Natasha Griggs (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on this condolence motion to acknowledge the passing of Australia's 22nd Prime Minister, the Right Hon. Malcolm Fraser. It is important that his contribution, especially to the Northern Territory, is acknowledged. As many have offered, Mr Fraser was indeed a great friend of the Northern Territory and a great friend of Indigenous Australians.

As a primary school student I remember very clearly, as if it were yesterday, when Malcolm Fraser visited the Northern Territory in 1978. It was a significant milestone in the Territory's history as he addressed the first sittings of the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory. Under Malcolm Fraser's leadership, self-government was conferred on the Northern Territory. I think this is one of the many reasons Territorians have a fondness for our former Prime Minister.

At the opening of the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory he said to the people of the Northern Territory:

You are embarking on one of the noblest adventures open to any people—democratic self-government. It is one of the hardest systems in the world to run, but it is also certainly the best.

He was so right. History shows us that Malcolm Fraser was committed to providing the best outcome for the Territory. He maintained a hands-on approach when tackling the difficult and unique issues we Territorians faced. He gave the following advice:

But democratic self-government is much more than just a method of exacting responsibility from government, it is of the most fundamental importance to peoples' development, to allowing people to realise their potential through political participation, to enhancing their initiative, enterprise and responsibility.

Malcolm Fraser also recognised the need for the Territory to have independence and autonomy. During his address to the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly he commented:

For decades ultimate authority for the administration of the laws governing the Territory's day to day affairs was held by people thousands of miles away. People who did not always comprehend the Territory's special needs.

I could not have said that better myself. As a lifetime Territorian, I am very well aware of our unique requirements, how important we are and, particularly, the important role that we have played in Australia's history. I have to say, Mr Deputy Speaker, those comments from Malcolm Fraser are as relevant today as they were in 1978, and I can assure you that nothing annoys Territorians more than being told by southerners what we should do. It is clear that Malcolm Fraser not only recognised this but he respected it. He valued us. It is a message that is very clearly still relevant, as I said, for Territorians today.

I think you will have to agree, Mr Deputy Speaker, there is no doubt that the Territory has come a long way. It has come leaps and bounds since the monumental day of 8 September 1978, when we received self-government. There is no denying that Malcolm Fraser's focus was never too far from the Territory and, indeed, Australia's first people. Throughout his time as Prime Minister of Australia, he made a number of visits to remote Indigenous communities around the country, but specifically in the Northern Territory. I understand that he did this so he could hear firsthand how the government could provide a hand up, not a handout, to the Australians who had sadly become our most disadvantaged. Malcolm and his wife, Tamie, visited the most remote parts of the Territory together. They toured Arnhem Land. They visited communities outside of Alice Springs, where I grew up—places like Papunya. They rode camels, sat talking with the locals in the Todd River and went fishing with local Indigenous leaders—but not in the Todd River, because that is a dry river.

He was an advocate of self-determination and autonomy, and it is a great disappointment that he did not live long enough to see the Northern Territory achieve statehood. While he was an active player in seeing the Northern Territory achieve self-government, it was always Malcolm's wish that we would become the seventh state of Australia—something that I hope is not too far in the future. I have been trying to encourage some of my colleagues that this is the future—

See this speech in context