It is kind of funny because usually any Australian Government, institution or whatever is told they are racist or there is racial bias, they all double down, get offended and start on some speech about how they promote diversity etc. So yes, this is weird, but at the same time not surprising.
According to a report from the auditor-general not many applications from religious groups identifying as Muslim, Sikh, Hindu and Buddhist get approved for grants under the Coalition’s Safer Communities Fund.
Alex Hawke, the Immigration Minister accepted that the department approving the grants need to be more aware of their “unconscious bias” issues after that report was released earlier this month. To be honest, this is not surprising considering Sikhs, Hindus and Buddhists are Asian religions and the biggest group who identify as Muslims are from Asian countries – so the bias is really against Asians if you think about it.
There really shouldn’t be a question of why, because it is clear as day that the “unconscious bias” is coming from anti-Asian sentiments and the fact that there is already pre-existing biases against those who identify as Muslim ( thanks to the Western brainwash) and many Sikhs get mistaken for being Muslim ( due to ignorance and brainwash). But then again, this is all my opinion, which I believe isn’t far from the truth, don’t you agree?
Anyways, here is more from this story via SBS News:
The audit found more than 80 per cent of grants provided under a Morrison government community safety program went to religious organisations, but that funding favoured Christian or Jewish groups.
Auditor-General Grant Hehir found that relatively few applications for grants under the Coalition’s Safer Communities Fund were received from, and funding awarded to, groups identifying as Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu or Sikh.
And here are a few quotes from the Immigration Minister (via SBS News):
“I think there can be unconscious bias in departments about issues in relation to different religions, I’ve spoken to my secretary about that,”
“We are constantly working to improve and train our officers about cultural awareness about all faiths, how they operate. Sometimes they’re different structurally compared to Western religions.
“We can make some improvements there.”
I will leave this here, but let us know what you think of it all!
Header image via SBS News