Josh Burns (Macnamara, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister gave, I thought, one of the finest speeches he's given, at the Garma Festival, where he showed some vulnerability and he showed some humility when he outlined his vision for the Uluru Statement from the Heart and the government's answer to it. I acknowledge the Minister for Indigenous Australians, the member for Barton; Senator Dodson; Senator Malarndirri McCarthy; and the many, many hundreds of other people who have contributed to getting the Uluru Statement from the Heart to where it is today.

The history of the Uluru Statement from the Heart didn't just begin in 2017 in this incredible gathering and coming together of people. The history of a First Nations voice, and the idea of a voice to parliament, is one that predates that by many, many decades—in fact, by many, many generations. The person in Australia who first came up with the idea of a voice to parliament and really advocated for it on a national stage was William Cooper. William Cooper, in 1937, presented a petition, which he wanted to present to the royal family in England, that outlined calling for representation of First Nations people to the federal parliament. He didn't specify that it had to be someone of First Nations descent; it was someone who understood the challenges of First Nations people. William Cooper, in 1937, asked for the very first voice to Australian parliament. At that time, the federal government denied William Cooper's request to send that petition to the royal family. Sadly, before William Cooper passed away, that petition was sidelined. But William Cooper's grandkids saw the formal presentation of his petition to the royal family, to the Queen, only a few years ago.

What was most remarkable about William Cooper's request for a voice in 1937 was that, at that time, William Cooper didn't have the right to vote in this country at all. He didn't have the full citizenry rights that should be enjoyed. What's even more remarkable is that, in 1938, the year after his petition was rejected by the Australian government, William Cooper led a march of Aboriginal people protesting against the treatment of Jewish people on the other side of the world, in what's widely believed to be the only private protest against the Nazi persecution of Jewish people anywhere in the world.

William Cooper and the idea of empowering people sparked something that we have unfinished business on. I say to the people of Macnamara, who I proudly represent, when this idea comes before the parliament, I will be voting yes to have a referendum and to answer the Uluru Statement from the Heart. In the traditions outlined by William Cooper and so many who have come before us, it's what we need to do for our country.