Brett Raguse (Forde, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will talk today about some encouraging and practical aspects of the apology that was given in this House to the Indigenous people just over 12 months ago. I have spoken previously in the House about the apology and what it meant to the people in my community, the constituents of Forde. On 1 April this year I was invited to a local school in my electorate, the Trinity Catholic College, in the spirit of the reconciliation and to mark the formal apology made in this House on 13 February 2008. The student representative council at that school decided to commemorate this event by building a garden that recognises the Indigenous history of the region. The student representative council launched a competition and invited all students and community members connected to the college to design a garden where students and Indigenous and non-Indigenous people would be able to reflect on the past, present and future. This will be a very special place at Trinity Catholic College where students will be able to learn and further their understanding of their cultural heritage and what the formal apology means to our nation.

I was only seven years old when the Indigenous people were finally recognised through the referendum in 1967. This was a time in history when there was an overwhelming agreement that Indigenous people should be considered part of Australian society. From that period of time to where we are today, we have increased our understanding not only of our Indigenous past but also of the multicultural nature of our community. I continue to listen to many discussions and arguments from different groups inside this House and outside this House, and they often talk of what the apology actually signified for us as a nation. I encourage the debate. It assists the community to better understand the background of the apology and to awaken an understanding of our Indigenous history.

I want to mention people who assisted with the opening of this Indigenous garden at the Trinity Catholic College. The principal is Mr John Lamb, who certainly understood what the apology meant and what it intended to do as we provided comfort, relief and a recognition of our past. Mr Lamb, who is a very well-known educator in our region, gave some insight into what we can do as a community to come together and in a practical way understand the concerns of our community and commemorate our apology to the Indigenous people. I also especially mention the Indigenous elders within the community, which is covered by an area known as the Yugambeh nation. The people of that particular history and culture include two renowned elders, Aunties Eileen and Robyn Williams, who represent that Indigenous history very well. Their welcome to country is always an inspiring talk about the history and, as they put it, those ‘millions of feet’ that traversed that country before us. Another two people in our community are Lucy and David Banu. Lucy is an Aboriginal woman and David is a Torres Strait Island man, and they work very closely with the Indigenous communities in our community to give an understanding that within our Indigenous culture there are many differences—many languages and many different cultural aspects of these different groups. Both Lucy and David will quite often perform certain events and some of the dances of their particular cultural backgrounds for young people and the wider community.

I also recognise the Aboriginal artist who put together the concepts for the garden, Mrs Janelle McQueen. It is a fabulous piece of work, and I encourage other members, if they have an interest in practical ways of commemorating the apology, to look at what the Trinity Catholic College in my electorate has put together. I thank people like Janelle McQueen, Lucy and David Banu, Aunty Eileen and Aunty Robyn for their involvement, and I recognise and acknowledge the student representative council of Trinity Catholic College for their insight and for bringing in a practical way an understanding of what that important apology meant for this country. The apology itself was the statement made by this House and our Prime Minister, but in a practical way we in our communities can recognise the significance of that event and the significance and importance of our Indigenous history within this country.