Actor Shareena Clanton has responded to a new statement from her former employer, which addresses social media posts she made detailing "racist traumas" experienced on the set of 'Neighbours'.
In a statement overnight, Chris Oliver-Taylor, CEO of Fremantle Asia Pacific, committed to using an Indigenous-led consultancy company to investigate the situation.
“Fremantle is committed to providing an environment where employees and others in the workplace are treated fairly and with respect and... We have asked Campfire X, creative leaders in Indigenous Cultural Protocols, to conduct an independent review of Neighbours and the production process.”
Ms Clanton says she's glad there will be an investigation, but that the statements still aren't good enough.
"[It] will hopefully encourage others to speak up and out in confidence without fear of repercussions. Neighbours has not fostered a “fully inclusive” environment because if it did, we wouldn’t be having these conversations and multiple situations occur in the past and present days of filming," said Ms Clanton, speaking exclusively with NITV News on Thursday.
Ms Clanton says racist and misogynistic attitudes and expressions were commonplace on set, including the use of the 'n' word.
After her initial claims, Fremantle Media said it was committed to having "an inclusive workplace", a statement dismissed by Ms Clanton as a "non-response".
"That is absolved of any accountability, reform, action, remorse and regret. That is not a response. That's a level of complicity that's equally a part of the problem. That response from Fremantle media is problematic," she told NITV News.
"These situations wouldn't be happening if it was a truly fully inclusive, culturally safe space. This is a decades old conversation. It just shows where the interrogations need to happen from the cast, crew, production staff, heads of staff."
"Racism is just one aspect of the landscape here, you're talking about homophobia, transphobia, you're talking about deep entrenched levels of misogyny, sexism and racial ignorance's and various cultural biases so there's a whole plethora of investigative processes that need to happening order for these claims not just be coming to the forefront but be part of our national and industrial discourse ."
Ms Clanton also told NITV News that since she has spoken out, more cast and crew members from the Neighbours set who come from marginalised backgrounds have told her about experiencing behaviour that was completely against workplace policy.
"I've now had multiple individuals come to me separately, privately because they have felt encouraged to speak up but they do not feel they are in a position to be able to talk about it publicly, their own experiences of various levels of inappropriate, sexual misconduct, of varying degrees of racial, cultural, gender ignorance."
The claims of racism have been backed by Meyne Wyatt, the shows first Aboriginal actor to play a regular role.
Mr Wyatt also spoke out about the overwhelming response he's received since speaking out about the racism prevalent on set of Neighbours, also taking the opportunity to shine light on stopping Aboriginal deaths in custody.
