Cathy O'Toole (Herbert, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is with great sadness and respect that I rise in this place on what is first nation people's land and will always be first nation people's land. In doing so, I want to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land upon which we stand today, the Ngunawal people, and I would like to pay my respects to their elders past, present and emerging.

North Queensland has recently lost a truly inspirational woman who was one of the towering figures of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Dr Scott was an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander educator and social justice campaigner. She passed away in Far North Queensland at the age of 81 in September. She will be remembered as a trailblazer who changed Australia. She possessed a striking presence, always standing tall and proud, and often wearing her signature black hat—perhaps to lessen the glare of the spotlight in which she worked, even in her later years.

The granddaughter of a man who was brought from Vanuatu to Queensland in chains to work as a slave labourer in the sugar fields in the days of the blackbirding industry, Dr Scott lived by the words of her father: if you don't think something is right, then challenge it.

This motto would mark her life and her role at pivotal moments in the history of the nation. Finding friendships with the likes of Eddie Mabo, Faith Bandler and Joe McGuinness, to name just a few, Dr Scott was a tireless and determined fighter for equal rights for Indigenous Australians. Dr Scott was a remarkable woman who displayed the qualities of true leadership and passion. I was struck by her calmness and humility when I first met her in Townsville. Her tireless work throughout her life was truly instrumental to the key achievements in Australia's reconciliation journey to date. In the early sixties, Dr Scott was drawn to a life in political activism after witnessing discrimination in employment, housing and health care in the Townsville region. During that time, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were considered minors and had few rights in Queensland. This is an embarrassing and shameful part of my region's history. But in the spirit of truth telling, we must acknowledge the reality and celebrate the progression that has occurred in recent years, largely due to the activism and tireless campaigning of this extraordinary woman and others who shared her passion.

It was through the realisation of inequality in Queensland that Dr Scott became the driving force behind the 1967 referendum. The referendum changed Australia's history forever when Australians voted overwhelmingly to amend the Constitution to include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the census and to allow the Commonwealth to make laws for them. Over 90 per cent of voters chose to delete the discriminatory references to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples that were at the time in the Australian Constitution. It is also worth noting that Townsville and Toowoomba were the only two cities in Queensland that voted no. Yet, this was only the beginning of the momentous achievements of Dr Evelyn Scott.

After the referendum there was a seminar held in Townsville and the purpose was to pressure the federal government of the time to use its new-found power in a way that was just for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It was here that Dr Scott met Faith Bandler and other southern activists. In 1971, Dr Scott joined the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, FCAATSI, as executive president. She used her role to lead the transformation of FCAATSI into an Indigenous-controlled organisation in 1973, when she then moved the headquarters of the organisation to Townsville and became the first general secretary. With the support of Josie Briggs, Dr Scott played an integral role in re-establishing the organisation as, essentially, an Indigenous body.

Dr Scott progressed further in her career by obtaining the role of chair of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation. The role proved to be particularly challenging at that time as the then federal government, under the leadership of John Howard, was cutting reconciliation funding. During the time of 1997 to 2000, Dr Scott accomplished some of her most important and memorable work. She led the council and the nation through a period where the government refused to apologise to stolen generations and where the budgets to several Indigenous organisations were significantly reduced. Her leadership through this time was integral. Through her lobbying efforts, she obtained the support for reconciliation among some of the country's leaders, which assisted in influencing every day Australians.

Through her direction, the council facilitated the people's Walk for Reconciliation across the Sydney Harbour Bridge as part of Corroboree 2000. I can remember seeing more than a quarter of a million people participate in this walk. To this very day, watching that march gives me goosebumps. This was a significant part of Australia's history that we can all vividly recount today. Its impact was substantial throughout the nation and will be remembered as the most significant mobilisation of people in Australian history. Dr Scott believed the reconciliation was, and remains, a people's movement that must involve all Australians. I believe this is one of her greatest successes.

In late 2000, the government's 10-year time frame was quickly drawing to a close. Once again, Dr Scott rose to the occasion and secured support for a new body, which we know today as Reconciliation Australia. Dr Scott wanted security that Australia's reconciliation journey would continue in the 21st century and the fight for the rights of our first nation people would remain. In acknowledgment of her contribution to the nation, Dr Scott was awarded two honorary doctorates. The first one was from the Australian Catholic University in 2000 for her work in reconciliation and the advancement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and women. The second, in 2001, from James Cook University, was in recognition of outstanding service to the Queensland community and exceptional contribution to human wellbeing. In the same year, Dr Scott was made an Officer of the Order of Australia, General Division.

On Friday, 6 October, we said goodbye to Dr Evelyn Scott with a state funeral. Dr Scott is the first Indigenous woman to receive a state funeral in Queensland. The words of Dr Evelyn Scott that will always stick with me are:

There is only one race, the human race.

Rest in peace, Dr Evelyn Scott.