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

Racism is dangerous, and we feel it deeply and physically in our bodies. White people wouldn't understand that, because you have to be black or brown to feel and know what that feels like. It is a toxin that creates disease and distress in the body, and it is a root cause of inequity that shortens lives, worsens disease and drives mental distress globally. The Lancet journal declared racism a global public health emergency. It shapes who gets sick, who gets care and who survives. Research from the Mayi Kuwayu study found almost half of First Nations adults experience high psychological distress linked to everyday racism and that racism alone accounts for nearly half the mental health gap between First Peoples and non-Indigenous peoples. As Dr Chelsea Watego reminds us, it is not just about health justice; it is about sovereignty. Our very presence is a reminder to the colonisers that their sovereignty is illegitimate. That is the truth this government must confront. Our poor health outcomes are not accidental but the direct result of a colonial project that still controls our lands, our bodies and our futures. The understanding of racism and its impacts in this place is so superficial, so black and white. This week showed us how the government benefits from Nazis, Pauline Hanson and Andrew Bolt, because it lets them say: 'Look over there! Those are the real racists.' But it is the government who has the power, and it is its violent policies, no matter who is in power, that manufacture circumstances that make us sick.

This government does not have a good track record on racism. The Albanese driven referendum ignited a brutal national backlash that tore through our communities, and, ever since, Labor has left us exposed to the unchecked violence of the states and territories. It's no surprise when you have Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who told me I needed mental health support while I was standing up to white supremacists, and President Sue Lines, who called my message stick with over 500 notches for deaths in custody a prop and cut off the microphone when I was speaking of the death or murder in custody of my first cousin Josh Kerr. Then we have Minister Gallagher, who tried to lecture brown women on racism earlier today. We need to stop showing respect to racism. Racism is stupidity, and it is not— (Time expired)