Alex Miller
SYDNEY — Many members of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) will have been disappointed and angry about their union's failure to respond adequately to the racist comments by one of its members, Associate Professor Andrew Fraser of the Department of Public Law at Macquarie University.
Fraser has received a lot of coverage since his remarks in the July 6 Parramatta Sun warning that the presence of Sudanese refugees in Parramatta and Blacktown would lead to an increase in crime and violence (see Green Left Weekly #633). On July 18, Fraser defended a "white Australia" policy on Channel 9's A Current Affair, in which he argued, "Sub Saharan Africans have an average IQ of 70-75, that is a fact".
In response to host Ray Martin's description of this as "rubbish" and "racist", Fraser commented: "It is not racist, it is racial realism. Could it possibly be the reason why blacks in Africa and elsewhere are notoriously unsuccessful is because they are cognitively challenged?"(see GLW #635).
In a July 29 media statement also issued to the Macquarie University staff, Macquarie Vice-Chancellor Di Yerbury explained that Fraser had turned down an offer to bring his retirement date forward from June 30, 2006 with no loss of pay. Yerbury also explained that, following comments made by Fraser to the press questioning whether he would be safe in class, the university had relieved Fraser of his teaching duties on the grounds that it had a responsibility to protect its staff and students from danger.
On July 26 Fraser said "The most important single factor in my decision to remain at the university was the recent apology made by University Vice-Chancellor Di Yerbury to a specially convened meeting of Sudanese representatives and members of the African Communities Council".
An indication of the strength of feeling on campus about the issue was evident in a special Macquarie University forum on "Racism Within: How should Macquarie University respond to Andrew Fraser?" held on August 5. Academics from several departments condemned Fraser's views, with one lecturer describing the affair as "a sorry episode in academic history".
The audience of more than 300 gave a warm reception to statements from representatives of the Sydney Sudanese community and the African Community Council. Fraser was also present, handing out literature purporting to establish that, as a matter of genetic fact, people of colour have lower IQs than whites and that "blacks are much more dangerous than whites". The audience booed when Fraser made racist statements in response to the contributions from the panel of academics.
Members of the NTEU will have been disappointed by the union's failure to roundly condemn Fraser's recent comments. An August 2 statement said: "While it is not appropriate at this time for the NTEU to comment on the details of matters pertaining between Associate Professor Fraser and the management of the University, the NTEU does have a firm and consistent position on the issues that have been raised in the context of the public discussion on this matter.
"Academics have the fundamental right to state their views publicly, even though these views may be unpopular or controversial. Universities have a responsibility to promote critical discussion and debate. There may be many in the university community who absolutely disagree with Associate Professor Fraser's statements, but who would nonetheless defend his right to articulate these views."
By construing the issue as being primarily about Fraser's right to free speech and by failing to explicitly condemn Fraser's racist statements, the union has badly missed the mark.
Fraser's comments are not just expressions of controversial opinions: they also constitute a racist attack on people of colour and are an affront to those union members who find Fraser's views abhorrent.
Apart from defending Fraser's right to free speech, the union should also have roundly condemned his racist views. By failing to do this, the union has unwittingly aligned itself with those, like Michael Duffy in the August 6 Sydney Morning Herald, who see the main issue here as one of Fraser's rights ("Freedom of speech takes a fall").
Fraser's rights to free speech are certainly part of the issue, but only a part. In a memo issued to union branches on August 4, NTEU national president Carolyn Allport makes the same mistake. Despite the earlier statement that it would be inappropriate for the union to comment on the details of the case Allport argues that, "In this case, the University has imposed a disciplinary penalty without following the procedures for taking disciplinary action, in direct contravention of the enterprise bargaining agreement".
The most that Allport says about Fraser's views is that "the NTEU in no way endorses them", that the union is strongly opposed to racism, but that "there are also many in Australia would agree with Fraser".
However, in the context of an explicit racist attack on ethnic minorities, it is insufficient to simply refer to the union's general policies against racism. On July 29, Vice-Chancellor Di Yerbury described Fraser's views as repugnant. Many NTEU members will be disappointed by the union's failure to do the same.
[Alex Miller is a member of the NTEU.]
From Green Left Weekly, August 17, 2005.
Visit the Green Left Weekly home page.