THE RIGHT STUFF: Warren Mundine shows he’s got what it takes

The Durban review conference farce fulfilled all expectations that it would do nothing to address racism and everything to remind us that too many of the world’s regimes are not just a force for promoting racism but for all other kinds of evil.

An Australian government official - without sanction from anyone who was elected - attended the disgraceful gathering. The Race Discrimination Commissioner - who perhaps mistook his role as promoting race discrimination - couldn’t resist the temptation to milk taxpayers for an all-expenses paid trip to Geneva.

Warren Mundine, a former National President of the ALP and a towering figure in Australia’s indigenous community, spoke out, denouncing the participation in the racist conference.

In doing so, Mundine showed just how brave, principle-driven and articulate a figure he is in our public life.

He let the Commissioner Tom Calma have it right between the eyes:

He’s given oxygen to those sort of ranting and ravings that are quite abhorrent to anyone who’s anti-racist or anyone who is strong on human rights.

The Geneva gravy train enthusiast was doing his best spin the presence of Iran’s ruler whose racist rant revealed the conference to be the anti-Israel hate fest it was always going to be:

TOM CALMA: That was one session, I think it probably went for 20 minutes or so. Any head of state has the opportunity if they attend this forum to, any United Nations forum, to be able to express a view, that’s an open invitation and as I understand it, protocol was followed, and the President was able to express a view…

ASHLEY HALL: But Warren Mundine isn’t buying that explanation.

WARREN MUNDINE: It’s an attempt by him to give credence to his views. ‘Look who I’m standing on stage with, look who’s standing with me. Look at the people who’s clapping in the audience’. You know you’re giving oxygen to the most vile and most racist and anti-Semitic views that you could think of. This is why I find it was quite a naïve, simplistic defence for himself.

Australia needs more indigenous leaders like Warren Mundine and Noel Pearson.

When they emerge, both political parties need to be ready and willing to swoop on them and smooth their path to Parliament, if they’re interested.

Mundine is interested, he’s made that clear enough to his Labor colleagues.

The NSW branch has in recent times much improved the quality of its representation since the election of people like Chris Bowen, Jason Clare and the all-powerful Svengali Senator Mark Arbib whose power shines nearly as bright as TV lights off his well-buffed head.

But that power hasn’t yet seen him able to find a seat for Warren Mundine and while that remains the case, it is clear that they will have failed in their mission to have elected the best and brightest on offer.

There’s one more important part of the Mundine story. He walks on the path of a little known but glorious tradition in Australian life: solidarity between the Jewish and Australian indigenous communities.

Few know of the story of William Cooper, an Aboriginal man who led a protest in 1938 against the persecution of the Jewish people in Germany after the despicable rampage “Kristallnacht”. The Age reported last year:

The director of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria, Geoffrey Zygier, said few people overseas bothered to protest the atrocity.

But William Cooper did, in a small but powerful way. On December 6, 1938, he led a delegation of Aborigines who walked from his Footscray home to the German consulate in Albert Road, South Melbourne.

The Argus newspaper reported the next day: “A deputation from the Australian Aborigines’ League, which visited the German consulate yesterday, with the intention of conveying to the consul (Dr R.W. Drechsler) a resolution condemning the persecution of Jews and Christians in Germany, was refused admittance.

“The resolution voiced, ‘on behalf of the Aborigines of Australia, a strong protest at the cruel persecution of the Jewish people by the Nazi government of Germany, and asks that this persecution be brought to an end’.”

An amazing story.

And it seems Warren Mundine is similarly willing to stand up for principle, regardless of the immediate popularity of the cause.

We’d be lucky to have him represent the nation in the Australian parliament.

Bring him on.

UPDATE: We were critical of the government’s apparent dilly-dallying over not attending the racist Durban review conference. But what was very interesting and encouraging was the wily Foreign Minister’s cunning plan to go along with a Dutch effort to snatch the racist conference from the bigot brigade usually in charge of it. When the bid failed, Australia and many other countries walked away, probably the biggest diplomatic win for the forces of freedom at its bleakest outpost at the UN in many, many years. The Australian’s Greg Sheridan tells the brilliant story.