Craig Foster on the human rights emergency in Australia: Becoming a better global citizen
By Amy Scott
At this time of international turmoil with human rights dominating our global headlines, it is important to remember what is happening on our own shores. Australia is embroiled in our own epidemic of human rights violations, including inhumane treatment of innocent refugees, failures protecting indigenous rights, and intransigence on global warming. On March 23rd 2022, Craig Foster, both sportsman and human rights advocate, addressed the National Press Club of Australia with an inspiring speech titled ‘Human Rights, Democracy and Global Citizenry – Recovering Australia’s Humanity & Place in the World’. Foster forcefully argued that Australia’s failures on refugee and indigenous rights, and inaction on climate change have damaged our international reputation, portraying us as ‘profiteers and exporters of suffering’.
Foster said that the deep-rooted racism and xenophobia in Australia’s colonisation, culture, policy and media coverage is a ‘festering sore on the national psyche that manifests in dehumanisation and mistreatment of innocent people and ongoing Indigenous disadvantage’. According to the Department of Home Affairs, 1,510 people are currently in Australian immigration detention facilities. Since 2012 there have been 4,183 refugees stranded offshore in Nauru and Papua New Guinea in ‘deliberatively inhumane and punitive’ conditions. With average detention times of 683 days (twelve times the United States and alarming compared to Canada’s 14-day average) turns out we are leading the world in the torture of refugees. Foster painted the picture that, aside from First Nations, many Australians are essentially recent immigrants and ‘boat people’ seeking a better life; so how can we repeat history and allow those seeking the same to suffer in such deplorable ways that go against basic principles of human decency.
Foster went on to highlight that Australia’s track record on climate change is similarly poor, being the only country among advanced economies that refused to strengthen 2030 emission targets at the COP26 Climate Summit. Recently, under the fallout from the Russian invasion, Energy Minister Angus Taylor has expedited seven Australian gas projects, when the urgency for change should have encouraged cleaner options. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, called this ‘addiction’ to fossil fuels ‘mutually assured destruction’. Despite this, Environment Minister Susan Ley recently celebrated the Federal Court decision that the Australian Government do not have a legal duty of care to future generations of Australians, when considering health effects from new fossil fuel projects. Clearly, Australia is a central contributor to a breakdown of international agreements and global cooperation; endangering billions of people.
Thus, on three critical issues of the 21st century requiring a multilateral approach – human displacement, human rights, and climate change – Australia, as a global citizen, is failing both now and for future generations. To live up to our commitments as global citizens we must educate ourselves on current world events, take action to speak out against injustice, and accept responsibility to become the contributors that the world needs us to be. We are capable of much more.