Kate Chaney (Curtin, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to acknowledge the 18th anniversary of the national apology to Australia's Indigenous peoples and to respond to the Closing the gap annual report and implementation plan. Eighteen years ago, this parliament stood together to say sorry. It was a moment of truth-telling and national self-reflection, an acknowledgement that the harm inflicted through government policies was not abstract or distant, but deeply personal, ongoing and intergenerational.

The National Apology to the Stolen Generations was never an end in itself. It was an invitation to do the ongoing, sometimes uncomfortable work of justice and repair. In Western Australia in this past year, we saw a powerful local act of truth-telling that spoke directly to the truth of the apology. On 28 October 2025, the Governor of Western Australia, His Excellency Chris Dawson, travelled to Bindjareb Noongar country to deliver a formal apology for the Pinjarra massacre of 1834—a planned and deadly raid led by then Governor James Stirling that killed scores of Aboriginal men, women and children. He said that the time had come for a governor to acknowledge the truth of a predecessor's actions, emphasising the need to confront the truth in all the complexities of the past in order to heal in the present and committing himself to do all he could to rebuild trust and reconciliation.

That ceremony was deeply significant for the Bindjareb community and for all Western Australians willing to reckon with our history. It also modelled leadership: an officeholder using the authority of the state to name harm and to express remorse, walking softly on country, invited by traditional owners, and committing to reconciliation in deeds as well as words. We should recognise the courage of community leaders who carried this truth for so long and the Governor's willingness to meet them there publicly and unequivocally.

Truth-telling alone cannot undo the deep and lasting harm caused by the policy and laws of successive governments. It must be met with practical steps towards justice. That's why I welcome the commencement in November 2025 of the Western Australian government Stolen Generations Redress Scheme. Under this scheme, survivors who were removed from their families in WA before 1 July 1972 are eligible for a one-off $85,000 payment, along with the option of a personal acknowledgement from the state. It marks an important recognition of the harm caused by the insidious policies of forced removal in WA, where, shamefully, some of our country's highest rates of Indigenous child removal occurred.

While the WA scheme is a concrete step on the path to healing, it's too soon to assess its impact. WA was the second-last state to have a redress scheme like this. Only Queensland is left. I'm aware of concerns that the scheme in its current form excludes First Nations people who were removed after 1972, fails to account for intergenerational trauma and is not sufficient to meet the needs of survivors dealing with the complex effects of trauma. I sincerely hope that this is just a start and that the scheme will continue to be improved to ensure it tangibly addresses the lasting harm suffered by Aboriginal families and communities.

As we reflect on these steps towards truth and redress, we must also confront the data. Each year, the Closing the Gap data challenges us to measure our progress, not against rhetoric but against outcomes in the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This year's results are sobering: four targets are on track; seven show improvements but remain off track; and four are going backwards, including suicide, adult incarceration, out-of-home care and early childhood development. Against this backdrop, I welcome the government's announcement of $144 million to upgrade health infrastructure for First Nations communities and the government's national plan to end violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children, backed by a commitment of $218 million. This is a vital step towards addressing a crisis that has persisted for far too long.

The expansion of the Remote Jobs and Economic Development program, doubling its capacity to 6,000 jobs, is also a welcome investment in economic empowerment, which is the foundation for dignity, security and community wellbeing. I also welcome the government's $13.9 million investment to expand 13YARN, enabling extended hours and a new text based service so that more First Nations people can access immediate, culturally safe crisis support.

But too many indicators still paint a bleak picture. First Nations people remain 2.5 times more likely to die by suicide than non-Indigenous Australians. Imprisonment rates continue to rise. The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care is worsening, and the developmental readiness of children entering school remains off track with concerning signs of further deterioration. I also want to highlight the widening gap in aged-care services for First Nations elders. Many stolen generations survivors, now reaching aged-care eligibility, face a system that's often culturally unsafe, inflexible and ill-equipped to meet their needs. Elders are often disconnected from country due to limited services in their regions. Nearly 40 per cent of Aboriginal community controlled aged-care providers are at risk of financial instability. Ensuring elders, particularly those who survived the brutality of removal, can age with dignity, cultural safety and connection to country must be core to our efforts to close the gap.

I must also speak about the recent attempted bombing of the Invasion Day rally targeting First Nations people and their supporters in my hometown of Perth. This incident exposed the distressing systemic racism Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to face through not only the declared terrorist act itself but also the slow and muted responses from some quarters. If Closing the Gap is about transforming systems, then that transformation must include how institutions respond when Aboriginal people are the target of violence. As we mark the apology's 18th anniversary, we must hold ourselves to account for progress that communities can feel. The Closing the Gap data will keep telling us the truth, whether we like it or not. Our job is to respond with action that changes the numbers and the lived realities behind them.

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