An anonymous complaint about a Mark Knight editorial cartoon published May 21, 2024 in the Herald Sun has been deemed “offensive and prejudicial” by the Australian Press Council.
The cartoon (below) was drawn in response to an increase of immigration into Australia. The complaint argued that the immigrants in the cartoon were depicted as “mostly Muslims from the Middle East and Africa and does not portray the reality of immigration into Australia which is led by people from India, China and the Philippines.” The complaint also stated Opposition Leader Peter Dutton was drawn as a “superhero.”
The Australian Press Council’s official report accepted both the compliant’s assertion that the depiction of immigrants is not accurate from where migrants are coming from, but also Mark’s intent was not to cause offense or prejudice:
The Council accepts that the intention of the cartoon was to comment on the political debate surrounding the immigration numbers and not on who or where the immigrants were arriving from. The Council also accepts that it was not the cartoonist’s intention to cause offence or prejudice. However, the Council considers that the depiction of the immigrants, which it notes is not reflective of the ethnic and geographical composition of migrant arrivals into Australia, together with the raising of the drawbridge, implies that such immigrants are undesirable. The Council considers that in the context of a national political debate concerning the potential negative effects of the significant immigration increase on Australian society, the depiction of such people as mostly brown skinned, with prominent facial features and attire that reflects a stereotypical portrayal of people from the Middle East and Africa, including Muslims, is offensive and prejudicial.
Mark, in an opinion piece in the Sun, maintains the interpretations of the immigrants in his cartoon are wrong.
Australia is a colourful, multicultural land, so I drew a mix of folk entering Australia wearing their various ethnic dresses in some cases, some in Western attire, carrying suitcases, and all looking happy to be here.
It is not a stampede like the opening of the front doors at Myer on Boxing Day, which might insinuate that we are being overrun. They do not look angry or threatening.
The woman at the front is beaming and an Indian chap is punching the air in exultation.
The pronouncement is causing quite a stir in Australia. Mark has been interviewed for his reaction on Sky News Australian and among talking heads.
He also laments, “we, here in the accountable journalism world, are low-hanging fruit for those prone to outrage.”
This is not the Mark’s first accusation of racism. As we reported in 2019, he drew a cartoon of Serena Williams throwing a temper tantrum during the U.S. Open that readers felt crossed the lines of racial stereotypes. The Australian Press Council deemed that cartoon as not-racist and that the Sun Herald took “reasonable steps to avoid causing substantial offence, distress or prejudice, without sufficient justification in the public interest.”