The Moveable Feast – Australia and race hate as experienced in the lifetime as an observer
Speech given by Thomas Keneally AO at the 5th Annual Kep Enderby Memorial Lecture
19 October 2019
19 October 2019
The absence of data illustrating the increase in racial abuse during the COVID-19 pandemic shows Australia needs to do better at recording and monitoring racism.
I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of this land, the Dharawal people. I would like to recognise Dharawal elders – past, present and future – and to express my on-going commitment to the protection and promotion of their culture, language and lore. Dharawal people cared for and inhabited land from Botany Bay to the Shoalhaven River and Nowra and inland to Camden and I am privileged to be here on their land and near their waters.
Racism can get ugly. Think of the incidents of racist abuse on public transport that frequently attract media coverage.
It's an unpleasant experience to witness racist vitriol or confrontation. It's even worse when you're on the receiving end of it. Those who have copped a racist spray or attack often say it makes them feel like a lesser being.
Not all racism takes such dramatic form. Sometimes it can be silent or subtle. But even relatively mundane acts of racism have an impact on those who experience them.
Speech given at Maribyrnong College Assembly
Good morning.
To Principal Scott, staff, your new school captains, your Year 11 leaders: congratulations on your appointments, I hope this year is a very fulfilling one for you. You certainly have a big responsibility in leading this school. Looking out today at your leaders and looking at you, I can see that Maribyrnong College is an embodiment of modern Australia.
Speech given at the Wellness for Law Conference, University of Adelaide Law School
The law can sometimes feel remote from people’s lives. It can cast a shadow over everything that we do, yet for those who are not lawyers it can be hard to understand. The law – and lawyers – can speak a language that isn’t always accessible.
Speech given at the 2nd Annual Kep Enderby Memorial Lecture, University of Technology Sydney
Next Monday, 31 October, we will mark the 41st anniversary of the Racial Discrimination Act coming into effect.
The Act is Australian society’s official statement against racial discrimination. It has been the foundation of racial equality and the legislative expression of Australian multiculturalism.
Speech given at the Herbert and Valmae Freilich Foundation's Annual Lecture in Bigotry and Intolerance, Australian National University
Speech given at the 2016 Kingsley Laffer Memorial Lecture, University of Sydney Business School
It was 60 years ago that Professor Kingsley Laffer helped establish the first industrial relations course taught at the University of Sydney. As it has already been noted, Laffer was subsequently instrumental in setting up a Department of Industrial Relations here in what was then the Faculty of Economics.
Speech given at The Festival of Democracy, The University of Sydney
From whence do prophets come? Many of you will know of the 1976 film, Network. In the film’s most famous scene, news anchor Howard Beale launches into an extended tirade.