A recent spike in complaints about racism has led a coalition of community groups to join calls for the creation of a new national anti-racism campaign.
The groups are demanding a bipartisan national anti-racism strategy to combat the issue, which they say is prevalent across police, healthcare, housing, education and employment.
Those behind the push include the Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia, National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, Asylum Seeker Resource Centre and the Australian Council of Trade Unions.
In an open letter, they have expressed concern over the number of racial complaints made following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We are deeply concerned about the rise in racist abuse and attacks in Australia and the institutions that perpetrate these practices,” the letter reads.
“This worrying trend threatens the social cohesion of our multicultural society.”
Their call comes as China is accusing Australia of being an unsafe place for international students due to “racist incidents” during the coronavirus pandemic.
The federal government has strongly rejected this assertion, with senior government ministers declaring the claims false and praising Australia’s success as a welcoming and multicultural nation.
Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia chair Mary Patetsos said a recent increase in racial complaints should be seen as both a “wake-up call and an opportunity” to address lingering racism.
“Australia urgently needs a strategy both broad and specific to combat racism wherever it is manifest,” she said.
One third of racist complaints made to the Human Rights Commission since the start of February have been related to COVID-19.
The commission has also recorded a rise in the number of complaints made under the Racial Discrimination Act during February.
Another survey of anti-China racism from the Per Capita think-tank has reported almost 400 racist attacks against Asian Australians since the beginning of April.
Per Capita fellow and survey co-author Osmond Chiu said the incidents came in many forms.
“There's really a sense that racism has to be either a physical attack or some kind of malicious act,” he told SBS News.
“It's quite clear from what has been going on that people aren't necessarily aware about what racism constitutes.”
Acting Multicultural Affairs Minister Alan Tudge pointed to Master Chef judge Melissa Leong as an example of Australia's welcoming and diverse society.
Immigration Minister Alan Tudge speaks to the media at Parliament House in Canberra. Source: AAP
“Even when you look at pop culture, some of the most successful and popular people have got a more diverse background, such as on MasterChef at the moment, which is the most popular TV show, where one of the judges is Chinese, has an ethnic Chinese background, and many of the contestants, who are hugely popular,” he told Sky News.
The last national anti-racism campaign – It Stops With Me – featured a series of sports starts speaking out about the problem and was conducted under then-Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
Labor has argued the time has come for a new national anti-racism campaign.
"This call must be heeded as there is no place for racism in Australia," Opposition leader Anthony Albanese said.
"We need a bipartisan approach to tackling racism in Australia through a national anti-racism strategy."
An online petition, called #UnityOverFear calling for racist attacks against Asian Australians to be denounced has attracted more than 80,000 signatures.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has also strongly condemned perpetrators of racism during the coronavirus pandemic telling them bluntly to: "stop it".
Race Discrimination Commissioner Chin Tan backed calls for a "comprehensive national strategy" to deal with racism.
"Reports of racial abuse in relation to COVID-19 are troubling," he told SBS News in a statement.
