Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges:

(a) that on 13 February 2008 the then Prime Minister made a national apology to the Stolen Generations on behalf of the Parliament and the nation; and

(b) the importance of Closing the Gap; and

(2) reaffirms its commitment to Closing the Gap.

This time last year, I made the observation that on this one significant day in February each year many fine speeches have been given in this chamber. As we mark the anniversary of the Apology to the Stolen Generations by vowing to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australia, we have heard words that lifted us all—none finer, of course, than Kevin Rudd's 13 years ago.

But I also warned that, if this day were to become little more than a ceremony of renewal of good intentions, that would be so far short of what it should be, of what we have to be. We cannot allow ourselves to become content with just words, as important as words can be. Fine oratory with nothing attached to it in the end amounts to nothing more than a beautifully worded indictment.

Last year's Closing the Gap targets have not been backed with new investments in housing, services or programs. This year, we gather with an even greater absence. For the first time, the annual report card for Closing the Gap has been pushed back. A government that has perfected the art of nondelivery has found one more way to outdo itself—a government that shuts down debate in this parliament regularly. Today we are left with the anniversary of an event that was meant to be the start of something else. As Prime Minister Rudd reflected:

The apology was unfinished business for our nation. It is the beginning of new business for our nation.

But how do we move forward when we have a government so determined to stand still?

In last year's Closing the gap report only two of seven targets were on track: early childhood education and year 12 attainment. None of the other targets—child mortality; reading, writing and numeracy; school attendance; employment; and life expectancy—were on track. This of course is not in the spirit of the apology.

We should be forever humbled by the grace of so many stolen generations members in their willingness that day to take the hand so belatedly extended to them. It is that grace that lights the path ahead—a path that we must have the courage to take. We must take the first step, then follow it with another and another and another. Instead, we have a government that is not moving and a list of challenges that grows longer.

The government has provisioned $160 million for a referendum, but the Prime Minister has refused to commit to any time line for holding one. Since the Press Club address way back in 2019, after the election, in which Minister Wyatt clearly promised a referendum this term, he has repeatedly dismissed the prospect of one in the near future, arguing that he does not think it will succeed at this time. If a fear of failure is your guiding light, you need never fear success. The government has also refused to commit to a voice to parliament and refers instead to a voice to government—two very different things.

There is never any sense of urgency with this government. It is a government defined by inaction and the exhaustion of a government that has been in power so long that whatever energies it once possessed are long since spent. It is not for nothing that my good friend the shadow minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, has warned of the danger that the Uluru statement could end up being remembered as a noble moment but not as a turning point. We must do better—all of us. Let us take the steps that are demanded of us.

Very early in the life of this parliament—indeed, in the first meeting I had with the Prime Minister—I extended the hand of bipartisanship to him to work together for progress for First Australians. We held a meeting, but there hasn't been further meaningful engagement. Progress on human rights does take time. It is not the sort of thing that can be achieved with a couple of photo-ops. I again offer to work together, and I urge the Prime Minister to take this offer as it is intended—a genuine attempt to produce outcomes we can all be proud of.

We should keep turning back to the words of the great Galarrwuy Yunupingu: 'At Uluru we started a fire, a fire that we hope burns bright for Australia.' Let that hope not be in vain.

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