![Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi in Parliament House. Picture by Sitthixay Ditthavong Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi in Parliament House. Picture by Sitthixay Ditthavong](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/106459643/b3b2ace3-9866-463b-804c-360a5339f2c5.jpg/r0_336_5400_3372_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi is urging the lead public service agency to ditch observing Harmony Day and replace it with tougher messaging.
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The Greens' deputy leader said the Australian Public Service Commission had the opportunity to take a lead in raising awareness within the bureaucracy about the "serious and pervasive scourge of racism in Australia".
The call comes as Australia marks more than 20 years of Harmony Day after it was introduced by former prime minister John Howard in 1999 to replace the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
In a letter to commissioner Peter Woolcott on Wednesday, and seen by The Canberra Times, Senator Faruqi said it was time for the day, sometimes also celebrated as Harmony Week, to return to its original intent.
"The APS has an opportunity to be a leader by marking the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on March 21st and raising awareness about the reality of racism in Australia and tackling it," the senator wrote.
"This would send a strong message to the community and APS employees that it recognises the serious and pervasive scourge of racism in Australia, and the urgent need to combat it."
An APSC spokesperson said Mr Woolcott would respond to the senator in time.
Senator Faruqi acknowledged she was pleased to see the APSC had begun developing a strategy to improve representation of CALD - culturally and linguistically diverse - people within the bureaucracy.
Elsewhere in the world, the March 21 date is observed in commemoration of police killing 69 people at a peaceful protest in South Africa against apartheid in 1960, also known as the Sharpeville massacre.
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The Greens senator earlier in March wrote to Immigration Minister Andrew Giles to revert the day back to its original intent, in line with other countries around the world, saying it was an "important step".
Senator Faruqi said the change was contributing to the "whitewashing" of historic and ongoing racism in the country.
"As has been noted by the Australian Human Rights Commission, the language and framing of 'Harmony Day' or 'Harmony Week' conceals the reality of racism in Australia and can discourage people from speaking up about racism because it can be seen as opposing a harmonious Australian society," she said in Wednesday's letter.
"Too many people in Australia are subjected to profoundly harmful racism and racist behaviour every day. Systemic racism manifests in schools, sport, media, public places and in workplaces."
An APSC spokesperson said responsibility for Harmony Day was held by the Home Affairs Department.
The spokesperson said work to develop a CALD strategy was underway.
"The CALD Strategy sets an APS-wide action plan to improve multicultural capability, remove bias and racism from APS workplaces and address any barriers to staff progression," the spokesperson said.
Senator Faruqi has been pushing for better data collection to determine cultural diversity within the APS, calling on Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher to make it a priority.
APSC Assistant Commissioner Dr Nicole Steele confirmed during a senate estimates hearing in February the May APS Employee Census would ask now public servants to identify their cultural background.
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