Emma Husar (Lindsay, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to pay respect to Dr G Yunupingu. I would like to acknowledge that we are meeting on the lands of the Ngunnawal people, and I pay respect to them. On this important day, International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, I feel so privileged and honoured to be doing so. I rise to echo the comments made by my colleagues the member for Perth and the member for Herbert on Dr G Yunupingu's passing, and I rise to pay respect to a community that lost not only a great man but a great musician, whose life has been cut unreasonably short.

He was a man who achieved so much with so little to start with—nine ARIA award nominations, five ARIA awards, Northern Territory's Australian of the Year in 2009, an honorary degree of Doctor of Music from the University of Sydney in 2012 and 2016 Artist of the Year at the NAIDOC Awards. Yunupingu represented the soul of original language and music of Indigenous communities. He brought the Northern Territory to the world, and he could play any instrument and sing like an angel. Yunupingu started his music by playing guitar upside down because he was left-handed. But, even with all of those achievements to his credit, we find ourselves here today mourning his premature death at age 46. Indigenous disadvantage is a scourge on our society. As Bill Shorten said yesterday:

It is the hard truth of Australia's unfinished business that this superstar could delight a packed house and be refused a cab ride home afterwards.

Dr Yunupingu's death came about from complications from contracting hepatitis B as a child, a disease that can be vaccinated against. Indigenous Australians are up to seven times more likely to need treatment for chronic illness than non-Indigenous Australians; and when it comes to renal health, a largely preventable disease, the figures are much worse. In a recent story in TheSydney Morning Herald, Dr Yunupingu's specialist, Dr Lawton, noted:

Compared to a non-indigenous patient in Surry Hills in Sydney, an indigenous patient with the same age and illness in Redfern right next door has a third of the chance of a kidney transplant …

An indigenous patient from east Arnhem … has a 10th of the chance of transplantation of a non-indigenous person from east Arnhem.

In remote areas of Australia, end-stage kidney disease is up to 20 times higher for Indigenous Australians than it is for non-Indigenous Australians. We see the figures; we know the gaps. But what is happening?

I recently attended the rally in Alice Springs and had the opportunity to visit the Santa Teresa community, approximately 100 kilometres south-east of Alice Springs. The Santa Teresa community is not as remote as some others, but it brought home to me that the things that are simple for people in our metropolitan communities are not so simple for their communities—like water, a very basic necessity. The community had an orchard, and, by all accounts, one that was providing self-sufficiency. One day, a pipe got a leak. It went unnoticed until the town's water bill arrived. Of course, it was quite a shock, and it couldn't be paid. What do you think the local government's decision was to deal with the issue? They disconnected the water. Now they have no orchard. Could you imagine that happening in the city and the outrage that would ensue, even in a community like mine? If this is the response on something so fundamental, then how are more complex matters being handled—matters like preventive health, job creation, education and family services?

The Prime Minister handed down the Closing the Gap report in 2017, which shows the redoubling effort we absolutely need to make. The target to close the gap in life expectancy by 2031 is nowhere near on track. The Indigenous rate of mortality from cancer, the second-leading cause of death, is rising and the gap is widening, not closing. The target to halve the gap in reading and numeracy for Indigenous students by 2018 is also not on track. The latest data shows that, of the eight areas measured—reading and numeracy for years 3, 5, 7 and 9—only one, year 9 numeracy, is on track for Indigenous Australians. The target to halve the gap in employment by 2018 is also not on track, while there has been an increase in the Indigenous employment rate since 1994, there has been a decline since 2008. In 2014-15 the Indigenous employment rate was 48.4 per cent, compared with 72.6 per cent for non-Indigenous Australians. Geography is an important factor in Indigenous employment. In 2014-15, 35.1 per cent of Indigenous people of working age in very remote areas were employed, compared with 57.5 per cent of those in major cities.

We see these top-line figures and we see the inequality and disadvantage. But the stark reminder is the individual story, and Dr G Yunupingu's story represents that stark reminder. Dr G Yunupingu was trapped in a cycle of bad health from contracting hepatitis B which left him with liver and kidney disease; his death would have been preventable in most circumstances. Research conducted as part of Closing the Gap was clear: the poorer health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people when compared to the non-Indigenous population is no secret. And something can be done about it. It takes will. The facts are that growing up as an Aboriginal child in remote Australia, Dr Yunupingu was less likely to receive the basic healthcare that other Australian children enjoy. As an adult, he suffered the complications of hepatitis B, a disease that can be avoided, by a simple vaccination. It was some irony that this year's NAIDOC theme—Our Language Matters—highlights the protection and regeneration needed for Aboriginal languages. It is an important theme, because it celebrates the unique and essential role that Aboriginal language plays in cultural identity.

Dr Yunupingu's highlighting of language through his music was vital. Yunupingu contributed so much to language, music and culture, not just to the Australian Aboriginal community but to the broader community. This should be treasured and honoured. Language links people to their land and water and is part of the communication of history, spirituality and rituals through stories and songs. In Aboriginal traditions across the country people sing to maintain connections, to have fun and to preserve traditions.

Yolngu Matha is the name of a group of languages and dialects that are among the last 13 or so groups of languages that are still strong and are spoken by all generations in their communities for all purposes identified in the most comprehensive survey of Australian languages in 2014. They are the last of what is now estimated to be as many as 407 languages. We must preserve language and build on it, and music plays a vital role. Dr Yunupingu's music draws on ancient stories of his people that resonate across all human experience. Out of this terrible demise, however, is the opportunity to re-dedicate ourselves to finishing and answering the hard truths.

We have lost an inspiring and passionate leader, an artist and advocate for our endangered Aboriginal Australian languages, because his health was compromised through entirely preventable diseases. My heartfelt condolences to his family and friends. May he rest in peace.

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