John Forrest (Mallee, National Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Trade) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you very much. It is a community that I am immensely proud of, but the challenges are immense. Even in a community like Robinvale, which has access to all the support services that a bill like this addresses, the associated difficulties are very much the same. I watched with interest the discussion that the former government had with regard to the intervention and activity, and I am very pleased that the new government has taken it up in a non-partisan way. It was complemented by the very momentous events we saw in this chamber, with the apology to Aboriginal Australians. What that has done for my own communities is to remove what used to be an excuse—that mainstream Australia had not recognised the real root of their many social challenges and they tended to lean on that to some extent. I now say to my Aboriginal communities, whose leadership I do admire, that there is no longer an excuse. We are now in genuine partnership. That particular difficulty we had as a nation is now behind us, and I challenge the Indigenous leadership within my own constituency now to work together and not make excuses.

For example, the government recently announced that it would introduce a guest worker program associated with the Polynesian nations. I know that Robinvale and all the other horticultural communities along the Murray Valley strongly support that concept because of their need for labour. It was suggested by Warren Mundine, a very strong Aboriginal leader, on my local radio station that we should include a program similar to this for Indigenous Australians. I immediately agreed with him, live on radio, and invited him to come and see me so that we could work together. There is no better way to lift the esteem of any individual—no matter what their circumstances—than to give them full-time employment. They feel that they are making a contribution, that they are accepting their mutual obligation and, whilst they might still need other measures of support to assist them, there is no better way to lift a person’s self-esteem. I will be looking forward to where this new legislation takes us. I am hoping that all the errors of the past can now be forgiven and put behind us and that we can work in a determined way towards a program to meet these enormous challenges.

The Indigenous constituents I represent have my respect and admiration. I remember when I was a local government councillor on the Swan Hill City Council, in my formative political years, I was the portfolio councillor for Aboriginal affairs. At that time Swan Hill’s Indigenous population would have been close to 800. If they are listening now, I hope that I have earned their respect and that they will be willing to work with me as their local member to make sure their needs are met. I do thank you for your considerable indulgence, Mr Deputy Speaker.

See this speech in context