House debates

Tuesday, 6 September 2022

Grievance Debate

Lingiari Electorate: Gurindji Freedom Day Festival

7:11 pm

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

Within the past two weeks, I have seen two incredible milestones within the Lingiari electorate—two significant achievements that it is important for me to reflect on in this place. The first is the 56th anniversary of the Gurindji walk-off, and the second is the 40th anniversary of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act—one historic movement sparking another. This year, similar to most, we celebrated and commemorated the Freedom Day Festival on Gurindji country. This day marks the nine-year struggle that saw Vincent Lingiari and the Gurindji, Mudburra and Warlpiri people bravely stand up to power and win their land back.

I want to take a moment to reflect on the story of Vincent Lingiari, my electorate's namesake. It was a story of struggle, of determination and of unshakable commitment to justice for the Gurindji mob and for all our people. Tired of being underpaid, tired of being forced to work for a rich man on his own country and tired of seeing his people treated unjustly, Vincent Lingiari made a stand. He walked off Wave Hill cattle station, refusing to work and leading his people down a humble creek bed. In this creek bed, Vincent Lingiari and the Gurindji mob stayed. Eight long years they camped, carrying a huge weight on their shoulders. The mighty trade union movement, who attended the Freedom Day festival in force, had worked for many years to support the Gurindji people. Certainly, during that struggle, they visited many times to drop off food and shelter.

After eight long years, finally justice came. Labor's Prime Minister Gough Whitlam arrived on Gurindji country to hand back the country to its traditional owners. Many of you no doubt are well and truly acquainted with the legendary stories and photos of Gough Whitlam pouring sand into old man Lingiari's hands. But the story of Lingiari and the Gurindji people does not stop there. It was no simple happy ending for the Gurindji mob, who had to fight hard to keep their country, losing the cattle station and being forced to continue their fight for justice. This story is a powerful one, one this country needs to hear more of.

The Gurindji Freedom Day Festival, which I was honoured to attend alongside Senator Pat Dodson, was a three-day festival of culture, music, art, sport and lectures looking at the history but also at what we can learn into the future. It was the Wave Hill walk-off which Freedom Day celebrates. That led to the establishment of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act. It helped create the four great land councils of the Northern Territory—the Northern Land Council, the Central Land Council, Anindilyakwa and Tiwi. These land councils are intrinsically connected to and representative of our communities out bush. They all came together at Kalkaringi. The land councils play an enormous role in the Territory and, indeed, across the country. I want to thank those land council members for allowing both Senator Dodson and myself to attend their executive meeting.

The executive council members from all regions discussed a range of topics affecting Aboriginal people in our communities, including the Uluru Statement from the Heart and a Voice to Parliament; a Northern Territory treaty; housing—there were many concerns throughout the whole discussion—both urban and remote; and the drift from our remote communities into our urban centres, and the impact that's having, particularly on some of the town camps. Voter enrolment was certainly front and centre in a lot of the discussions. The urgent need to invest in our homelands was at the forefront—and, when they were talking about child protection and safety, homelands are certainly an important part of this process.

This government hears our land councils loud and clear, and I will work tirelessly to help and support their agenda. This was the first joint land council meeting in almost 20 years. You could feel the strength of the meeting as we all came together. I hope it's not another 20 years till we feel that again. I know, having been involved in the Northern Land Council over the last three years prior to my election to this parliament, it was—despite the efforts of the former Minister for Indigenous Australians, Ken Wyatt. I think he was part of a government that really didn't want to look at solutions on the ground in those communities, so I think he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. But it is certainly great to be part of a Labor government that hears those messages and that can look at some of those solutions.

A lot of the delegates talked about the CDP, and I want to take a moment to also thank Minister Burney, who held a gathering of a lot of the CDP and job providers before the jobs summit. The outcomes from the CDP on mutual obligations and how it might work in remote communities was fed into the jobs summit. So we are certainly looking forward to how we can work within this government but also with those communities to try and get outcomes for Aboriginal people in a lot of those communities.

It was also a privilege to be in the crowd to listen to the words of Thomas Mayor, a proud Torres Strait Islander man born on Larrakia country, and a strong champion of the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Thomas spoke strong words during the Vincent Lingiari lecture at Kalkarindji, and he called on all Australians to have the courage to walk with our First Australians in the journey towards the Voice to Parliament—because the sad reality is that the battles for justice Vincent Lingiari faced nearly 60 years ago are the same battles we are fighting today. These battles look a little different. Our country and our world are much different places, but, at the root of these battles, the issues are the same: the lack of a voice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and the lack of autonomy in decision-making.

In his address, Thomas spoke about the institutions that have come before that were tasked with representing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at the national level. Thomas said:

From the Australian Aboriginal Progressive Association in the 1920s, which was silenced through brutal intimidation by authorities who had complete control over our lives; through the Aboriginal Advancement League, the NAC, the NACC, the FCAATSI, to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission which was established in 1988. All of them split up, ignored, defunded and destroyed.

Let those words sink in. At every stage that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have sought to amplify our voice to gain control of our lives and our communities, we have been set back.

An invitation to walk with First Peoples of this country was a gift through the Uluru Statement from the Heart, and I am proud to be part of a government which has committed to starting that process. It was not about setting our First Peoples apart. It was not about some hierarchy of people at its core. It was about how we move forward and come together.

To the people of Kalkarindji, the Gurindji; to the four land councils; and, particularly, to Thomas Mayor, who I've quoted in this speech; and to all who attended: I thank you. I will certainly make sure that, as the member for Lingiari, I advocate strongly for all of your aspirations that have been talked about with both Senator Dodson and me. It was a special moment for me and for so many others who attended this great festival.

Photo of Sharon ClaydonSharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | | Hansard source

I thank the member for Lingiari for her contribution. There being no further grievances, the debate is now adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.

Federation Chamber adjourned at 19:20