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

I want to thank Senator Thorpe for bringing this bill to the parliament this morning and recognise her work and her passion for her people and the ongoing work that we on this side continue to do. I agree with the point of expanding the human rights definition in the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 to include UNDRIP. That requires us in this place to mobilise and commit to action, because we are sick and tired of the rhetoric and we are sick and tired of the political spin in this place.

This is the 17th anniversary of the National Apology to the Stolen Generations. And, yes, I went down to the Great Hall this morning to sit with stolen generations people and listen to them and watch them cry again for another year because of the lack of action of successive governments in this place. They have been doing that for 17 years, and there is now a report that says they are waiting for us to die. That is exactly what's happening to an aging population of black people in this country. You're waiting for them to die so you don't have to pay reparation and compensation to the people.

None of the laws in this place measure up to the human rights framework. They don't measure up to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, a declaration that was scripted by Indigenous people for Indigenous people to guide your governments in making sure that we never live under the regime of the past. It's about facing up to the past. I sat through the history of this country this morning and witnessed the legacy of the intergenerational trauma that I know exists in our communities. It exists and it is a legacy of your governments that you continue to perpetuate, and then you have a crack at us and say we're angry. We have to be frustrated and angry because, if we don't raise our voices, we will continue to be eradicated under your law, under the Westminster system that was brought here.

It is about recognition of the immense harm that government legislation of the day did by stripping our culture away from different people in different parts of this country. I want to acknowledge that it was not a homogeneous effect that happened. There are many elements who are still in their first language, in their native tongue, who are still living on country and who still have the benefits of that identity and their connection to their kin and to their country. That is not a homogeneous thing. But we, as First Peoples in this country, demand better, and the apology in 2008 should have been a turning point in this country for healing. It should never have been another hollow statement. It should never have been another, 'Yep, there it is. We've done the bit,' so that now we can allow people in 2025 to say things like, 'But I'm not responsible,' 'I didn't do that,' 'That wasn't me'—because that's what we have right now—or, 'People should just move on.' Why? There were uncles standing in that place this morning saying, 'I want the right to rebuild my family structures because there is a bloodline which I have responsibility for.' Yet we are given none of that because our basic human rights are not being met.

Senator Darmanin just spoke about Closing the Gap. I am the new chair of the Senate Select Committee on Measuring Outcomes for First Nations Communities, and I acknowledge Senator Cadell, who's in the chamber today who's also part of that committee. The reason we put forward this select committee is that there are four targets in Closing the Gap that are going backwards. They are going backwards and now are worsening from what we've heard. If you properly read that report that came down from the Productivity Commission on Monday, you will see it's still regressing. These are the most basic human rights for our people in this country. One is about the increase in adult incarceration. We see the Northern Territory passing laws to ensure that they fill up every lock-up, every watch house and every jail in the country. The prison industry is one of the richest in the world. Places like America are moving away from privatisation, but Australia is increasing it. Why? Ask yourself: is it for their economic empowerment? That's exactly what's happening.

There is child removal in places like Victoria, where Senator Thorpe comes from. I want to acknowledge the 24,000 children that are currently in out-of-home care. They are currently being removed and continue to be removed. When we said sorry, we should have stopped, we should have changed the law and we should have made sure that we would never again remove children in this country. But we are still doing that, and that is a target that is worsening. So the Labor government cannot take any kudos or say that they are doing anything in that. They are standing by and allowing that to happen on their watch. In terms of child development and the five domains of social and emotional wellbeing for First Nations children, we are failing. They are 40 per cent behind other children in this nation. What a shame. That is shameful. As a mother of two daughters, I know that the practical application of that is to have books in my home and to read to my children. Where's that in the Closing the gap report, Labor? It's not in there. This Labor government needs to do better. Stop standing on the hose for our people and give us the changes that we require. The legislation in this place has to be up to scratch, and that's what these amendments will do. That is what this bill will absolutely do.

I want to touch on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. We know that FPIC—free, prior and informed consent—is so important. This week we passed the government's Future Made in Australia, but no-one is talking about co-investment. No-one is talking about equity shares for our communities. But they're still destroying cultural heritage. In question time yesterday I asked a question about Murujuga because the width and the breadth of the 46 articles in the UN declaration cut across every bill that comes into this joint. They should be assessed based on that and should absolutely have a statement of compatibility to make sure that they are up to scratch. The important part of the UN declaration and another one of those principles is recognising historic injustices—truth-telling. Truth-telling will bring justice, and it will bring healing to this nation.

If Australia wants to go down that pathway, it's laid out right now. The Greens have brought a bill to this place around a truth and justice commission to make sure that the formal processes pre colonisation are put into and enshrined in every school curriculum in this country to make sure that we are doing the work that will leave a legacy for the future generations of our children and our grandchildren. I appeal to everybody to understand what a difference it is absolutely going to make if we allow ourselves to just go: 'No more motherhood statements. No more half-baked actions. We are actually going to take forward and drive action. We are going to put in place what this government talks about, which is practical action that will make a difference.'

You cannot go into a workplace for a job if you are still experiencing racism in this country. The stark reality is that, post the 2023 referendum, there has been an increase in racism experienced online but also in our communities that is very, very real for First Nations people. People who've done lots of work on racism talk about it, and they relate it to being punched in the face. It is so damaging, and we have children who are experiencing this; we have babies who are experiencing this. This work must not just be about an economic pathway. I'm all for making sure we have opportunities. I'm all for eradicating poverty in our communities, because we still live under the breadline in our communities. That is a reality. But we cannot invest in structures that have been given to us because the successive governments in this country didn't want to do the whole job. Native title is a perfect example of that. I'm glad that the native title future acts regime is with the Australian Law Reform Commission for review. It's about time. But we cannot let that opportunity pass when we can fix every bit of legislation.

Senator Darmanin talked about the environment and the EPBC. You will see that I, Senator Thorpe and others from the crossbench all put up amendments to all of those bills—which you all vote down—because we know our communities and we know what they need. We continue to represent the issues that they bring to us and to use their voice, which we hear when they come to our offices—they don't come to yours. We bring their voice to this place, and we represent their issues. We will continue to do that, but today is your opportunity to change. Today is your opportunity to vote for Senator Thorpe's bill and to show Australia that we're doing the right thing and that Labor hasn't abandoned Indigenous affairs because you lost the referendum. This is the opportunity to fix that, and you could do it now.