Complaint over 'racist' web message
Daily Telegraph, 25/7/01

A Sydney Councillor has referred content posted on a major Australian internet site to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, claiming it was racist.

Fairfield Councillor Thang Ngo said he had been contacted by people from different cultural backgrounds who had been offended by a message on the Have Your Say section of popular website ninemsn.

Carrying the heading "Report Asians and People of Middle Easteren Appearance to Police", the message urged readers to contact police if they saw "Asians or people of Middle Eastern Appearance" in the street because "they might just be escapees".

The message was referring to 46 illegal immigrants who escaped from Villawood detention centre in the past week.

It was later removed from the website.

A spokesperson for ninemsn said editorial staf were made aware of the matter just before midday and had removed the offensive material by 3pm.