Racial Abuse Towards Local Council Candidates
[6.30 p.m.]
Ms BURNET (Clark) - Honourable Speaker, during the last sitting, I raised the issue of how women candidates for local government elections were receiving all manner of menacing behaviour on social media. Well, this evening I rise again to speak of another group being targeted and how this, again, strikes at the heart of our local democracy. As local government elections approach, we ought to be celebrating the individuals stepping up to represent their communities.
Councils are representative of our diverse communities, and our society is the richer for that diversity at the most grassroots of democracies. That's why it's so heartbreaking to see this democratic process once again poisoned by targeted hostility and discouragement. Just as I spoke in this place about the sharp rise of gendered online abuse and misogyny directed at women standing for office, this recent surge of racial vilification is no different. It stems from the exact same poisonous intent ‑ to demean, to intimidate, and to silence people putting their hands up to serve. Recent media reports detail the horrific racial abuse directed at candidates seeking election to local councils, and I suspect it's wider than the two examples I give now. Among those targeted are candidates such as Imadul Rahat, running for Glenorchy City Council, and Rifatul Bari for Hobart, running for lord mayor, both deeply affected by the online abuse they face.
To see candidates subjected to outright menacing abuse simply for stepping up to represent their neighbours is a dim reflection on all of us. Let us call this out for what it is: unacceptable, cowardly and deeply damaging. This is not robust political debate or standard campaign friction, it is deliberate, weaponised bigotry designed to force diverse voices out of the public square. Whether delivered via anonymous digital platforms or sprayed across campaign signs in our streets, this toxic behaviour carries a dangerous cost.
Today in this place, we heard fabulous speeches in support of our Nepali community, who are facing such terrible devastation and disaster in their home country. We heard nothing but praise for this sector of our community, as of course, we should. I want for the day that such words would be representative of our community for all who call Tasmania home. In this case, for those who put their heads above the parapet and stand for public office.
I don't want to be here again talking about another maligned group. Next time, will it be people with disabilities or somebody from the LGBTQI+ community? We must stand beside those who are targeted, we must call out toxic behaviour wherever it appears and actively defend the inclusive, diverse local democracy that every Tasmanian deserves.