Patrick Gorman (Perth, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Archie Roach was a musician and storyteller with the most generous of thought. He managed to have all of us know and think about First Peoples' lives and the hardship which they have endured. He put stories and histories of generations of unfairness and generations of tragedy before each of us so gently that change was possible, so gently that we could all believe that further change is possible. Archie Roach opened up possibilities of reconciliation and possibilities of a fairer Australia. He showed us that songs share stories and that songs and stories can change nations. He let us know what could and should be done—never in a harsh way, but in a way that opened up the hearts of all of us.

He was born in 1956 in Victoria. Just a few years into his life, he was forcibly removed from his family and taken to life on a mission. Placed in foster care, he was told he was an orphan. Eventually he found a home with Alex and Dulcie Cox, a family of great enthusiasm for music. His foster-father would sing traditional Scottish music. His eldest sister from that family, Mary, taught the basics of guitar and keyboard. Archie said of his foster-father:

He was a big influence on me—a good influence. I'll love him to the day I die.

I think we all recognise that that influence gave us that amazing sharing of story through song, which gave us the Archie Roach that we are celebrating the life of today.

He received a letter when he was about 14 years old telling of the fact that his biological mother had passed. This is when the reality of what happened in Archie Roach's early life struck him. He was enraged. He left his foster home with nothing—no money, no possessions; just a guitar and, understandably, some anger—on his search for his parents and the story of his life. In that search as a teenager, he met Ruby Hunter. They would later marry, form a band and start a life in Melbourne.

That life gave us the song that has been so celebrated in this place, 'Took the Children Away'. It tells us so painfully, but also with much hope, of the story of the stolen generation and his experience of having been removed from his family. One of the first times he performed that, and one of the largest early audiences he performed that song to, was during the protests of the bicentenary celebrations in 1988. That performance, to a mainly white audience, was at first met with complete silence, which I think shows that silence is not always a sign of disapproval but a sign of emotion and people learning afresh. Paul Kelly shares the story:

He finished the song and there was still dead silence.

… Archie thought he'd bombed, that everybody hated it, so he just turned and started to walk off stage. And as he walked off, this applause started to build and build and build. … people were so stunned at the end of the song that it took them a while just to gather themselves to applaud.

That is one of the nation's great storytellers, Paul Kelly, telling us about one of our nation's other great storytellers, Archie Roach.

He released Charcoal Lane in 1990, which featured that song. He was nominated for ARIA breakthrough artist in 1991. He won a human rights achievement award. He released nine albums, including collaborations with none other than Bob Dylan, Billy Bragg, Tracy Chapman, Patti Smith and so many more—I couldn't name them all. He was honoured in 2015 on the Queen's Birthday Honours as a member of the Order of Australia for his services to music and, equally, for his role as a campaigner for social justice. In 2020 he was named Victorian Australian of the Year.

While his life was in Victoria, he was loved by Western Australians. He came to Western Australia so many times over the years. He came to open the Perth Festival, he's performed in Broome and at the Nannup Music Festival, and he performed with Paul Kelly at Optus Stadium, just to name a few. Always doing more than performing songs, always sharing stories, always sharing insights, and always leaving people with a greater and deeper understanding of the true history of this country, Australia. He was set to perform at the Perth Concert Hall earlier this year in May and sadly postponed for health reasons.

However, I am so fortunate that I got to see Archie, his band and many others perform in 2017 when my dad, Ron Gorman, organised a family outing to the Astor Theatre in my electorate in Mount Lawley. Dad was insistent that we all go as a family to this concert. It was to mark the 20th anniversary of the Bringing them home report, the inquiry into the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families. We had Sealin Garlett provide a welcome to country. We had footage screened to us of Lang Hancock's statement about 'fixing the Aboriginal problem'—an appalling statement then, as it is now. We had a screening of the apology from Prime Minister Rudd. And we had many stories shared between the audience and Archie.

I'm going to use a few words from my father, Ron Gorman, who is the person I know who has seen Archie Roach perform more than anyone else, both in Victoria and in the West. Ron Gorman says: 'Being in his presence, you knew that the time with him was special, not just a great gig but a moment of enlightenment'. His legacy lives with all of us as we reach out for his desire to have complex issues known and to have a voice. As an artist and creator, I always thought of Archie as a national treasure. That treasure is now in our hearts and minds.'

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