Phillip Thompson (Herbert, Liberal National Party) | Hansard source

I rise to speak more from a personal experience, my family. I wasn't going to speak today and then I saw two photos of my little girls. There's nothing in this world that I love more than my two little girls. Astin, three, and Emery, one, are both Aboriginal girls. My wife is Aboriginal. My mother-in-law was born on Palm Island, was a part of the stolen generation, was born in a jail. The trauma that she has lived through her whole life is something that none of us here would ever be able to comprehend, understand. Therefore, I believe that we as a nation find it easier to not talk about it. That's why I decided to come in today and pay homage to my family and my mother-in-law and to say sorry—sorry that this occurred to her and to the thousands and thousands of other families around the country.

My wife's tribe and my mother-in-law's tribe is Djungan and Gungandji, from Mount Mulligan, from the Tablelands. They're rainforest Aboriginals. I want my daughters in five years, 10 years, 20 years—however long I sit in this place—to know that their dad stood up and spoke. It's a weird feeling for me because, outside of veterans affairs' issues and my family, I'm not an emotional person. But, in thinking about the horrors that occurred well before my time, it just takes the oxygen out of me. It winds me that this happened to Australian people. It winds me that my beautiful wife had to deal with the trauma that followed and the systemic racism that followed. It pains me that, unless we stand together, my daughters will go through the same thing. It might sound like a selfish thing to say, but I'm being about as open and honest as I can ever be. When it becomes real to you and you feel it in your bones, it drives people into action.

Fifty years ago my mother-in-law was at the Aboriginal Embassy, out the front of Old Parliament House. Fifty years ago a young Florence Burns, protesting, standing there, fighting and putting her hand up to be counted, was arrested by the police. Florence is someone that I've often asked questions of around Australia Day, around the different awards that I've received. I brought Florence here for my maiden speech, where she hugged Ken Wyatt and she hugged the Prime Minister. I think she was hugging everyone that day. I've never seen so much pride in her. That was because she felt that she has a voice in here, through her daughter, through me, through her grandkids, who I'm sure in a couple weeks will be asking, 'When's granny coming down from Cairns?' I'm sure my wife will enjoy having a bit of time to relax, as my kids are a handful. I'm sure Josh over there understands all about that! I know that my mother-in-law went straight up to Pat Dodson and gave him a hug.

There's a time when we debate with aggression and there's a time when we debate together, and, with my contribution here, for me this is a debate together. I found it refreshing—but I know the member for Melbourne didn't find it refreshing—to listen to the Prime Minister yesterday and I found it refreshing to listen to the Leader of the Opposition, Anthony Albanese. He's someone that I've spoken to before about Aboriginal issues as well as veterans issues.

When I served, I served with lots of First Nations people, whether they were Torres Strait Islanders or Aboriginal people from lands all around the country. I just saw them as brothers, really. I fought with them in wars and when I was injured they looked after me; I didn't see anything more in it. But when I met my wife, I started to look deeper into the Defence veterans brotherhood to ask: what did they go through when they were growing up? What did their parents have to endure? I think it's the responsibility of all of us to acknowledge the atrocities that have occurred and to create a better future for our First Nations people—for all people—and to walk hand in hand. That's something that I've had to learn through my journey as a young man and it's something that I would like to instil in others. I hope that people who dial in from the electorate of Herbert, places like Townsville, will say, 'Yes, I get it.'

This is about us acknowledging the atrocities that should never have happened. I'm sorry for that and I hope that we can now work together for a better future, because I want my daughters to grow up learning about and understanding the bad that has happened in our world. But then they must know that they can think, 'I can do anything.' I want my daughters to sit in parliament, if they so choose, with other strong women from around the country on all political sides who get here through their ability. I want them to look through Hansard and think: 'You know what? Their contribution that day meant something to me.' It means that we will come together with open arms to create a future where this should never happen again.

I'm sorry that this occurred. I will never understand what my mother-in-law and people throughout this country, including the people of Palm Island, which is in my electorate, went through. I will never comprehend it, but what I promise to do is to listen, to learn and to ensure that we as a nation never do this again. I want a very bright future for my two Aboriginal girls when they go through school. As they grow up I want them not to have go through the things that my wife went through. I know that standing up and talking about it, regardless of your political party, changes how our future will be. I'm very, very confident that with the strong people in our parliament, especially the strong young women in our parliament and the Aboriginal people in our parliament, we will guide this nation, regardless of the political divide, towards a better future for our First Nations people.

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