General Peter Cosgrove's Sunshine and Shade Australia Day address last week could represent a turning point in our maturity as a nation if we can join him in admitting the existence of a 'strand of racism' in Australia.
Officially racism ended with the election of the Whitlam Labor Government in 1972. But in practice it went underground. We are delusional when we think of Australian society as egalitarian. If we can acknowledge racism, there is a good chance that we will be able to manage it.
Cosgrove said attacks on Indian students have become 'a major problem'. He added that the nature of the attacks makes it clear there has been racial motivation.
Following the speech, Victorian police chief Simon Overland agreed that racism has played a part in the attacks.
However there remain skeptics in high places. Victorian premier John Brumby was perceived to be in denial of the racist motivation after he criticised Cosgrove's speech as 'factually inaccurate' and wide of the mark.
We need a chorus of political leaders to back General Cosgrove. The fact that they have not yet supported his remarks could reflect their reluctance to speak hard truths in a year of multiple elections.
It's self-evident that no social ill can be tackled until its existence is acknowledged. Historically major breakthroughs have been made when the community recognised certain fundamental associations, such as smoking and lung cancer, and drink-driving and an unacceptably high road toll. Conversely, there will be little progress in slowing climate change while there remains significant denial that it exists.
The spokesman for the Federation of Indian Students of Australia, Gautam Gupta, was overjoyed that the police chief had admitted racism against Melbourne's Indian community played a part in the attacks on Indian students.
'It is a breakthrough, it is an endorsement of what we have been saying for so long,' he told The Australian. 'This is what we have been fighting for, they have acknowledged it. They have been in denial, I don't understand why. I am so glad he has come out.'
It is easy for Australians to focus on complaining about the 'hysterical' nature of coverage of the attacks against Indian students from sections of the Indian media. Hysterical or not, there are speaking a truth about us that we do not like to hear.
Michael Mullins is editor of Eureka Street.