Lidia Thorpe (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Given that you fellas always want blackfellas to provide cultural awareness training for you all, today I thought I'd teach you a little bit about our language and our culture. Today I'll talk about the term 'gammon'. Labor are really great at being gammon. They've got that down pat. Committing to 43 per cent emissions reduction while opening up over 46,000 square kilometres of our ocean for oil and gas exploration—now that's gammon. Approving the Barossa project gas drilling in a marine protected zone, despite the clear opposition of Tiwi Islands traditional owners—that's gammon. Committing to 43 per cent emissions reduction and protection of cultural heritage while fracking in the Beetaloo basin, poisoning our water—that's gammon. Committing to First Nations justice and protection of cultural heritage while approving the Perdaman fertiliser plant on the Burrup Peninsula, railroading traditional owners and destroying sacred Murujuga art sites which are under consideration for—get it—World Heritage listing—well, Labor, you're too gammon. Committing to give First Nations people a voice to parliament but not actually listening to traditional owners—that's gammon.

Saying 'black lives matter' and talking about closing gaps and reducing Aboriginal deaths in custody while three decades have passed since the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody with no indication from this new government, the new deadly Labor government, when they're going to review those recommendations that they never implemented when they were last in power, which is however long ago that was—not only that, they have never given us any information about implementing them—is completely gammon.

And talking about achieving justice for First Nations people but not committing to the United Nations declaration on the rights of Indigenous people and free, prior and informed consent, not even having a reporting date for what we have been fighting for—for how long—to have our rights observed and respected in this country, the new Labor government are trying to push it down the road as far as they can because they know what it means for First Nations people and that shows how gammon Labor really are.

Gammon, if you haven't worked it out in our little cultural awareness session this evening in the Senate, is pretending. Gammon is fake. Gammon is pretending that your someone's friend when you're actually not. You become gammon.

Well, the Greens aren't gammon because what we say we actually act upon, and what we say is what we mean. We'll put our bodies on the front line to protect country, but Labor, because they're so gammon, won't do that. Labor will wave the flag and have 'black lives matter' posted on the front windows of their electorate offices yet they're stabbing us in the back at the same time—that's gammon.

Well, for those gammon Labor mob that want to continue to be gammon and wear your Aboriginal earrings and Aboriginal flag T-shirts and look all deadly, looking like an ally, it's actually gammon, and black fellas see right through gammon allies who pretend to be our friends while they destroy the very essence of who we are as First Nations people in this country. So Labor, give up the gammonness and get on with the real action.