Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration) Share this | Hansard source

It's a great honour and privilege to contribute to this recognition of the passage of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975, and, in doing so, I acknowledge that the Liberal Party of Australia supported the passage of this act. I would like to quote from one of my boyhood heroes, someone who means a great deal to me and to others I know very well, Senator Neville Bonner, who spoke on the passage of this legislation. Neville Bonner was of course the first Indigenous senator to sit in this place—a remarkable individual. I'm proud to be a Liberal senator for Queensland knowing that Neville Bonner was also a Liberal senator for Queensland.

I want to read to you from his speech on this bill, which I read last night and which is very moving. I recommend that everyone go back and read Neville Bonner's speech. There are two excerpts that I thought particularly warranted being put on the record:

I have had the opportunity to read some of the speeches on this Bill. Some have said that there is no discrimination. I say to all and sundry: Ask an Italian, a Sicilian, or a Greek who has been called—

I won't repeat the denigrating terms—

… or ask a Jew who has been called—

another denigrating term—

… Ask some of the Aboriginal people who have been called—

denigrating terms—

… whether there is discrimination. There is discrimination and we must do something about it.

He said:

Over the last few years, particularly since becoming a senator for Queensland, I have had the opportunity to travel quite extensively throughout Australia. To my consternation, to my hurt and to my shame I have found throughout this country discrimination and prejudice aimed particularly at one of the minority groups. I speak particularly of the Aboriginal community.

Then Neville Bonner recounted a personal experience, which is heartbreaking:

I quote a case in which I was involved 8 or 9 years ago. I was manager of a farm. Unfortunately the company which owned it was closing down. It gave me a month's notice. During that month I scanned the newspapers because I had 7 children at school and I had to support and feed them. I was looking for another job. There were advertisements in the papers about a manager required for a farm or for a family to work a farm. I answered one of these advertisements. I took my son with me—

He took his son with him—

We drove to the farm. A chap met us at the gate. He leaned over the gate and said: 'What do you chaps want?' Prior to that I had rung him and he had told me to come and look at the house and conditions, how far it would be for my children to go to school, and so on. At that time I did not tell him I was an Aborigine. I was just talking to him on the telephone. When we arrived he said: 'Yes, what do you chaps want?' I said: 'I am Neville Bonner. I spoke to you on the telephone about the job on the farm'. He said: 'I am sorry, it would not be available to you. I could not have an Aborigine working on my farm because we are supplying milk'. There is no discrimination, according to some people.

I find it difficult to place anything on the record that has the resonance of what Neville Bonner said in relation to this matter. I simply say all of us as Australians have a deep responsibility to do everything that we can to combat racism and discrimination in all of its forms, to bring Australians together and to not divide them.