Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Hasluck for his contribution on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Recognition (Sunset Extension) Bill 2015, and I certainly look forward to working with him and many other members of both the House and the Senate on ensuring the constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia. I absolutely support the bill, which seeks to amend the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Recognition Act 2013, its short title being the recognition act, and to extend the sunset clause that was part of that act by a further three years, taking us through to 28 March 2018.

The recognition act was passed unanimously by the previous parliament, and it recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first inhabitants of Australia and records the parliament's intention to move towards constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. When the act was first passed in this parliament a sunset date of 28 March 2015 was included, to give the parliament and indeed the Australian people a date by which they could consider further steps towards a referendum on constitutional recognition of Indigenous peoples. That was an important focus for both the nation and the parliament at the time, but 28 March 2015 is clearly very close; it is looming on our horizon so there is a clear need for this extension being sought today. If the act were to lapse there would be no legislative instrument of Indigenous recognition in this place. That could easily be read as a very backward step on our journey towards constitutional recognition. That is not something that I believe any member of this parliament would endorse.

However, it is important that any extension be limited and the review panel established under the recognition act has recommended the extension of the sunset date by no more than three years, to align with the timing of a referendum which we now understand the Prime Minister has indicated will likely be held in 2017. The Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples also made this recommendation in its progress report, which was tabled in parliament on 27 October last year following a quite extensive national conversation.

Labor is absolutely committed to pursuing substantive and meaningful change to our Constitution, change that both unites nation and reflects the hopes and aspirations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Australia prides itself on being a place of fairness and equality. However, our founding document is silent on the unique place of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in our nation. It is a historical wrong that in my view and Labor's view must be made right. I know that is a view shared by many others in the House.

We have taken giant steps previously. The 1967 referendum is referred to by many in this area. I would also draw the attention of the House to the High Court's historic Mabo and Wik decisions, to former Prime Minister Paul Keating's Redfern speech and, more recently and more topically, the Close the Gap framework that this parliament uses both to measure and gauge progress we make on bridging the inequality between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

Because the Closing the Gap initiative is something that we have been dealing with in the parliament this fortnight, I would like to touch very closely on it. The Prime Minister, himself, described the seventh Closing the Gap report, which is before us, as being 'profoundly disappointing'. I share the Prime Minister's view. Only two of the seven targets that we were trying to make some progress have seen some significant benefits and return to Indigenous people. We are failing to address a number of areas. I spoke in the House on the continuing failure to commit to an additional justice target. There is clearly a lot of work for us to do on many of the practical and substantive mechanisms to address inequality between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. I know it is a matter of concern for some people that we are debating constitutional recognition: in the eyes of some people that is a symbolic action and we need to have it running in conjunction with all of the very practical work we are doing on the ground. I would suggest, and I hope, that the Australian parliament is more than capable of doing both and running simultaneously discussions around practical and symbolic mechanisms to address these inequalities.

The bill before the House will help us maintain some momentum towards constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as we continue to work together on a proposal for a referendum, but it is most definitely not the only undertaking required to ensure that we right this great wrong. Multipartisanship is critical for any referendum proposal to succeed, and there needs to be a strong consensus on timing and content. The timing and nature of the change must involve Aboriginal leaders and community members as well as the wider, non-Indigenous, community.

The positive role that the Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples is playing is an important arm of engagement. I acknowledge the work that the committee has undertaken to date, including its extensive travel around the country, listening to communities and continuing those conversations wherever it goes. Engaging with the community and getting a broad public consensus around the need for constitutional change in the lead-up the referendum is the only way any question put to the Australian people will be successful.

History tells us that referendums in Australia are rarely successful. But, if you take people on the journey with you, they can be supportive and constitutional change can occur. Of the 44 referendums held since Federation, only eight have been successful. This is a very sobering matter of fact and why we really need to get this process right. Significantly, the most successful referendum in Australia's history was the 1967 referendum, where more than 90 per cent of our citizens voted 'yes for Aborigines', as the campaign at the time was called.

This is in stark contrast to the most recent referendum, which we had back in 1999, which proposed to alter the Constitution so Australia could become a republic and to insert a new preamble. The no result was resounding for both questions. I confess to being an active participant and campaigner for the yes vote, but we were not successful at that time. On the question of the republic, about 54 per cent voted against, and more than 60 per cent voted against the preamble question.

So there are some very important lessons to be learnt from the previous referendums that have been put to the Australian people. A number of those lessons have been very well articulated and outlined by Williams and Hume in their 2010 paper People Power: The History and Future of the Referendum in Australia. In that paper they identified three key aspects for a successful referendum in Australia, the first one being bipartisan support, the second one popular ownership and, finally, popular education. For constitutional recognition, at this stage we would be confident in saying that we have at least the first key aspect lined up—having bipartisan support. Indeed, we have multipartisan support. But I would argue that we are yet to achieve that broader public ownership. I think we still have some significant work to do in that space. We have had some success in community education programs, but again one would not be resting on work done to date. There is certainly room and a need for much more to be done in that space.

Federally funded organisations like RECOGNISE have been playing an important role and doing some tremendous work in the community in building public awareness of and community support for constitutional change to date. But, again, if we are serious about constitutional recognition and the success of a referendum on the matter, the federal government must continue to provide financial support to education initiatives that support community groups and activities giving Australians an opportunity to learn more about constitutional recognition. We must continue these programs at great speed, I would suggest.

While we do need mass ownership of the issue, this cannot be used, in my view, as an excuse to further delay the change to the constitution. So I would like to see a better funded and resourced community education campaign and for that to happen much sooner rather than later. Community education initiatives must take many forms and engage as many people as possible if a referendum is to be successful. Discussions need to happen in every community, every town, every city and every suburb. What we know is we need robust discussion and a strong sense of public ownership.

In December last year I was honoured to take part in one such community initiative in my electorate of Newcastle—the University of Newcastle's inaugural Wollotuka Yarning Circle. The Yarning Circle is an initiative of the Wollotuka Institute and is the flagship event of the organisation's new direction in social engagement and discussion, ensuring that local Aboriginal people and the wider community have a platform to take part in the national debate on Indigenous affairs. December's Yarning Circle focused on how constitutional recognition would impact the lives and aspirations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and I was joined in this discussion with the community and fellow panellists Jeff McMullen AM and Teela Reid—a talented young woman lawyer and University of Newcastle and Wollotuka graduate. It was a very healthy and robust discussion on that evening. I believe all participants came away with a determination to do more, to double our efforts, in discussing this issue in our communities and networks and to convey a strong understanding of the importance of recognition within our respective circles. These sorts of initiatives are truly deserving of support, wherever and whenever they occur. They are the sorts of initiatives that will engage and educate the broader community and help to build a consensus for change.

We have before us, in my view, a historic, once-in-a-generation opportunity to acknowledge the unique status and cultural significance of the first Australians and to remove discriminatory provisions that have been used against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in this nation. We must not let the opportunity pass. The Australian Constitution is our founding document and it is lacking in a number of respects, as has been made clear, and this is our chance to make that right. There are ongoing discussions to make sure that we have a way forward. It is my view that we absolutely cannot walk away from this moment of promise. (Time expired)

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