Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—The Greens were prepared to support the establishment of this committee because we felt it was important that we find some way forward through the deadlock that is currently in place in this parliament and, in fact, in Australia. I get a bit touchy when I hear the minister talk about a multiparty approach, when all parties are not being involved in the negotiations over the setting up of any committee that the minister was just talking about. The fact is that, if we are going to proceed and achieve some form of recognition into the future, we need all the parties around this place involved in those discussions. This is not a bipartisan approach. It's a multiparty approach. I'll just put that out there on the table.

It is really important that we find a way forward, because things have moved on considerably since the consultation process that was undertaken in 2011, since the expert panel reported in early 2012 and since the latest consultation by a joint parliamentary committee, chaired by Mr Wyatt and Nova Peris, was undertaken. Things have moved on from there. We've had the Uluru Statement from the Heart. I find it difficult to find a way forward, I've got to say, when the voices of a lot of Aboriginal people are not being listened to and when people's understanding of what constitutional recognition now means has shifted so considerably. I was talking to people about this just last week, and it was very strongly put to me that a lot of Aboriginal people—I can't say it's everybody; I know there are diverse views—want to address sovereignty and treaty before recognition.

There is a significant amount of work that needs to be done. It's disappointing that we haven't yet been able to reach agreement on what this place is going to work on and, in fact, if we can work together. But I would put to this place that one way forward is to ensure that parties that are not the government and not the opposition are involved in those discussions. Unless we're all on board, we cannot hope to get agreement in the community on where we're moving forward to—whether we're going to move to recognition first or, as a lot of people want, to sovereignty and treaty first—or how that continuum works or how to address issues around the Makarrata Commission and the part of the Uluru statement that addresses truth-telling and justice. Those are all things that need to be considered, and I urge the government to be inclusive in discussions on the committee.