Dorinda Cox (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

What a truly historic day for First Peoples and, in fact, for all of us. I start by acknowledging all of the First Nations people and others gathered here today in the gallery. We have a new generation of people voting in their first referendum and, for some of them, it will actually be their first time voting ever—and what a first vote to have! Eligible Australians will be voting to recognise the first peoples of this country in the nation's birth certificate.

We are the oldest living culture in the world. We have cared for this country. We have preserved the waters and ecosystems. We were the first inventors and navigated by the stars for tens of thousands of years. We are hundreds of nations across this country, with different stories, languages, cultures, arts and dances. Our people have provided many Australian governments with beautiful, deliberate and considered words in the form of statements, declarations and agreements.

Now what we need is action. That is the responsibility of all of us: Indigenous and non-indigenous, from remote communities to the decision-makers here in this place. And we must stand together in solidarity. In passing this bill today, the Senate will trigger a referendum and signal that the parliament's work is done. It is time for the grassroots 'yes' campaigners to get out there in the community and share with all Australians why this referendum is so important and why the Voice to Parliament is so important.

But this is only the beginning of what is needed. We need to restore First Nations' people's rights in this country. We also need progress towards truth and treaty. We also need that now. We need to see progress on closing the gap, community based health care, education in language, stronger cultural heritage protection and better legal frameworks to be provided for consultation on projects that are happening on country, either land or sea country.

For over 200 years since colonisation, we have been fighting to survive. The frontier wars saw our people chained and massacred on our lands and being systemically stolen. Government policy ripped our children from our families and punished them for speaking our languages and practicing our laws and our cultural traditions. Today, we continue to fight governments and fossil fuel billionaire who are destroying our sacred places, our meeting places for ceremony and cultural business, our ancestral songlines and our trade routes, which are in fact the social and spiritual fabric of our culture.

We are sovereign people and sovereign nations, and the Commonwealth government—