Is woke dead? Jim Betts shares his musings

Shared with the permission of the brilliant Jim Betts, Secretary of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts.

“I spent time reading a tedious bunch of articles in the media about whether ‘wokeness’ was ‘dead’. I have no opinion on this matter, other than that kindness never goes out of fashion and maybe we should think about diversity and inclusion in those terms. Another thing that doesn’t get stale is the need to comply with the laws of Australia.

Those laws – enacted by Parliament (not the APS) and maintained over many years by governments of different political persuasions, include the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (‘It is unlawful for a person to do any act… which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of any human rights or fundamental freedom in… any… field of public life’ based on ‘race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin’).

There’s also the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 which legally prevents discrimination on the basis not just of sexism but of homophobia, transphobia and biphobia. The Act affirms that ‘every individual is equal before and under the law… without discrimination on the ground of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status, marital or relationship status, pregnancy, or potential pregnancy, breastfeeding or family responsibilities’.

And there’s the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 which makes it unlawful for employers ‘to discriminate against a person on the ground of the person’s disability’.

Add to this, the commitments freely entered into by all three tiers of Australian government - including the Commonwealth - under the 2019 Closing the Gap agreement, which include a written undertaking by government parties, in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, to ‘systemic and structural transformation to ensure government agencies are free of institutional racism and promote cultural safety’.

My point here is obvious: tackling discrimination, and fostering equity and inclusion, are not discretionary features of some modern ‘woke agenda’ – they are legal obligations, which as public servants we are duty bound to observe in their spirit as well as their letter. Our APS Code of Conduct requires this of us.

All of this reinforces the point I’ve tried to make in other forums: treating people fairly and with respect is not ‘woke’; it’s about old-fashioned values like civility, decency and consideration for others with the added thought that such respect should be extended to everyone, including groups in our community who’ve been made to feel marginalised in the past. If we can remember to call people ‘Minister’, ‘Senator’ or ‘Secretary’ out of respect for their office, then surely we can remember people’s pronouns, and take the trouble to pronounce their names correctly, even if their parents were born overseas.”