Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

I welcome the opportunity to make a response to the Prime Minister’s statement, although I should indicate to the House that I suspect it may not last for 32 minutes. First of all, let me congratulate the Prime Minister for the historic apology he made in this House two years ago. It was a gracious apology and it was overdue. I also congratulate one of my predecessors, the former member for Bradfield, for his response to the Prime Minister’s apology in which he acknowledged the good as well as the bad that had been done in the past and in which he acknowledged the bad as well as the good which is happening now. That was a necessary antidote to any sense of triumphalism that this generation might have, any sense that we are in some way better than our predecessors in this area. I also thank and acknowledge my predecessor, the member for Wentworth, for his gracious response to the Prime Minister’s statement on this subject 12 months ago. Finally, I thank the Prime Minister for his statement today, which I think is further evidence of the government’s abundant good intentions in this area.

My problem with the Prime Minister’s statement is that good intentions are not enough. What we heard today was much evidence of additional process, much evidence of new programs and expanded programs, but not very much evidence of changed outcomes for Indigenous people. I regret to say that there was little evidence in the Prime Minister’s statement of an appreciation of what is at the heart of the Indigenous problem in this country, the problem of the vast gap that we are all so eager to close. That problem is that in moving as we needed to do from assimilation to self-determination—and I stress that that move was much needed—we replaced employment for so many Aboriginal people, admittedly employment usually in menial work, with life on welfare. That is at the heart of the difficulty that this parliament is grappling with today.

I was disappointed that the Prime Minister did not refer at all to the heroic, pioneering and inspirational work of Noel Pearson in this matter.

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