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

This government's commitment to human rights, especially the rights of First Peoples, is a sham. A few weeks ago, in his Closing the Gap speech, the Prime Minister said that First Peoples have an equal place in this nation and that we should be free of discrimination. But the truth is this government tramples on our human rights every day. Time and again, this government has ignored the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the UNDRIP. Even though the declaration outlines the absolute minimum standard of First Peoples' rights, this government refuses to implement it.

In 2022, I introduced a bill which would have enshrined the UNDRIP in domestic law and developed an action plan for its implementation. Despite being a signatory to the declaration, the Albanese government, with all its black senators, voted down the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Even blackfellas voted it down with Labor. Shame! In 2023, I introduced a bill for the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights to assess laws for their consistency with UNDRIP, and what did this government do, again? It voted down even the most basic level of scrutiny of our rights in this country. Shame!

In November this year, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples is coming back to check this government's progress on implementing the UNDRIP. When he visits, will the government say more empty words or will it actually do something about the colonial racism that keeps us systemically oppressed, incarcerated and having our children taken away? Enough empty words, Labor. You say you care about us. The UNDRIP sets minimum standards, so when will you finally implement— (Time expired)