Racism It Stops With Me ads stopped by Human Rights Commission

The Australian Human Rights Commission has been slammed over a planned ad campaign which would say Australia is “structurally and institutionally racist.”

The Australian Human Rights Commission has been forced into an embarrassing backdown after it was forced to pull a $140,000 tender that would have seen taxpayer funds used to promote the idea that Australia is “structurally and institutionally racist”.

According to the original tender, posted on an official government website earlier this week, the AHRC was looking to “align the (Racism It Stops With Me) campaign with current discourse on anti-racism … (and) move the focus of the RISWM campaign beyond the level of interpersonal racism towards a critical look at forms of structural/systemic and institutional racism, as well as unconscious bias.”

The ads were discontinued after inquiries from Liberal Senator Amanda Stoker. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen/The Australian

Anti-racism is a term that is frequently associated with so-called “critical race theory” and the idea that white people are guilty of possessing “privilege” simply because of the colour of their skin, and that members of minority groups are automatically victims of the structures and society that results.

However, the agency pulled the tender after inquiries from Assistant Minister to the Attorney-General and Queensland senator Amanda Stoker.

“Racism is completely unacceptable in modern Australia,” said Ms Stoker.

The Institute for Public Affairs’ Dr Bella d’Abrera was highly critical of the proposed campaign.

Dr Bella d'Abrera was critical of the campaign.

This is the Human Rights Commission using radical critical race theory to spread the disgraceful lie that Australia is structurally and institutionally racist. Mainstream Australians are fundamentally egalitarian and reject this divisive rhetoric,” she said.

“This project takes away the idea of human agency and tells Australians that Australia and mainstream Australian values are institutionally and irredeemably racist.”

A spokeswoman for the AHRC said that the tender was taken down to make “minor revisions” to the campaign.

Originally published as Racism It Stops With Me ads stopped by Human Rights Commission