Albanese Government responds to special envoy Aftab Malik’s report on Islamophobia

The Prime Minister has delivered his response to the special envoy’s report on Islamophobia.

Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia Aftab Malik presented the Australian government with a national response to Islamophobia about 10 months ago, a report which contained 54 recommendations.

The government on Saturday responded to 35 of those.

When asked why it took so long to deliver the report, Mr Albanese said that it was important to give “proper consideration” to the issues raised.

“Every Australian deserves to be safe, respected and at home in our country,” he said.

“And what we have seen is a rise in Islamophobic attacks and abuse directed at Muslim Australians.

“Hate directed at one community hurts us all because our diversity is one of Australia’s great strengths and we won’t as a nation let hatred divide us. It’s clear that we need to do more.”

Mr Albanese said the government’s response was based on the four guiding principles of education and awareness, protection and support, building social cohesion, and accountability and responsibility.

Mr Malik said the government had made several “important commitments”.

“I understand that government must balance competing priorities, work across portfolios and navigate complex legal and policy questions,” he said.

“But Muslim Australians should not be expected to bear the cost of that complexity indefinitely.

“They are entitled to the same safety, dignity and protection as every other Australian.

“My report remains my independent advice to the government and the benchmark against which progress should be measured, where the government has acted.”

While the government will not endorse several of the recommendations, it will support an education task force aimed at tackling Islamophobia in the community.

There will also be targeted funding to bolster the safety and security of Muslim institutions, which includes $41.9 million across initiatives to improve security at Muslim faith-based places.

The measures are set to build on extensive existing work across government to combat Islamophobia, along with all forms of hatred.

Mr Malik said he would continue to advocate for the outstanding recommendations.

“Today is not the conclusion of this process. It marks the beginning of the most important phase, translating commitments into meaningful action and continuing work in areas where agreement has not yet been reached,” he said.

“Lasting change requires the government and Muslim communities to remain engaged, build trust, deepen understanding and work towards common ground.”

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said that Islamophobia remained “chronically under-reported” and that it was “debilitating”.

“I never thought when I entered Parliament that in my political lifetime, anyone who’d been elected to Parliament would be calling for white Australia,” he said.

“I thought we were in a country where everybody just accepted that we had moved on and we were better because we’d moved on.

“Part of saying you love Australia is to love Australia for who we are, not some perverted concept of a country where we would turn on each other, where Australians would basically lose capacity for kindness towards each other.”

With AP.