Australian laws not equipped to deal with race issues

It's time to lay bare the truth of what we live with, which is a race-based legal system in a multicultural society. One of Australia's leading anti-discrimination law experts believes it's time for Australia to open up a potentially confronting discussion on race issues within the Australian legal system. Professor Simon Rice, of the Australian National University (ANU) College of Law, believes Australia's multicultural policy is increasingly at odds with a mono-cultural legal system based on English law. "It's time to lay bare the truth of what we live with, which is a race-based legal system in a multicultural society," Professor Rice said. "Our laws are embedded with really important cultural assumptions that are race connected. "One of the obstacles to social integration is that we celebrate almost every facet of multiculturalism except for that part of culture which is law." Professor Rice said that while it is necessary to work within a single large legal framework, there is room within our English-based system for recognition of localised laws. He said traditional Australian Indigenous laws is a good example.