'War on terror' emboldens white supremacists

The ugly face of white supremacism was bared on national television on July 18 when Channel Nine's Current Affair host Ray Martin interviewed Macquarie University associate professor of law Drew Fraser. The interview followed Green Left Weekly’s nationwide coverage two weeks ago of Fraser’s letter to the local Parramatta Sun newspaper in which he had claimed that “an expanding black population is a sure-fire recipe for increases in crime, violence and a wide range of other social problems”. Fraser was referring specifically to the Sudanese refugees settling in Sydney’s western suburbs. In his interview with Martin, Fraser claimed that it had been a mistake to abolish the “White Australia policy”. He asserted that “Sub-Saharan Africans have an average IQ of 70 to 75”, and pointed to the underdevelopment of Africa as proof of the “difference in cognitive ability of blacks and whites”. An outraged Martin replied: “That is Adolf Hitler stuff! It’s just rubbish.” Unfortunately, the response by Fraser’s employer was not quite so clear. Macquarie University acting vice-chancellor John Loxton issued a statement on July 15 that distanced the university from racism but also claimed that there are “bodies of research to support all sides of the argument”. Loxton's statement generated immediate protests from Macquarie University staff. Speaking in a personal capacity, philosophy lecturer Dr Alex Miller said: ‘While I can't claim to have any expertise in Andrew Fraser's research area, his comments strike me as ill-informed, offensive, and bigoted. I'm dismayed that a colleague of mine could have views worthy of Joseph Goebbels.”