Lidia Thorpe (Victoria, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

Can I continue?

The TEMPORARY CHAIR: If it is about the suspension of the standing orders—

It's about our people dying in this country. We're talking about a bill that can avoid preventable deaths, which I believe is an important part of the suspension motion.

The TEMPORARY CHAIR: That's fine. You can continue.

The CDC bill is an important step, but it cannot be complete without justice. A CDC that risks ignoring the root causes of poor health, racism, incarceration, dispossession and colonialism will not address First Nations health equity; it will only document it. We have the evidence. The Lancet shows that dismantling racism and restoring justice benefits not only First Peoples but everyone. The Lancet said that racism 'inflicts a collective trauma on us all' in this country and that 'lessening inequities' brings 'healing to society as a whole'.

The health of this nation will never be strong while its First Peoples are sick, silenced and still fighting to be heard. Taking a health justice approach and respecting our sovereignty will protect health by protecting rights, upholding truth and giving power back to the people who have been silenced for too long.