Malarndirri McCarthy (NT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a statement of no more than five minutes.

Leave granted.

I speak today as a Yanyuwa Garrwa woman. We are known as li-Anthawirriyarra, which means our spiritual origin comes from the sea country and we talk from the heart. I also speak today as a proud First Nations member of this parliament, on behalf of and alongside my colleagues Senator Jana Stewart; Senator Dorinda Cox; Special Envoy Marion Scrymgour; the member for Robertson, Dr Gordon Reid; and the member for Leichhardt, Matt Smith. I speak today as a visitor to Ngunnawal country, welcomed beautifully this week by Aunty Violet Sheridan. I speak to the Senate about respect.

This week, the first week of the 48th Parliament, we've seen deliberate acts of disrespect in the Senate from One Nation senators. We've seen those senators come into the chamber for the acknowledgement of country, a longstanding part of the Senate Order of Business, purely to pull an incredibly childish and very hurtful stunt of turning their backs on that proceeding. These senators aren't required to be in the Senate for the acknowledgement of country; in fact, they haven't attended in the past. But they do now. Whether it is for attention or for clickbait, whether it is to cause offence or to stoke division, these senators have made a deliberate decision to disrespect First Nations Australians.

You'd think they would have learnt lessons from the election. You'd think they would have heard the clear message from the Australian people in May. The politics of culture wars were rejected. The politics of disrespect and nastiness were rejected. The politics of punching down on First Nations people were rejected. We just had three years of people in this place trying to do the opposite of that—attacking welcomes to country, attacking acknowledgements of country, trash-talking First Nations communities and representatives and undermining efforts to show respect for First Nations Australians. The Australian people made their rejection of that division and cynicism very, very clear.

Our government is committed to a different way of operating. We listen to people and treat them with respect, even when we do not agree with them. We won't be swayed by the gales of divisive culture wars wherever it comes from. Our government knows that the key to our success regarding First Nations people, and on all issues, is an approach of respect, listening, and approaching with a mind open to the truths of the past. Our government doesn't attack First Nations Australians but recognises them. We see them. We hear them. Our government will continue to listen to the people, from Fitzroy to Fitzroy Crossing, who have been here for countless generations—the longest continuing culture on earth. Our government engages with First Nations peoples, seeks the benefit of their experiences to build on the success of this country as a whole. Our government acknowledges them and their dignity, and that's what an acknowledgement of country is about.

As the Prime Minister put it on Monday, it is a respectful way for us to begin our deliberations here in Canberra which, of course, means 'meeting place'. It is a reminder as well that, while we all belong here together, we are stronger together and we belong. What a welcome to country does is hold out, like a hand warmly and graciously extended, an opportunity for us to embrace and to show a profound love of home and country.

I urge those senators, in particular the new senators, to take a moment to think about how important it is and how precious it is to stand here as a senator in this Senate representing your state and, indeed, representing all Australians including First Nations people. Respect and acknowledgement go both ways. I urge all senators to remember who you work beside and who you walk with. Even when we disagree, we have a chamber here where we can discuss things in a manner that is far more respectful than we've seen in these previous days.