A delivery driver has been suspended after allegedly racially abusing a taxi driver on Collins Street in the Hobart CBD this week.
The incident unfolded just after 2:30pm on Tuesday, when the delivery driver allegedly verbally abused the taxi driver and spat in his direction while parked in a half-hour zone.
According to the victim, the delivery driver first shouted a string of profanities before parking his truck, walking up to the taxi and aggressively questioning whether he was ‘making money’ by parking there.
The victim said the delivery driver then told him to ‘go back to his country’ and swore at him before briefly leaving, only to return and allegedly spit in his direction once again.
An Australia Post spokesperson confirmed the driver, who was in an Australia Post uniform but working for a third-party agent, had been removed from his duties while an investigation is underway.
“Australia Post and Star Track take pride in delivering for the community and the alleged actions of this driver are clearly not in line with the standards we expect,” the spokesperson said.
“We take matters of this nature extremely seriously and are investigating as a priority together with the third-party contractor.”
Aimen Jafri, former Chair of the Multicultural Council of Tasmania, said the behaviour was both harmful and damaging.
“This kind of racial vilification is very damaging, not only to the person themselves but also for the entire community,” she said. “This kind of trauma, it’s passed from one person to another.”
“Tasmania is home for people. So saying these things every day … you go back to your country, no … Tasmania is home.”
Jafri also stressed the need for stronger leadership around multiculturalism and warned that this incident could damage Tasmania’s reputation.
“It scares me … what’s the image are we portraying for Tasmania? What message are we giving to people who want to make Tasmania their home?” she said.
“The leaders need to accept that that Tasmania is going through a transition. We need to accept that migrants are part of the fabric. Multiculturalism is part of the fabric. Our leaders need to walk the talk.”
Tasmania’s hate speech protections are mainly governed by the Anti-Discrimination Act, which includes some of the strongest anti-vilification provisions in the country.
