“There is no place for racism in our community”
Sydney mayor Jerome Laxale is fighting against racist posters that target Asian communities in Australia.
As reported by SBS, Sydney mayor Jermoe Laxale is taking action against racist posters in his electorate. Laxale is the mayor in the city of Ryde, north Sydney.
Posters targeting Asian communities in Australia were calling for an end to 457 visas, a ban on Asian immigration and tighter restrictions on foreign business owners.
“No more Asians, it’s not the face of Australia,” one poster reads. “We speak English. Save our Aussie culture. Politicians murdering our culture for short gain.”
“Australia is not Asia, Tibet is not china, New Guinfa is not Indonesia, Timor is not Indonesia,” it reads.
Another poster reads, “we write & read English, don’t insult our country. We don’t insult yours.”
It also calls for the end of immigration policies that benefit Asian communities. “Stop the 457, it’s a scam. It puts Aussies out of work. They don’t go back,” it reads.
“All Asian business/employees discriminate,” the poster continues. “They only employ Asians.”
The poster also calls for preventing Asians for applying for public housing because it “puts Aussies homeless.”
Laxale said he personally tore up one such poster after driving past one. “I was driving along Lane Cove Road, saw one, and ripped it off,” he said. “There is no place for racism in our community. Ryde is proud of our multiculturalism and I will always protect it.”
The mayor called for residents to report the posters to him. “If you see these signs around, please report them to me or straight to the council and we’ll tear them up and throw them in the bin where they belong,” he said.
“These have appeared before and the community has spoken pretty loudly about it,” he added.