Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I acknowledge we meet on the land of the Ngunawal and Ngambri people, and I pay my respects to their elders past, present and emerging. I also pay respects to and recognise my First Nations colleagues: the extraordinary Australian sitting behind me, Senator Patrick Dodson; Senator Malarndirri McCarthy; the member for Barton, Ms Linda Burney; and the Minister for Indigenous Australians, Ken Wyatt.

I do want to say something about the gift that Senators Dodson and McCarthy and Ms Burney have given the Australian Labor Party. Our First Nations caucus has been such a transformative experience for people in our caucus, and has meant for so many of us that the reality of the experience of our First Nations people has been given so much greater weight and also experience in our caucus. It has been profoundly moving for many of us, and we are grateful for it. I also recognise the many First Nations people who have come to parliament on this day and were there to see Mr Morrison and Mr Albanese give their speeches.

With the tabling of the Closing the gap report we should be talking about progress, but we're not really. We're talking about inertia; we're talking about our failure to meet many targets. We know that there have been some successes, but they are insufficient. We know that the health of our Indigenous Australians is far worse than non-Indigenous Australians; we know that the Indigenous child mortality rate is still twice that of non-Indigenous children; we know that Indigenous Australians live around eight years less than other Australians, and the gap is even wider in remote and regional areas. We know that our First Nations children are being left behind and locked out of opportunity: one in four falling below minimum standards for reading; one in five below minimum standards for numeracy. The incarceration rates of First Nations people are unacceptable: two per cent of the population, 27 per cent of the prison population. And we have seen, particularly in recent times, the prevalence of suicides, particularly amongst young people, ripping families and communities apart.

There have been some who have suggested the problem was that the ambition was too great in the gap targets. Well, the parliament should ask itself whether it would tolerate these facts, these gaps, for any other part of our society. We cannot compound more than 200 years of dispossession with an acceptance of disadvantage. As Mr Albanese said:

We can't keep coming back here, year in, year out, wringing our hands. The new way forward has to be led by First Nations people in meaningful and mutually agreed partnerships.

The Coalition of Peaks has said clearly what government needs to do to improve services for First Nations people. The three reform priorities are: formal partnerships between government and First Nations people on closing the gap, growing community controlled services and improving mainstream service delivery.

Change begins with listening. It's easy to say, isn't it? It's much harder to do. I will return to that point. If we really want to see progress on closing the gap, we must properly understand how the consequences of dispossession—the removal from country and culture, misguided policies that have transcended generations—can still be seen and felt today. I will never forget Senator Dodson's first speech. It was a privilege to hear it, but it was pretty hard to hear—about hiding in the grass—and a reminder of what has happened and still reverberates today. You see, I don't believe we can understand the challenges of today if we do not understand that the causes so often remain rooted in the past. We must stop repeating the mistakes of the past and we must actually, genuinely listen to First Nations Australians.

So we welcome the partnership between the Coalition of Peaks and government. Labor looks forward to supporting new and ambitious targets and structural changes to close the gap, including in the important areas of child removal and incarceration, and the resources to enable that. A direct and secure voice to decision-makers will build on the work of peaks and ensure that the issues and perspectives of our First Nations people are not left to languish on the fringes. A genuine commitment means that local and regional services and programs will be adequately resourced and properly funded. I have to say it is difficult to accept a commitment as genuine when half a billion dollars was cut from the Indigenous Affairs budget by this government.

We are all challenged to do better, with more diligence and commitment. We all wish to determine our own lives; it's part of the way in which we understand agency and meaning and identity. Other Australians aren't just asked to be practical. Our Indigenous leaders have been telling politicians for years that self-determination matters. Well, maybe it is time we did listen. Maybe we don't know best. Today in the parliament, Mr Morrison said that the government wants 'a partnership where we listen, work together and decide together'. We have this clarion call from our First Nations people, the Uluru statement—a statement, as Anthony Albanese said, of unadorned power and, I would add, of clarity, voice, truth-telling and agreement making. The First Nations Voice is a modest request that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples be consulted about policies and issues that directly affect them—not, as some have mischievously said, a third chamber or deliberative chamber.

Of course, another element in the statement, the call from First Nations people, is truth. We do need to tell the truth. I remember, and I'm sure Senators Dodson and McCarthy remember much more so, the way Mr Howard most infamously discouraged Australians from engaging with the truth. Do you remember the black armband view of history? Well, I'm pleased that we seem to have moved on from this, because not acknowledging the truth not only does not permit us to work together to close the gap but deepens the wounds. We must tell the truth, and all of us should be our best selves. We must seek acceptance and reconciliation. As Richard Flanagan said:

What Black Australia offers to the nation is not guilt about our history but an invitation to our future.

Then of course there is makarrata. Senator McCarthy explained it to me after the statement came out; I probably understand a bit. But I'm reminded of so many examples internationally where reconciliation and progress required people making peace—with themselves and each other. Mr Albanese described it today as 'conflict resolution, making peace after a dispute, justice and, of course, the path to a national treaty'. Hear, hear!

I felt a great sadness today when the Prime Minister said 'we must listen' but went on to make clear that the coalition were going to ignore what was sought or put aside—not press forward on what was sought in the Uluru Statement. You can't ask people to tell you what they want and then turn away when they do. You can't ask people to consult with you, and then make it clear in the national parliament that you don't actually like the answer. That's not respect. That's not consultation. That's not listening.

I will finish on this point. Our First Australians have been deeply connected with country on this continent for over 60,000 years—the Yuin people in the south-east, the Yawuru people in the north-west, the Yolngu people of Yirrkala in the north, the Muwinina people in the south, the Noongar people of the south-west, the Meriam Mir in the Torres Strait, the Kaurna in South Australia, the Pitjantjatjara people of the Central Desert and more.

In the cut and thrust of this place, what is sometimes forgotten is the profound honour of having First Nations people across our entire continent—the oldest continuous civilisation on earth, people whom we have the privilege of representing. There is too often a tone of burden where there should be a feeling of pride. This parliament should ask itself whether we take the pride we should in our first Australians. As for the results of any report, we may find that the gap we need to close is actually within us.