special squads were formed to execute the new policy, including one in Lower Hutt. When questioned in parliament about a police circular instruction which required police "to round up all illegal immigrants and overstayers of all races" and which gave them "complete discretion as to the time of day or night when arrests may be made" - Minister McCready said he'd requested a full inquiry and had asked the Police Commissioner to report to him.

Law-abiding Pacific families in the Petone and Lower Hutt region were singled out for this treatment - and, as one of three senior sergeants running the station, I was required to oversee the operation.

I had no control over the information provided by immigration officials, which targeted Pacific families and ignored the larger number of European families who were working on temporary visas.

European and Pacific workers usually had different qualifications and skills, and often did different kinds of jobs. Some European migrants did encounter prejudice. Yet the contrast in public perceptions and treatment of these groups was striking.

Echoing earlier treatment of ethnic minorities, "Islanders" were stigmatised and scapegoated when economic conditions deteriorated in the 1970s. Pacific people were negatively labelled "overstayers". Many with short-term work visas were subjected to "dawn raids" by the police, even though European migrants were more frequently working on expired visas.

The attitudes of the special squads which had been formed to do this work was appalling. The latent racism, usually judiciously concealed, was blatant and paraded for all to see, with constant talk of "getting the coconuts".

Members of the special squad felt they could make such comments with impunity, because they knew they were operating under a mandate from Police National Headquarters.

Homes were stormed at night or in the early hours of the morning. Police tactics caused outrage and brought accusations of racism. Sāmoan and Tongan overstayers were singled out - they were stopped in the street and asked for proof of residency.

The Dawn Raids cast a dark shadow over race relations in this country. The raids were humiliating and insulting to Pacific communities and led to a significant deterioration in the relationship between the New Zealand Police and Pacific people, not only in New Zealand but between the governments of New Zealand, Sāmoa and Tonga.

Pacific Islanders only comprised one-third of the overstayers but made up 86 percent of those arrested and prosecuted for overstaying.

I was the chair of the Wainuiomata Māori Committee at that time, and was probably regarded as something of an outlier at the station.

I had also, at the request of the Pacific community in Petone, run weekly sessions for new immigrants on "You and the Law", where I talked about the criminal justice system and how it worked, the role of Youth Aid and Crime Prevention, and laws with which they were unfamiliar. For example, trespassing on a railway line, drinking outside a dance hall, and the different attitudes that Pālagi have about things like borrowing without asking, and noisy gatherings.

So my mana was fairly high with the community. But the Dawn Raids presented a challenge. Māori were openly upset and let me have it at public gatherings and meetings. Members of the Pacific community were more deferential, but I was approached by community leaders who expressed their concern in a reserved but concerned manner. I had to explain that there was little I could do.

I'm innately conservative, but, looking back, it was a time of politicisation for me.

I made my position clear to my colleagues, and questioned why the police were involved in a political campaign that was racist, discriminatory and unfair.

Where was the moral leadership on the part of the police? Why was the Police Commissioner not seeking refuge in the constitutional arrangements between the police and the government? This made it clear that, w hile responsible to the Minister of Police for the general administration of the service, the Commissioner of Police isn't subject to the direction of the minister on matters of operational law enforcement in particular cases or classes of cases.

That overreach by the police minister and the blatant crossing of boundaries was the subject of a paper in 1986 by Professor Gordon Orr - a former Secretary of Justice, Waitangi Tribunal member, and dean of the Victoria University Law Faculty - who described it as "instructive".

First, the executive, through the Minister of Police, had sought and obtained from the Commissioner of Police prompt and comprehensive action in rounding up illegal immigrants. As Professor Orr commented: "It is difficult to believe that had the Minister of Police not intervened, the police policy towards enforcement of the immigration laws would have undergone such a sudden and drastic change."

Secondly, when matters appeared to go wrong through an excess of zeal on the part of the police, the minister called on the commissioner to account to him for the police actions.

Thirdly, when eventually a report was furnished by the Police Commissioner to the Minister of Police, he declined to issue the full text.

Fourthly, instructions were given to police constables and others as to the steps they were to take in enforcing or attempting to enforce the law. And they were obeyed - notwithstanding the characterisation by the Auckland chairman of the Police Association of the methods used as being "quite abhorrent to the 1100 members of the Police Association". Little, if any, scope had been given to police officers to act on their own responsibility.

Finally, Minister McCready, while accepting that he was responsible for the police department, disowned responsibility for its "day-to-day operations".

This was a time when we needed a Sam Barnett or John Robson at the helm of the police service - someone who was prepared to exercise moral leadership and draw a line at taking arbitrary and unfair action against a class of people. I was deeply disappointed in Commissioner Burnside. This lack of moral certitude contributed to my decision to move on.

There's an interesting sequel. I applied for a job as an investigating officer at the Ombudsman's Office. I had no tertiary qualifications, and to my surprise was invited for an interview.

