Damian Hale (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It would be a lot cheaper to just buy the one seat, Jenny, instead of the six that I usually have to pay for!

We need to continue to work with Indigenous Australians because they are a gift to us. The gift that they do bring—and I go back to Liam Jurrah, and I see his picture on the front page of the Agecomes not only through football but certainly through the arts and drama. David Gulpilil was from a place called Ramingining. My father taught at Maningrida and he taught David Gulpilil. David has had to walk both sides of the street his entire life. I had the pleasure of catching up with him in the mall a couple of weeks ago in Darwin. He tried to sell me a painting, I must admit, which I did not purchase, but he was very friendly. David has done it for so long. We take it for granted that he should be able to do it. But, when you think about it, he is a full-blood Aboriginal man who has grown up and lived in Ramingining all his life and he has not only been able to be with his people and his culture but also been able to walk the walk in New York and places like that overseas, where he has been a superstar of the screen in movies like Storm Boy. He cut his teeth on Storm Boy, then he went on to Crocodile Dundee and he played a starring role in Australia recently. David is a great example of somebody that has had to really struggle. He has had his own personal struggles, but certainly he is an iconic actor. When you meet him he still has the big smile and the sparkle in his eye. He is certainly an individual that all Australians should be very proud of.

Hopefully, if the coordinator-general can do this, we can get some real goals kicked for Indigenous communities. The time has come; we cannot talk any longer. Time is running out for a lot of these people. As I just said about the time the minister came to bag it with me in my community, the trouble is—and the community said this—that a lot of them have given up. They have just decided: ‘Well, my lot in life is that I am not going to have a job. I am not going to have a house. I am just going to sit under this tree and die when I am 50 because that is my lot.’ That is a tragedy. We need to address that.

As I said, I welcome the comments from the member for Warringah and I do believe that he has a genuine concern about Indigenous communities. I think, as I said, this has got to be a bipartisan approach. It cannot be a political approach. It has got to be a bipartisan approach. Do what is best for Indigenous Australia.

When the coordinator-general is appointed, I wish that person the best of luck to work closely with government to make sure that we deliver services on the ground. We do not need layers and layers of bureaucracy. We need to have a coordinated effort in which money that is committed by government actually hits the ground so that we start to make some real changes for these people that live in these remote communities—not only remote communities, but also in places such as in my area of Solomon in Darwin and Palmerston, where I have five Indigenous communities. They are suffering like the Yuendumus and the Lajamanus and the Ti Trees and the Santa Teresas and those communities, like Mutitjulu, that are more in the spotlight.

There is a crisis there, and I commend the minister on her efforts so far in 18 months. Certainly it is not an easy job. I will continue to work closely with her for my communities. I think that, whenever this position is filled, it needs the support of everyone in this place so that when we walk of this place one day—when we are voted out or we retire—we can look back on our time here and say: ‘Well, did I make a difference? Did I get into politics for the right reasons?’ I believe that the 150 members in this place are all here for the right reasons and are all passionate about their areas and are all passionate about Australia.

But being in politics is about trying to make a difference. This parliament can make a difference in the next 18 months, as can whoever wins the next election after that. This is our time right now to make a difference to Indigenous Australians. We cannot wait any longer. To Liam Jurrah, my friend: I wish you luck. I hope the Bombers win, but I hope he gets a kick. I commend the bill to the House.

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