Ideas for Melbourne: Making Racism History
Melbourne is famously multicultural – but the past year has proven that racism is also rife.
For instance, a VicHealth survey reported 97% of Aboriginal Victorians had experienced racism in the past 12 months.
What are we doing to combat racism? And how can we learn from past mistakes?
We explore Melbourne’s diverse society in this discussion with Susan Carland, Adam Bandt, Kutcha Edwards and Chin Tan.
Who?

Adam Bandt
Adam Bandt is a Greens MP and the Federal Member for Melbourne. He was elected in 2010 when he made history by becoming the first Greens MP elected to the House of Representatives at a general election.

Chin Tan
Chin Tan has broad experience and involvement in the legal profession, business and community service. He is committed to active involvement in the area of multiculturalism, having held various community and government board positions. He is currently Chairperson of the Victorian Multicultural Commission, Victoria’s pre-eminent multicultural body.

Susan Carland
Susan Carland is an academic, author, and social commentator. She has a PhD from Monash University’s School of Social Sciences, and she is the director of the Bachelor of Global Studies, also at Monash University.
Her first book, Fighting Hislam, was published by Melbourne University Publishing in 2017, and her writing has appeared in the Guardian, the Age, the Saturday Paper, in academic publications and in numerous anthologies.

Kutcha Edwards
As one of Australia’s most respected and renowned Indigenous singer/songwriters and proud Mutti Mutti man, Kutcha’s music and community work has earned him iconic status amongst both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. What Kutcha shares through his songs and stories elicit an audience connection and sense of belonging.