The Chief Ombudsman was Sir Guy Powles, who'd been appointed in 1949 as New Zealand's High Commissioner in Sāmoa (and then Governor) until 1959. I found out later that Sir Guy's PA had heard me speak at a meeting of the Catholic Women's Welfare League, and insisted that I be shortlisted. Sir Guy read my CV and liked the quote: "The success of the Police should be measured not by the absence of disorder, but the presence of justice."

He noted my work with the Pacific community in Petone, and made his own enquiries. So I was interviewed and, without any tertiary qualifications, got the job.
Dr Kim Workman (Ngāti Kahungunu and Rangitāne) spent nearly four decades in the public sector - with the Police, the Office of the Ombudsman, State Services Commission, Department of Māori Affairs, and Ministry of Health. Following a stint as head of the prison service, Kim became the director of Prison Fellowship, a role he held from 2000 until 2008. In 2006, Kim joined with Major Campbell Roberts of the Salvation Army to launch the "Rethinking Crime and Punishment" strategy. In 2011, he formed Justspeak, and remains as its kaumātua.
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"The attitudes of the special squads which had been formed to do this work was appalling. The latent racism, usually judiciously concealed, was blatant and paraded for all to see, with constant talk of 'getting the coconuts'." - Tā Kim Workman.

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The concept of a 'scapegoat' is alive and well in our world

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The concept of a 'scapegoat' is alive and well in our world

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Scapegoating of ethnic minorities: Experimental evidence

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Scapegoating refers to a social phenomenon whereby members of an aggrieved majority group retaliate against innocent third parties, usually members of vulnerable minority groups. This column uses an experiment set up between May and September 2017 in Eastern Slovakia – where a large Roma minority regularly suffers from discrimination – to measure how an injustice that affects a member of one’s own group shapes the punishment of an unconnected bystander (or scapegoat). The experiment shows that members of a majority group will systematically shift punishment onto innocent members of an ethnic minority.

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Bryce Edwards: Will immigrants become the housing scapegoat? - NZ Herald

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Housing affordability is shaping up to be a key election issue, and one that currently favours the opposition parties over a government that is perceived to...

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Some Asian New Zealanders facing racism due to Covid-19 - survey

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There have been high levels of discrimination and racism experiences among Asian New Zealanders due to Covid-19, according to a survey.

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Emma Ng says anti-Asian sentiment has been a problem in New Zealand since Chinese immigrants first arrived in the 1860s.

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Police research: ‘Unconscious bias’ a ‘scapegoat’ for not addressing racism

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It’s part of a major project on inherent bias, racism and use of discretion in the force.

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The way people like Jasper were treated in the novel reveals a key aspect of human nature. Humans are subconsciously afraid of being outcast and 'othered' themselves so they base their lives around the judgement of others and discriminate and prejudice, even when there's no evidence to back it. This was especially prevalent in towns like Corrigan because everybody knew each other and the ideas that aboriginal people were unworthy of respect were rooted deeply in the tight-woven society, passed down from parents to children and spoken like fact. Charlie wonders why no one had the idea to help Mrs Lu when she was facing extreme racism, especially all of the adults he trusted and respected - it is because the collective mentality of the town is something that makes the citizens feel safe from being outcast themselves.

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the aboriginal people were often discriminated against and shoved to the very edges of society, this is mostly due to the prevalent racism that existed in society, and still continues to exist today, the reason that the novel takes place In the 1960's is because that was a time for change in the rest of the world for minority groups and it shows that even in a time of great change for the world, racism was still incredibly rampant in the smaller isolated towns, and country's, like Australia.

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The book is set in 1960s Australia and this is very important to the main characterrs and our themes. The author of the Jasper Jones is using this setting to show how whilst this time preroid is looked back on as a time of growth and as removle of prevalent racism in Australia, there was in reality still very prevalent racism and discrimination that people like Jasper would have to deal with in towns like Coragin. The fact that the book is set in a small town liike Coragen and not a big city is importatnt for the theme of racism as not only does it means our story takes place in a place that would not be as liberal as the larger citys might be (as these are the areas of strikes and such) it is also importatnt that in this small town Jasper is very isolated exept for like 2 people, in bigger settings there would be a higher chance of Jasper meeting someone who accepts him or meeting other Aboriginal people.

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In Australia, being Aboriginal in the 1960s-1970s wasn't easy. People who weren't Anglo were treated like animals, and were discriminated against. Small towns like Corrigan were very close-minded, everyone knows everyone's gossip and life details. Corrigan is very Anglo and male dominated, and minority groups were treated as outcasts. We can clearly see this in Jasper, he was treated as a scapegoat, and because of his past people were treated inhumanly. Jasper Jones was treated poorly and he was viewed as an underclass criminal with no morals.

