Is it true that it is Hard for a Black person to find a Job is Australia and is Racism really bad there?

I am Australian with Anglo Saxon grand parents, work in IT in Australia and I would say I am frequently the minority. I work with an increasing number of Indian, Sri Lankan, Asian and eastern European migrants. At university I experienced the same thing with most of the class being from Asian and European countries. I enjoy the mix of cultures and talking about cricket teams other then Australia! I have not heard any stories of discrimination from my Asian friends finding IT work and several of my university friends have risen much higher then me in the IT field.

One race I rarely come across is African or African American. In my home town of Melbourne there are thriving sub cultures from Asia, Italy and Greece but not a large African presence. Maybe this is the "vibe" that Laurence Fishbourne was talking about, or maybe it was because he is a celebrity.

You will certainly find racism in some parts of Australia, going from inner Melbourne to rural Queensland is like going from New York to Alabama.

oh yes...its not only the racism, they even discriminate against the whites if they are not australian or british. Haven't you heard news about them making racial slurrs on white south african cricket players?
I've been to Australia as a tourist. Compared to America, the people are not overtly racist. However, most minorities will probably get vibes that the local whites think they are superior racially. I actually had that impression and then came back home and found out Laurence Fishbourne, the actor said the same thing.

The white people make up 90% of the population, as there used to be a policy against non-whites immigrating there. The aborigines don't live in communities with the white people, and they seemed to be second-class citizens. Store clerks never really treated me with respect until they heard my Yankee accent. The people there aren't used to strong, vocal minorities.

Don't get me wrong, the people are nice, but I don't think minorities would want to live there. I think it would be a lot better than the American South though. Try it for yourself and see if you like it, but you've been warned.
Australian's do have xenophobia traits but on a global scale Australian's are far less racist that the United States or England for that matter. Australia has a immigration policy that is based on skill not race or religion.

Australian Aborigines were segregated in the lat 19th and early 20th century and there is some appalling stories of how they were treated by the settling English. Many Aborigines live in the cities and there are still remote populations (it's a big country). There is still no treaty with the Aborigines (unlike New Zealand with Maoris for example).

As an Australian I'm shamed by the fact that the government cannot apologies for previous harm done to Aborigines.

That said, Australia is a very multicultural country. Over 20% of the population was born overseas. The biggest is English speaking Europeans but due to our location Asian immigration is very high. After the second world war there was a very high immigration form Western and Eastern Europe.

This all leads to many races, colours & religions and the majority of the population celebrate this. On a global scale Australian's are less racist than most.
I'm Australian and have travelled through the USA, Europe, Asia and Africa
Let me begin by saying that I really cannot answer this question, being an American and being white. But, I am married to an Australian and have visited many times.

I very much agree with what pjc_au says on just about every level. I do find Aussies a bit xenophobic on a national level, but I actually dont think that its racism at all. Unfortunately, I think the world has a bit of a misconception in regards to Australia - I think most other places consider it a nice, neat place that most people would like to visit, but dont really think too much else of except Croc Hunter Steve Irwin or Paul Hogan. Which is really quite a shame - but that's another post in another forum.

Point being that Aussies in general seem to be a bit touchy on that subject and want to really point out whats good about Australia and want to hold on to things "Australia" - heh, how else can you explain Vegemite! Though, show me how this is different than other countries.

Seriously, Im not familiar with any immigration issues slanted against blacks. If anything, Australia had prejudice immigration-wise against Asians until the 1970s, but that has been completely reversed now.

Aboriginies - from what I gather, are not really considered "black" per se, and would be best compared to Native Americans, with a lot of the same issues/dissapointments that the US historically has had.

I dont quite understand what the one poster was refering to when he wrote that he was not treated with respect in stores until he spoke with his American accent. Perhaps that is a cultural difference - try going to any store in Italy or Europe for that matter to see if the employees come running to you like they do in the States. It just doesnt happen, and its easy to confuse that with being rude.

I think racism in the States is much heavier than Australia. My wife has commented many times how she has felt racial tension "in the air" since day one living in the States.

I think what it boils down to, and what makes American blacks feel a bit weird is that there just really isn't a "black culture" in Australia. There is a heavy Asian and European population, but not really a black population, and what there is, certainly does feel like a US hip hop culture.

It seems that, especially with recent events, that the main "racial" problems existing in Australia deals with "Aussies" and people of eastern-europe/middle-east heritage (Lebanese, etc).

I know this really doesnt answer your question, but maybe it gives you something to go from. I think if you are black, and considered moving to Australia, you're biggest problem culture shock wise would be that there just isnt a black culture there - but its certainly not rascist in origin, no matter what Lawrence Fishburne says.
It's not hard for anybody in Australia to find a job if they want to WORK. The problem is that traditionally there have been so many concesions and handouts given to the aboriginal people by the government, that there is a kind of resentment by the general population to the seemingly unequal treatment in terms of financial assistance given. At the same time the total lack of accountability and waste of resources resulting from these handouts causes further resentment. A case in point is that not far from where I live there is an aboriginal settlement ( the homes are all built by the government) There is one particular home that has been rebuilt three times, on the same concrete slab over the last 20 years, because each time it has been vandalised beyond repair. How do you explain that with any logic to an intelligent person.

The biggest problem is education. Nobody insists that the children go to school. The schools are provided, it's just that the kids are not made to go like the rest of the population. Without education you never develop leaders and people who want to achieve.

The recent "so called" race problems in Sydney are similar in many respects, with one major difference. The basically gentle muslim religion is non existent anymore. There is so much fanaticism in the world largely fuelled by the trouble in the middle east that in no way represents the things the muslims pay lip service to.

Anybody who is a fanatic causes trouble. That's the start and finish of it. The cartoons that have been the cause of so much violence are an absolute joke. How come the muslims are allowed to go a killing spree just because of some innocuous cartoon. That is religious fanaticism at its worst.