Members of the Bellingen and Nambucca District Rural Australians for Refugees call on all the companies who advertise on Alan Jones’ breakfast show to withdraw their advertisements. We urge them to join with the Australian community in demonstrating in the clearest possible way that they will no longer support intolerance and bigotry on the airways.

The tragic events of Christchurch leave us all searching for explanations. Many commentators have written about far-right white supremacists and their ability to share their extreme beliefs on the internet. But these extremists don’t exist in a vacuum. For years we have increasingly normalized bigotry, anti-Muslim and anti-asylum seeker sentiments in Australia. Demonising, demeaning and mistreating those who are “not like us” has been mainstreamed by sections of the media, radio shock jocks and politicians on the right.

This has to stop if we are to have any real hope of developing a multicultural nation at peace with itself, a nation where people respect and celebrate difference. We must cease using fear, mistrust and vilification as a political weapon to garner votes.

The Alan Jones Breakfast Show is the favourite echo chamber for leading politicians on the right – from Abbott and Dutton to Morrison and Abetz.  Their regular discourse with Jones has done much to spread fear of the “other”, and to demonise refugees, asylum seekers and members of the Muslim community.  Jones donated $10,000 to One Nation’s successful campaign to elect Mark Latham to the NSW Legislative Council. Latham has a long history of preaching intolerance, and advertisers should not associate themselves in any way with his brand of politics. This fearmongering has to end, and it needs to end now.

Please sign our petition.