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The context of the novel - Australian small towns in the 1960s - is important because it shows how a period of time which was meant to embrace change for the better wasn't quite as it seemed. In the book, there are many old fashioned and biased beliefs, including most obviously racism and overly valued masculinity. This contrast between what the time period was meant to embody and what actually occurred in Corrigan is one that is very relevant to current times. Institutionalized as well as commonly accepted prejudice is far from fixed and still has an impact on society. We need to be more realistic about how far we have come, and how far we still need to go.

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How does understanding the social and cultural context of the novel help us understand it?

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How does understanding the social and cultural context of the novel help us understand it?

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1: Historical and Social Setting: Jasper Jones is set in 1960s Australia, a period marked by significant social change and racial tension. Understanding this historical backdrop helps readers grasp the novel’s exploration of racism, social injustice, and the struggles of marginalized communities. The town's attitudes towards Jasper Jones, an Indigenous Australian, reflect broader societal prejudices of the time.

2: Cultural Norms and Values: The novel delves into the cultural norms of small-town life and how they shape individual behavior and community dynamics. By examining these norms, readers can better understand the characters' motivations and the societal pressures they face. This context illuminates the themes of conformity, secrecy, and the clash between personal values and societal expectations.

3: Racial Tensions: The novel addresses the marginalization of Indigenous Australians, portraying Jasper Jones as an outsider in his own community. Recognizing the historical context of racial discrimination in Australia helps readers understand the systemic barriers Jasper faces and the novel's critique of these injustices.

4: Influence of Literature and Media: The novel also reflects the influence of contemporary literature and media on its characters and themes. By understanding the literary and cultural references of the time, readers can see how they inform the novel’s narrative and its portrayal of societal issues.

5: Character Development: The social and cultural context sheds light on the characters' development and interactions. For example, Charlie Bucktin’s coming-of-age journey is influenced by the societal values and expectations of his time, making his growth and the moral dilemmas he faces more significant.

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Corrigan, Australia is seen as a safe place with little drama and everyone seems happy. The reality is that it isn't all perfect and people turn a blindside to most problems they don't want to have to deal with. The context of the novel allows us to see the one sided views people have about others and their lack of empathy. Basically how good characters are shown as bad due to a lack or further judgement (judgements made by rumors)

They single out lots of people because of race, intelligence, and sports abilities

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the setting of the novel is relevant because it allows the author to highlight some of his key points, themes, and ideas really well. like the idea of racism because it is a country town where everyone knows everyone they gossip about everything that happens like the fire at the end of the story where someone says that it might have been jasper Jones or the post office fire that was also blamed on jasper jones.

being an aboriginal person in the 1960s - 70s would have been such a hard time because there were still laws in Australia that prevented aboriginal people from having a say in what happens in the country and they were very harshly discriminated against.

the context of the novel being in the 1960 is important because the thinking surrounding aboriginal people and so many other things was quite different to what we have nowadays like how woman did all the chores and the cooking and didn't really work, how men were predominantly the more dominant and how people of other cultures and ethnicitys were seen not just aboriginals but other ones like vietnamese

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The town of Corrigean depicts some of the major issues prevalent even in current society. The characters inside of Jasper Jones helps found the idea behind how ignorant and judgemental society can be due to how isolated the town is. As not all of us grow up to experience the feel of empathy like Charlie did, it is easy for many individuals to wrongly critique the outer world based on hearsay.

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Being an aboriginal person in Australia during the 1960s would be extremely othered. When considering how normalised and prevalent racism is in a small town like Corrigan, it could be dehumanising. Because of the way Corrigan as a township is set up, where it is almost self-absorbed and it's own little circle, being trapped in that circle as someone different to everyone else leads you to being othered, blamed, and set aside. Also considering the history of aboriginals and white settlers, tensions would be high and there would definitely be bias and prejudice.

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It is clear that the context of the novel is important as it highlights some of the issues that aborigional people faced in the 1960s and some of which are still relevant today. It could be interpreted as a book which shows that the racism that was relevant in the 1960s has not actually gone away

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Corrigan - small town Australia in the 1960s

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Corrigan - small town Australia in the 1960s

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Silvey critiques the idea that Australia 'grew up' in the 1960s, arguing that the social ills persisted for many years beyond this period.

Context - time period 1960s - period of change in broader society but it feels like rural areas may have been left behind somewhat - seen as ‘happy’ and safe spaces but the underbelly presented by Silvey shows that this type of environment was not safe or happy for many, especially those deemed outsiders or those ‘othered.’ (concepts of racism; homophobia; colonial beliefs about Aboriginals; even Charlie our protagonist is an outsider as he doesn’t fit the stereotype of masculinity around sporting prowess and so on).

Climate of intolerance is shown most obviously through Jeffrey Lu and Jasper Jones - the way many of the Corrigan folk treated both of these characters exemplifies this intolerance and blatant 'othering.' and scapegoating. Other characters show the reality that just because someone is 'seen' to be trustworthy does not make it so (many characters who are accepted in Corrigan but committing atrocious acts on the down low).