The failed Voice referendum was a "turning point" where racism towards First Peoples became "publicly acceptable", the chair of a Senate inquiry into racism against Aboriginal people has said.
The inquiry, launched in the wake of the alleged January 26 terror attack in Boorloo/Perth, has received hundreds of submissions from government agencies, academics, legal groups and Indigenous organisations detailing the impacts of racism on First Peoples across a wide range of settings.
Led by Labor Senator and Mutthi Mutthi and Wamba Wamba woman Jana Stewart, the inquiry last week held hearings in Perth, Darwin and Mparntwe/Alice Springs. Many witnesses said the tide had turned following the defeat of the Voice referendum in 2023.
One in five submissions, the Senator noted, "points to the 'No' campaign as the moment racism against First Nations people became publicly acceptable".
"This is not a comment on those who voted No," she said. "It is a comment on how the campaign was run, and on what has been unleashed since."
In his submission, former Indigenous Australians minister Ken Wyatt — who left the Liberal Party after it opposed the Voice — said the referendum did more than reflect differing views on constitutional change, creating a platform that legitimised attacks on the rights of Indigenous people.
"Positions that may previously have remained implicit or marginal became more overt and normalised within mainstream debate," he said.
"This has contributed to a sense that racism has become more openly expressed, particularly in public and digital spaces, where commentary has at times moved beyond policy disagreement into forms of rhetoric that undermine the dignity and standing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples."
Senator Stewart said the committee had heard consistent accounts of racism from witnesses across the country.
These ranged from the alleged Invasion Day bombing attempt in Boorloo — where one witness said the incident made them believe that "one day I will die at the hands of a racist while I am working" — to the case of Jake Danby, a relative of the Northern Territory Attorney-General, who, after killing an Aboriginal man with his car, sent racist messages describing the incident as a "two-for-one combo" and referring to the victims as "n*****s" and "dogs".
Some conservative politicians and media commentators have questioned the prevalence of racism experienced by Indigenous Australians, compared it with racism directed at other groups, or argued that incidents are isolated rather than systemic.
However, community organisations and oversight bodies continue to document everyday racism, including harassment, discriminatory policies, over-policing and public dog whistles.
Senator Stewart said many witnesses spoke of a growing sense that public spaces had become less safe.
"People stopping ANZAC Day dawn services," she said. "Kids reading racist comments online that say their people should die. Kids questioning whether they belong. Whether it's safe to be who they are."
Speaking at the inquiry's hearing in Perth last week, National Indigenous Times Social Media and Marketing Officer Leanne Djilandi Dolby said a typical day in her role involved dealing with and filtering an overwhelming volume of racist abuse across the organisation's social media platforms.
"I log into social media, delete comments and despite the hundreds of comments I delete and the accounts I block, I often refresh the page and I am flooded with comments that tell us that Aboriginal people deserve to die, that racial discrimination is justified," the Noongar Yamatji Naaguja Nanda nyarlu (woman) said.
One online submission said of racism: "It appears every day, every hour, every minute and every second of the day."
Senator Stewart said the submissions were also proposing practical solutions rather than simply documenting experiences.
"Stronger anti-racism laws. Anti-racism education. Accountability from digital platforms. Truth-telling. Better complaint systems for mob. Funding for Aboriginal community-controlled organisations," she said. "The Committee will work through the evidence.
"Racism against First Nations people isn't new. It isn't inevitable. It is learned. And it can be unlearned."
