Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Hansard source

In February 2017 I seconded the member for Kennedy's private member's bill to protect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and their customers from cheap fake Indigenous art and craft flooding Australian souvenir shops. I must acknowledge and commend the member for Kennedy on his work in this space. He really has been an excellent advocate for Indigenous Australians getting a fair deal for their unique cultural and intellectual property. As a result of the member for Kennedy's advocacy, the Standing Committee on Indigenous Affairs has undertaken this fine body of work on inauthentic Indigenous art and its impact. It is widely appreciated by those involved with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art that we have a problem with inauthentic Indigenous art in Australia and we need an urgent solution.

I support the recommendations of the committee and seek to strongly urge this government—and any government elected to this place, following it—to act on those recommendations. In particular, I wish to draw attention to recommendation 8, which concludes that standalone legislation is required to protect Indigenous cultural intellectual property, including traditional knowledge and cultural expressions. Work on this legislation and public consultation needs to start urgently, as cheap, fake imports should not be allowed to continue to undermine the livelihoods of Indigenous artists.

In closing, I thank the committee and its secretariat for their work and I thank the member for Kennedy for his advocacy. I urge the government to act upon the report and its recommendations, especially the urgent introduction of legislation to protect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists from cheap, fake imports.

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