Jo Lindgren (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In 1964 and 1965, Charlie Perkins and students from the University of Sydney organised a series of freedom rides inspired by the American freedom rides to end segregation. Segregation of Aboriginals from other Australians included divided movie theatres, bans at some swimming pools and Indigenous ex-service personnel being unable to enter some RSLs—the list goes on. Today, Australians would be horrified if those restrictions were reintroduced, yet over 50 years after the freedom rides we see segregation of another form. We still see races being kept apart for so-called do-gooder reasons supported by intellectual elites. To those who support this new form of segregation, I support your right to speak about it but I do not support any kind of segregation whether it is at university, in classrooms or in any other forum, for that matter, and nor do I support the constant hiding behind section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act and the constant use of racist tags against those who oppose your ideals.

Fifty years ago, there was much to do and it was being done by visionary people on both sides of politics. Those who instigated the reforms should be remembered proudly. It was a time that many in this chamber are too young to remember or to have been involved in. I was not even born when the coalition made changes in 1962 to the Commonwealth Electoral Act cementing Indigenous voting rights and the 1967 referendum. These were great reforms and those who fought for them and those who introduced them have much to be proud about. We are lucky to live in a country that is the product of those reforms. But it seems to me that there are those who have heard the stories of those heady days and seen the successes and now want to emulate them. They want the euphoria that went with those successes. The problem is there are fewer and fewer reforms needed so they have to invent new ones, many that are quite frankly not needed. Are some reforms being pushed for real reasons or because of someone's ego and their desire to be seen as a reformer?

One of the most insidious mantras to support segregation was the catchcry 'equal but separate.' This catchcry is now being seen, despite it not being obvious to you and me, on the surface. Some universities appear to be now promoting segregation albeit for different reasons. When I attended university I identified as an Aboriginal and I was proud to do so. I sought no special treatment from my university. I used the same library, the same computers and the same lecture theatres. Like other university students, I accessed the university's tutors for guidance as I was the first one of my immediate family to go to university.

Yes, there was an Indigenous unit at the university that I accessed, but my non-Indigenous friends were also welcome there. It was not only for Indigenous students to use, despite the Indigenous name. The Aboriginal unit was inclusive and supportive of all of those who sought its assistance. I ask: how do we break down racial barriers when some modern institutes are keeping people apart? For every non-Indigenous student who interacted with me and other Indigenous students, it became harder for them to accept any negative views of Indigenous people that may have been held by previous generations.

There may be good or at least some well-meaning reasons behind some forms of new-age segregation such as support services and computer rooms specifically for Indigenous students at universities, but when any criticism or debate is stifled by screams of racism and section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act is held up as a shield, we will never be able to promote the positives of this support. Imagine the surprise of a young man who went into a computer room only to find out that it was segregated and now finds himself embroiled in a legal saga because he voiced his opinion. I have to ask the question: if computers were not being used, why couldn't any student wander in and use them? How do Indigenous and non-Indigenous students form study groups and potential friendship groups when sitting apart? How do we build on the great work of those who have paved the way to end segregation?

Fifty years ago many non-Indigenous Australians supported the need for reforms, so much so, there was overwhelming support for the coalition's 1967 referendum, because they saw the need, and they voted for change. They made those changes without the onerous restrictions of freedom of speech. I would say that unfettered freedom of speech brought about the changes.

What was once held up as quite acceptable is now seen as unacceptable. Hopefully today's attacks on freedom of speech under the guise of being enlightened will one day been seen as unacceptable. Today, many younger and new Australians may see these Indigenous support systems as contentious or difficult to understand. We will not change that understanding if we keep people apart and stifle debate, and that is what the current wording and use of section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act does. We will create battle lines when people do not have the opportunity to debate freely and feel that they have valid grounds to complain.

The insidious nature of these university sponsored attitudes to race issues was displayed by the banning of Country Liberal, Bess Price MP of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from visiting an Indigenous support unit of a Queensland university for having different views to them. She has expressed the view that many urban Aboriginal people do not fully comprehend the situation of outback Aboriginals. Without debating the rights or wrongs of her views it was simply absurd that she could not speak to students and educators at a leading innovative university. It was even more insidious that someone who was closer to the subject—in this case an Aboriginal woman born and raised on a remote community—was banned as she challenged the views of those who had little direct knowledge or experience. I am left wondering who section 18C would have protected in this case. I will add that I was responsible for organising the visit of Bess Price MP, so I can speak with some authority on that issue.

It is now the case that some universities want to promote and retain a particular view of race issues and will avoid the authoritative real-life experiences of the situation. They wish to continue to believe that Indigenous people lack the skills and intellect to manage university life without their benevolence. One of the consequences of this excessive paternalism is that it can and does devalue the achievements of Indigenous people. I know this first hand. I earned my degree like many other students by study, part-time employment and sacrifice, yet I have heard it being referred to as a 'tick-in-the-box degree'. I do acknowledge that some students need support and a computer room may be part of that support, but labels are not needed.

For those who harbour internal guilt due to past injustices or those who think they are doing good, let me say this: you are creating division and resentment. The gaining of my degree, my appointment to the Senate, did not remove any past injustices to my forebears and it never will. They exist as a reminder of past injustices. What it did prove was that Aboriginal Australians are more capable of taking their place in all parts of Australian society. We need to remember that most Australians of today are not responsible for the past. Yes, they live in its shadow and there is a definite need to be aware of it, so we do not repeat past mistakes. I back realistic, proactive support for Indigenous students but not enforced segregation, and I scorn the constant hiding behind section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act with chants of racism.