Sue Lines (President) | Hansard source

I will now deal with the second reading amendment circulated by Senator Thorpe. The question is that Senator Thorpe's amendment on sheet 2428 be agreed to.

Senator Thorpe's circulated amendment—

Omit all words after "That", substitute:

(a) the Senate recognises that:

(i) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have never ceded Sovereignty, and therefore are the true Sovereigns over these lands, waters and skies,

(ii) the Sovereignty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples means an unceded right held in collective possession by the members of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations which confers usage, access and custodianship to the lands, waters, minerals and natural resources of what is now known as Australia, and the right of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to exercise an unimpeded and collective self-determinate governance over their political, economic and social affairs,

(iii) horrific events and a legacy of genocide, dispossession and enslavement of First Peoples have occurred since colonisation in the name of the British Crown,

(iv) in order to move forward from this horrific past, we must establish a National Truth and Justice Commission to tell the true history of what has happened on these lands since British invasion,

(v) while First Peoples seek justice for the genocide and crimes against humanity that they have been, and continue to be, subjected to, reparatory justice must involve holding to account the British Crown for the atrocity crimes committed in its name, and

(vi) the government of so-called Australia must commit to Treaty negotiations with all Sovereign First Nations as a matter of urgency; and

(b) further consideration of the bill be deferred until the first sitting day after the Government tables a letter in the Senate from the King or the Governor-General, on behalf of the King, outlining the King's commitments to immediately:

(i) start a process for administering reparations for the oppression of First Peoples, including the plundering of resources, denigration of culture and to redistribute the wealth that underpins the Crown back to the peoples from whom it was stolen,

(ii) repatriate all remains of collective First Peoples that reside in UK museums and institutions and that represent their family histories, genealogies, cultural history and spiritual ancestry,

(iii) return all cultural treasures and artefacts stolen from First Peoples throughout the hundreds of years of genocide, enslavement, discrimination, massacre and racial discrimination by the authorities empowered by the protection of the British Crown,

(iv) acknowledge and adopt, on behalf of the Royal Family, the renunciation of the 'Doctrine of Discovery' made by Pope Francis in April 2023 and to start the process of consultation and reparations for the First Peoples who suffered the consequences of genocide in fulfilment of that doctrine in the name of God, and

(v) start the conversation on slavery's enduring impact.

Question negatived.

The question is that the bill be now read a second time.

Question agreed to.