Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

Closing the gap—yes, we all want to see that happen. It's been going on for decades, and nothing happens. It's the same old rhetoric we hear all the time. Australians have been saying to me for ever and a day, 'Where does the money go? Why aren't things changing. If anything, our society is getting worse, because there's more division than there ever has been in the past.' We saw this division widen even further under this Labor government when it brought in the Voice. That was to have a voice to parliament which was just for Aboriginal people, regardless of the fact that all Australians can, at an election, vote for members of parliament to represent them in this place. That didn't get up. Over 60 per cent of Australians nationally said, 'No. We don't want that. That's divisive.' Then we had treaty. That's being brought into the state parliaments. Where's that taking us? It's taking us to more division.

It doesn't matter what you've done over the period of time since 1996, when, in my first maiden speech to this place, I advocated about the fact that I was born here. This is my land as much as anyone else's and any migrants who have come to this country. We should enjoy what this country has to offer us equally. But that hasn't been the case. I pointed out ATSIC. ATSIC was the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, which was running on about $2 billion a year, and it was a waste. It didn't do anything for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It was an industry, and I've been saying that for many years.

We've structured an industry in this country that has created division based on race. Think about it. That's what it's based on. Aren't we all Australians, regardless of our culture, race or background? But we don't see it that way. The laws that have been structured in this place over the period of time, even under the constitution—when section 51(xxvi) was changed in the referendum in 1967, it was basically to bring the Aboriginal people into the census in order to count them in the census, but what it did was create more division. Whereas the government could make specific laws for any race of people, for Aboriginal and any race of people—again, division. So it's in our constitution, which gives the government rights to make specific laws for any race.

All we have seen over the period of time is division that's happening, violence, aggression, crimes, more people in prison, sexual abuse, domestic violence—the list goes on and on and on. When is it ever going stop? Senator McKenzie made a point about the money that's thrown at this. It's estimated about $30 billion a year, possibly more because you've got the states and local government as well. This is all taxpayer dollars. The figures that we have are that about 980,000 people claim to be Aboriginal, yet, if you go to the native title, there are about 430,000 to 450,000 who claim to have a connection to the lands since 1788 for native title claim, yet here we have a census of 980,000 people claiming to be Aboriginal in this country. And the next census is going to happen this year, meaning it's going to rise—I'm sure it will rise over 1 million people, because, between the 2021 census at that time and the one prior to that, people claiming Aboriginality rose over 25 per cent. Yet the population increase was only eight per cent, so something doesn't add up. It's like tick the box. You tick the box? You're going to get government assistance. A lot of these people are not Aboriginal. They haven't even got any Aboriginality. So it's based on 'let's tick the box', and then these government departments, if you go out there to put your name down, aren't game to question you, because you will be called a racist, but you can go and claim Aboriginality. Let's split the pie even more, and that's what's happening.

People are supposed to—I went up to Doomadgee. I've been up there and to Bourke and these places. I've been to the Aboriginal communities. I've spoken to them. Councils want assistance. The one at Bamaga that I went to suggested building their own houses. It's costing the taxpayers about $1 million a house. They said, 'We can actually make the building blocks and build our own house for about $200,000, maybe even less.' Brought it to the government. They weren't interested. That would have given them a business sense, given them employment and built more houses for the people, and cheaper to the taxpayer—not interested. How many times I have raised in this place here about the corruption? Where does this money go? No answers—not interested. Probably one of the worst Aboriginal affairs ministers in this place that we see under this government. Nothing. Nothing's happening. You wonder why—the same old rhetoric in the place, time and time and time again, and the Australian people have had a gutful of it. This division must stop. Once you stop the division—get rid of 'who's Aboriginal', 'who's Indigenous', 'who's Australian'. The fact is we are all Australians and should be treated equally and the same based on individual needs basis.

When I have Australians out there, families, live in their cars, can't get a roof over their head—that's where their needs are. When I have children who cannot get their uniforms or shoes or whatever given to them because they're not Aboriginal and their families have to try and find the money—that's not Australian. When we see ads on our TVs saying that the Smith Family have a million children in this country living in poverty, that is an absolute disgrace. It breaks my heart to hear about these young children being raped because no-one wants to interfere or say anything because it's cultural. Don't interfere into it—