Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The 50th anniversary of the 1967 referendum and the 25th anniversary of the High Court's handing down of the Mabo decision is a significant event which will be properly recognised by the nation's parliament. This year, 2017, is a year in which Australia will pay tribute to the forerunners of our Indigenous rights movement, which began a long journey of reconciliation between Australians, the modern nation, and our First Australians. This year we remember those who walked before us on this important journey with the 50th anniversary of the 1967 referendum and the 25th anniversary of the High Court's decision. The year 2017 is really a nexus between Australia's history of Indigenous rights, our future and the future of our programs to generate opportunities for Indigenous Australians. It brought the Prime Minister to address parliament in the presence of elders of the Indigenous rights movement, those surviving campaigners and family representatives of the 1967 referendum and the Mabo decision, as well as the announcement of the government's $138 million Indigenous education package.

The first of these milestones was the 1967 referendum. On 27 May 1967 Australians walked together and voted for change in a referendum that received unprecedented support—a 90.77 per cent national majority. This overwhelming support is symbolic of the support that existed and still resoundingly remains in the hearts and minds of Australians for reconciliation with Australia's first peoples—recognition of First Australians and the injustice that sat at the heart of the Constitution that needed to be addressed. The referendum entrenched the rule of law for Indigenous Australians, inviting the Commonwealth to legislate specifically for them and allowing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to be counted with all Australians in the Census.

Of course, this was not a catch-all referendum for Indigenous issues. We know there's still a very long legacy of challenges about uniting our cultures and uniting our standards of living. In fact, that journey had already begun. In 2017 we celebrate the 55th anniversary of the Indigenous vote of federal elections. However, there was much more to come in the journey for reconciliation, including the advent of the Aboriginal Legal Service across the country in the seventies and the royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody in the nineties. In the spirit of continuing commitment, the Prime Minister continued his legacy by announcing the important funding package of $138 million for Indigenous education. To be matched with philanthropic support, this education package provides mentoring scholarships and focuses on building Australia's future professionals in key fields such as science and technology. This includes increasing funding to established organisations such as the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience and the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation, which have proven themselves in taking Indigenous students who are in financial need and supporting them to achieve better year 12 completion rates and transition into the workforce so that in the end every Indigenous Australian has the opportunity not just to build a life of dignity but also to be able to go on to be self-supporting and sustaining and to contribute to the continuing story of this great nation.

These organisations are delivering the results we need them to deliver—the highest-calibre Indigenous leaders to take our country's next steps together with all of us—and this package will allow them to broaden the scope of their service. Building upon the inspiring display of national unity at the 1967 campaign, 50 years on, we now have to walk together on the next step of the journey. Of course, we are now looking at the challenges around how we deal with making sure that Indigenous Australians feel a sense of commitment to and understanding of our Constitution, and there's been an ongoing discussion around that.

We recognise the need to find harmony between different key elements in Australian society: firstly, the continent's heritage and culture from Australia's first peoples; the continuation and involvement of our British institutions of state, and in broader society; but, most importantly, pride in our sense of national unity. Only when we focus on these important principles will we be able to make sure that we come up with a pathway that unites all Australians towards a commitment of mutual success. And that's what the government is keen to do: work with Indigenous Australians to deliver change that focuses on the national unity we need so that all Australians walk on the same path.

This year we are also proud to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Mabo decision. While seven famous High Court judgements, the Native Title Act and 387 determinations made under this act may be the tangible legacy of the Mabo name, it is important not to forget the man behind this extraordinary campaign.

Eddie Koiki Mabo was an extraordinary man, a trailblazer for the Indigenous rights movement from Far North Queensland during the seventies and eighties. He and his wife, Bonita, fought a long battle for land rights, and together they educated an entire nation about the connection between Indigenous Australians and their land. Their efforts culminated in a historic decision by the High Court to acknowledge the traditional land rights of the Meriam people, giving rise to the Native Title Act, which has served as a major vehicle for recasting the relationship between Indigenous Australians and their land.

The 387 determinations made under the act now outnumber the 245 claims lodged, covering approximately 40 per cent of the Australian land mass where Indigenous interests have been formally recognised. It serves as a substantial symbol of the reconciliation commitment to respect the rights of first nations.

On the 25th anniversary of Mabo, the coalition government, in appreciation of the centrality of land rights to Indigenous Australians, is committing a $20 million fund to support better use of Indigenous rights over sea country. The government is committed to working with traditional owners and land councils to ensure this funding can deliver the economic opportunity that land and sea ownership will deliver.

But the aim of Mabo, as much as anything else, was to make sure that people had ownership of their traditional lands and waters, and to educate Australians about the important connection. One of the causes I championed in my former capacity as Australian Human Rights Commissioner was not just that Indigenous Australians continue to have that connection to country; it was also to enable them to use that land as they saw fit—to get past the discussion around land being simply for ceremonial purposes, for cultural purposes and for simple practices, and really see how Indigenous Australians and the title arrangements are necessary to make sure that they can use their land, like the rest of the Australian population, to their own advantage. I understand that work is still ongoing, and it is an important part of the work that should be being led by the Human Rights Commission, I hope, following my departure.

Each one of those steps plays an important part in the continuing story of our reconciliation, because each of these events marks a critical milestone in not only the history of Indigenous Australians but our national history and our continuing national story. As the government of this Commonwealth we hold a duty to enthusiastically learn about the issues that face Indigenous Australians in modern society, to understand the historical context that causes these disadvantages and to collaboratively work with leaders to develop solutions and provide opportunities for the next generation of Indigenous Australians to forge their place in our future. It does not come through conflict; each step of the way, it comes through collaboration and working with people, finding avenues to fully respect their dignity and place. It is with great pleasure that I acknowledge the 50th anniversary of the 1967 referendum and the 25th anniversary of the High Court's decision in Mabo.

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