Cathy O'Toole (Herbert, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am very proud to represent one of the largest discrete Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in this country, Palm Island. Palm Island is home to the traditional owners, the Manbarra people. As Palm Island was used as a penal colony, it is also home to the Bwgcolman people, the Aboriginal name for 'one people'. There are approximately 47 language groups on Palm Island. Palm Island is a beautiful tropical island with a resident community that hovers between 3,500 and 5,000 people. The settlement has been known as Palm Island, the Mission, Palm Island Settlement or just Palm Community.

The history of Palm Island must be told to be believed. This year we celebrated the centenary of Palm Island. In a series of events throughout the year, we reflected on Palm's history, present day, and the future. The people of Palm Island are strong and resilient, and the truth of their story must be told. Palm Island has a bright future. The young people who are the leaders of the future have a vision for their communities. The Bwgcolman people have shown their endurance and resilience over the past hundred years. The Palm Island centenary celebration provided an opportunity for the people to speak truthfully about the past and the challenges and adversities that they have faced and overcome. As Palm Island looks towards a brighter future with the assistance of the Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council, led by Mayor Alf Lacey, it is vital to share their stories with the broader community in order for us all to work together for better outcomes.

The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies does remarkable work in collecting stories and doing research on the island. For those who are unaware of AIATSIS, it is a world-renowned research, collections and publishing organisation. AIATSIS promotes knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, traditions, languages and stories past and present. The organisation cares for a priceless collection, including films, photographs, video and audio recordings, as well as the world's largest collection of printed and other resource materials for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studies. AIATSIS undertakes and encourages scholarly, ethical, community based research in a variety of sectors, including health, native title, languages and education. This research has also been done on Palm Island. I believe the AIATSIS CEO, Craig Ritchie, said it best when he described the organisation, saying, 'For more than 50 years, AIATSIS, a national cultural institution, has been the nation's best-kept secret.' Recently, the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies unveiled AIATSIS strategic plan 2018-2023. The plan is underpinned by a determination to help Australia forge a more inclusive national identity.

We are at a pivotal point in Australia with our First Nations people. We are at a pivotal point in Australia also where it is critical that we as a nation engage in a truth-telling process that will reveal our nation's real history. I believe, personally, that AIATSIS has a crucial role to play in this process. The organisation has incredible resources, collections, research and information about Australia's history and our current First Nations landscape. It is only right and fair that the organisation's next phase is to communicate, educate and engage with the wider community. To realise these aspirations, the organisation has set a series of initiatives as priorities for the life of the plan, which include a new state-of-the-art home for AIATSIS that is a national forum for transformational cross-cultural engagement and sharing; the songlines project, working with communities to secure song traditions; resources for the teaching of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and heritage in schools; a leading-edge, engaging web presence; and potential physical presence beyond Canberra. This is an ambitious plan, and rightly so in our current climate. AIATSIS is a national treasure, and I am proud to support the organisation and recognise the excellent work that they do for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and the country in this place.

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