Marion Scrymgour (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I want to spend a few moments reflecting on the 40th anniversary of the Uluru handback. I want to thank the Anangu traditional owners for welcoming the Prime Minister, the minister for the environment and me, including some of my colleagues from the Northern Territory parliament. I want to thank the Anangu for their grace, for their hope, for their strength. Uluru is a place of immense importance in our national fabric. This landmark is also known across the world as an emblem of Australia. It attracts tourists and visitors from all over the country and from all walks of life. People come because Uluru holds a unique power, and anyone who has visited can attest that it is a sacred place.

The Anangu have protected this place for countless generations. To them, their custodianship of Uluru has never been in question, yet their legal right to this ancient landmark was only recognised 40 years ago. This recognition under Australian law—or white fella law—took many decades of struggle and advocacy. It's incredibly hard to describe First Nations people's connection to their country. Severing First Nations people from their country is like a person going blind. You still exist in this place, but you are cut off from your senses. Your ability to understand and interact with the world around you is greatly impacted. That's why the Uluru handback was so important. It was an act to make the Anangu people feel whole again.

The Australian spirit I saw on display over the weekend was not a spiteful one. It was one where Aboriginal and a number of non-Aboriginal people came together to celebrate an important milestone. It was the first time a prime minister celebrated this important milestone, and having the PM there was an important symbol of this government's commitment to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people—to say, 'We are behind you in the fight for recognition.' As the Prime Minister said, this fight is not linear; it takes twists and turns and it holds successes and many failures. Going back to Uluru reminded me of this. It is a place I have been many times before, most recently in 2023 just before and prior to the referendum. While we all accept the outcome of the referendum, the journey forward is not over. The words of the Uluru statement still ring loud and clear.

I was at Uluru in 2017 with the hundreds of First Nations delegates from all over this great continent. I felt the hope and the resilience that was still in the air. That longing and desire to forge a better and more just country—a country that has reckoned with its history—has not diminished. As a representative of the dozens of remote communities which overwhelmingly voted yes, it is my duty to continue advocating for a path forward. To me, that path lies in truth-telling. As we saw at Uluru, celebrating First Nations cultures enriches all of us. It brings people together in a way we can be proud of, but this celebration has to be meaningful, and it has to be genuinely there to uplift First Nations people.

A recent example of what this celebration could and should look like unfolded in Alice Springs. Not enough is done to remind Australians what an extraordinary place Alice Springs is. For so many people throughout the country and the world who are interested in Indigenous art and culture, it is a place worth visiting and celebrating. Perhaps the best starting point is to understand that Aboriginal people and culture have endured in the heart of our mostly arid continent. Against all odds and on 23 May 2000, there was a determination that the rights of the Mparntwe, Antulye and Irlpme estate groups had survived the imposed establishment of an urban population centre on their country, although, by the mid-20th century, native title had been extinguished throughout much of that area. The determination made it clear that the significance of sacred sites and the authority of custodians to protect them were reaffirmed. The vulnerability of such sites under Northern Territory legislation had been revealed in 1992, when the Northern Territory government of the day would have destroyed the important Todd River sites if it hadn't been for Commonwealth ministerial override.

Consistent with results in the last federal election are the recent Alice Springs town council elections. The people of Alice Springs are progressive. They're multicultural and mutually respectful. They want to see business development and opportunities for everyone. But, at the same time, they recognise and, in fact, seek to leverage Alice's unique circumstances. It is a native title town which is the hub for a constellation of remote Aboriginal communities spread throughout central Australia. This aspect of Alice Springs's contemporary character features the interconnection of Aboriginal culture from different groups across various regions and adds value to what would be an otherwise extremely limited local economy.

Many tourists come to central Australia specifically because of this cultural context, and everyone loves Indigenous art. Most Indigenous art is sourced from the world view of what in central Australia they call jukurrpa. There are other equivalent terms throughout the country. This world view substantially links together particular living human stories about how the country was formed and shaped and obligations of ownership and protection. Understanding this art requires acknowledging how Aboriginal people have been impacted by history, both distant and recent. In other words, Aboriginal art is not a mere decoration, but a true appreciation of it involves opening up to truth-telling about ownership of country under traditional lore and custom and a willingness to understand the ongoing structural conflicts which arise as a result of that appropriation of that land. Discussions about these things should not be shied away from as divisive or uncomfortable. They are a necessary pathway to reconciliation.

Reconciliation is a destination where all Australians can embrace and celebrate the heritage which Aboriginal Australians have bequeathed to this nation, which is why it is disappointing to hear the current Northern Territory government treasurer and some others recently speak of—and remove—the partnership for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Gallery of Australia as if it were a Bunnings site, a box to be ticked in order to promote foot traffic through the Alice Springs mall. Concerns about sacred sites and the Northern Territory government's downscaling of the building, as well as the proximity of the proposed site to a commercial alcohol and gaming machine business which profits from Aboriginal people, were dismissively shrugged off.

Many years ago, many people in Alice Springs started a campaign for a national Aboriginal art gallery in Alice Springs. They pointed out that, if done right, this could be a magnet, and an important one, for interest and visitors, both nationally and internationally. There must be opportunities that we need to look at. We need to continue to work with the state government and also the community, and to see that we all need to come together. The commercial potential of Alice Springs for the establishment of such a centre is still high no matter where this could be. Tourists who go to the centre will always end up going up to the Todd more, even if we put it somewhere else, and would spend money. The whole town would benefit. The whole town would not benefit from the crash-through approach of the construction of a purported cultural attraction at a location which would see it damned as culturally toxic by senior Arrernte custodians.

Common sense, cultural sense and a commercial sense must prevail. These considerations do not have to be in opposition to each other. We have an opportunity here—federal, state, local and community—to all work together to advance a national agenda of truth-telling and reconciliation, and to significantly expand and enhance the economy of Alice Springs and Central Australia. Keeping faith with the vision of Aboriginal people will deliver for Alice Springs and for our nation, which is so important. The objective and the responsibility to this community will be to do what I can as their federal representative—a commitment to Alice Springs that respect the town, its history and its people.

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