Madeleine King (Brand, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Last Saturday, 27 May, was the 50th anniversary of the successful 1967 referendum, which sought to ensure Indigenous Australians were included as respected members of the Australian community. This Saturday, 3 June, marks 20 years since the Mabo decision of the High Court, a landmark decision which reflected the 50,000-year-old truth that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have lived on this vast island for many thousands of years and have legal and moral land rights that continue to this day, and will do so always.

This week, as always, these critical moments in Australian history bookend the very important National Reconciliation Week. On Friday 26 May, we saw the Uluru Statement from the Heart given to this nation by our first nation's people. Aboriginal people were asked the question and, with a remarkable, generous spirit—and despite all the wrongs wrought upon them over 230 years—they gave us a thoughtful answer, which we in this place must respect, listen to and act upon.

The burden to ensure equality of rights and treatment of Australia's first people has so far been carried by a few—our Indigenous brothers and sisters and other leaders who have supported these just causes. Now it is time to share this burden across the country. Each of us will be called upon to show leadership and to have open hearts and open minds so that we can all contribute to what should be a national crusade: a national crusade to ensure that the truth is heard, that voices are heard, that rights are enshrined and that reconciliation is real.

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