Sharp rise in worry over racism as Aussies push back against far right

Most Australians now believe we have a serious problem with racism in this country, a new survey reveals.

Labor (71 per cent) and Greens (88 per cent) supporters were more likely to be concerned about racism than Liberal/National (40 per cent) or One Nation (30 per cent) voters. Picture: Getty Images

Most Australians now consider racism a significant problem in this country after a huge change in sentiment just within the past year, research reveals.

In the latest Scanlon Foundation social cohesion survey, 3500 people were asked “how big a problem is racism in Australia?” with six in 10 answering “very big” or “fairly big”, compared to 40 per cent just a year earlier.

And fewer people held negative views on Muslim Australians, multiculturalism and immigration compared to two years ago, the survey shows.

On whether Australia has a problem with racism, the July poll had large jumps in those who agree across all demographics, including age, gender, geography and political affiliation, though from different starting points.

Sixty-eight per cent of women said racism was a fairly big or very big problem; for men it was 50 per cent. But in 2020 it was 47 per cent of women and 31 per cent of men.

Fewer older Australians agree racism is a big problem, but the numbers are rising. For 65-74 year-olds, 49 per cent opted for “very big” or “fairly big” in answering the question, up from 28 per cent last year. This compared to 74 per cent of 25-34 year-olds, an increase from 53 per cent in 2020.

Labor (71 per cent) and Greens (88 per cent) supporters were more likely to be concerned about racism than Liberal/National (40 per cent) or One Nation (30 per cent) voters, but there were across-the-board rises for each political affiliation.

Report author, Monash University Emeritus Professor Andrew Markus, said it was difficult to pinpoint why there had been such a sudden upsurge in worry about racism in Australia.

“If there is a perception that an increased number of Australians are now acting in a racist manner, it is not based on a shift detected by other questions in the surveys, which establish that there has been no increase in xenophobic and racist views,” he said.

 

Professor Markus noted that just 3 per cent of people in 2021 “strongly disagreed” with the proposition that “multiculturalism has been good for Australia”, compared to 7 per cent in 2019.

Ten per cent of respondents in 2021 indicated a “very negative” view of Muslims compared to 17 per cent in 2019.

And the statement “Immigrants are generally good for Australia’s economy” was endorsed by 86 per cent of people, up from 76 per cent in 2019.

Professor Markus said the best working theory he had for this more progressive national outlook was that mainstream Australians may be vocalising a backlash against the far right groups and their anti-vaccination stance, and the conspiracy theories floated around during the pandemic.

“Or perhaps we are all just a bit more stroppy because of Covid lockdowns, and are therefore more critical about inequities such as racism,” he said. “Though that doesn’t explain why Western Australia, which hasn’t been in lockdown, also saw a sharp rise in concerns about racism.”

The Scanlon Foundation report, based on 110 questions, broadly finds Australians continue to have an optimistic outlook on life, despite the pandemic and associated social restrictions.

When asked “Are you optimistic or pessimistic about Australia’s future?” 71 per cent of survey respondents indicated they were optimistic compared to 63 per cent in 2019, before the pandemic.