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Community Harmony Reference Group
In mid-October 2002 Premier Carr directed the Commission to set up the Community Harmony Reference Group to ensure a co-ordinated rapid response to any local community relations issues which may arise in the wake of the Bali bombings and a possible conflict with Iraq. Mr Carr said “we must ensure that there are no reprisals or acts of vengeance directed against members of our community”.
The Reference Group met for the first time on October 21 2002 and was attended by NSW Police Commissioner, Mr Ken Moroney and representatives from the NSW Departments of Education and Community Services and the NSW Anti-Discrimination Board. Sydney’s Islamic, Arabic, Jewish, Indonesian, Turkish and Sikh communities are also represented on the Reference Group.
The Reference Group established a Steering Committee and three Working Groups to focus on specific areas – Education, Arabic and Islamic community issues, and Public Discourse.
The Reference Group met on a bimonthly basis, with the Steering Committee and working groups meeting fortnightly or on a needs basis.
In addition to developing a rapid response Community Relations Crisis Management Plan, the Reference Group examined ways to promote community harmony through education and through encouraging informed and balanced coverage of issues in the media.
The Commission set up and publicised a bi-lingual Hotline to encourage members of the community who suffer abuse, insult or harassment to report such incidents. This hotline is still operational (Phone 1800 80 41 41).
For more information see the Community Harmony Reference Group Report in our publications section.
The Racism. No way! project aims to assist school communities and education systems to recognise and address racism in the learning environment. The project is an initiative of the Chief Executive Officers of education systems across Australia.