Emma Husar (Lindsay, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I acknowledge the traditional owners, the Ngunawal people, of the land on which this speech is given today, and I pay my respect to their elders past, present and emerging, two of whom I had the pleasure of sitting with at breakfast on Monday. In doing so, in acknowledging that this was, is and always will be Aboriginal land, I recommit myself to ending the scourge that is entrenched Aboriginal disadvantage. I commit myself to reducing the high rates of incarceration of young people, so that it is not the case that if you are young and Aboriginal you are more likely to be in jail than you are to graduate from university. I recommit myself to reducing the numbers of children in out-of-home care—away from their families, culture and community—which have doubled in the last 10 years since the apology to the stolen generation was given. I commit myself to reducing the alarmingly high rate of family violence in Aboriginal communities, which is 32 times higher for Aboriginal women. I commit myself to closing the gap. It is a reminder to all of us that each of us has a role to play in closing the gap, and I use my acknowledgment here today to remind and energise each of us to go back to our communities and do something about it. When you say sorry for something, you make a commitment to yourself and to that person or group of people that you will not repeat the mistakes of the past or your wrongdoing. I've raised my children and the children I used to teach in my classrooms like this.

This is how I open all of the addresses I am lucky and privileged to give as the member for Lindsay, as the representative of my community—every speech. In every meeting, in every room where there is a gathering I speak at, those are the words I speak. I feel it's imperative to provide that reminder that this country was well cared for, enriched by the culture and practices of Aboriginal people for some 60,000 years or more, long before colonisation, long before Captain Cook arrived and well before we here making rules about everyone's lives were even born.

I am disgusted, quite frankly, by those who see this as tokenism, by those like the Hills Shire Council in the electorate of the member for Mitchell, Alex Hawke, who have refused to include the acknowledgement at the start of council proceedings, which is at odds with the rest of the Western Sydney councils. It is out of time, out of touch and out of place. Western Sydney, where his electorate lies, also happens to have some of the highest numbers of Aboriginal people in an urban setting.

I am proud, though, of my local Penrith council for how they acknowledged and marked the 10th anniversary of the apology on Monday. Penrith's mayor, John Thain, acknowledged that Apology Day is a reminder to everyone to continue:

… to build on lessons from the past and work for better outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the future.

The mayor also acknowledged that the council's ceremony was:

… a powerful reminder that our community's future is shared between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and that our future—

is much brighter, not dampened—

because of it

My local council celebrated the importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and their important contribution to the lands and waters of Penrith city.

This week, when we marked the 10th anniversary of the apology made to Aboriginal people, their families, their communities and their future generations, I was incredibly proud to be there. It was an apology and an acknowledgement of our past—our past mistakes and our past wrongdoings—and of how we as legislators are given the opportunity in here to promote equality for everybody.

Sadly, the Prime Minister was not in attendance. He attended the photo gathering at the front of the Marble Foyer but then he nicked away in a not-so-sneaky sneak off. Unfortunately, it didn't rate as a significant enough event for 'His Honour the Prince of Point Piper', also known as the Prime Minister, to attend. Sure, I get the workloads of this place are demanding. But what is more important than attending an anniversary of an apology that meant so much to so many? After he snuck off from the Closing the Gap event last week, one would have thought he might have taken the hint. It just shows that when you're born to rule learning from your errors is not essential, which is why the apology probably means very little. On further reflection, I am actually glad he didn't come, because the time for paternalism, tokenism and excuses is over. Frankly, that's all we would have heard.

The leader of this country should have bothered to show up and be accountable on this day to Indigenous people and the rest of us non-Indigenous people who care enough to take up the fight on their behalf. That is our job in this place and that will always be our job in this place. The reality is when it comes to closing the gap, when it comes to actions for First Australians, this government is weak and out of touch. That weakness drips down into the conservative hearts of commentators who don't understand the inaction that not closing the gap is bringing. This inaction—far from dripping into the lives of our first nations people—causes deluges of inequality to rain down on them. The gaps are not closing. The list of targets that are not on track should fill us all with a sense of great shame and regret, because consistently falling short of the benchmarks we've set ourselves is not an outcome. We cannot amplify our limited successes in this place. We need action and we need acknowledgement.

Would it be such a difficult thing to fly the Aboriginal flag on the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, for example? Absolutely not. But would it mean the world of difference to many people in our communities? Absolutely. Would it mean that we as Australians acknowledge that we are a country of not all white Australian settlers and that there were people here before us? Absolutely not. But it would mean a great deal to those people in those communities where that flag means the most.

We are given two ears to listen and one mouth to speak. Therefore, we should always listen twice as much as we speak. I heard my good friend the member for Griffith in here remarking on the Prime Minister's grasp on the Ngunnawal language and his ability to give his acknowledgement in language from country. But, unfortunately, he doesn't use his two ears to listen as much as he's obviously taken the time to learn that. The Uluru Statement from the Heart would be a perfect instance where the Prime Minister could listen twice as much as he speaks. The response to that from those on the other side of the House—and the lack of listening to the voices of our first nations people—is not good enough. I acknowledge that there are not very many speakers on this report. If this issue is not a priority for the government, then I'm not quite sure what they're busying themselves with at the moment.

I echo the comments from the Leader of the Opposition, Bill Shorten, in the response to the Uluru Statement from the Heart:

… who are we in this parliament to simply reject it out of hand?

As he said:

It's time we worked together to deliver—

We will work together, but we will not wait—

… a voice enshrined in the Constitution; a declaration to be passed by all parliaments—Commonwealth and state—acknowledging the unique place of the first nations in Australian history, their culture and connection; and a Makarrata commission to oversee a process of agreement making and truth telling.

We will deliver a compensation scheme for those people who were removed many, many years ago—not that for any second do any of us on this side believe that that would wipe out any hurt or damage that has been caused.

These are small steps to addressing the inequality that exists and a small way of going forward to help close some of those gaps. Reconciliation is not just about confronting the past. It's about making sure mistakes are not repeated. As I said, when you say sorry, you mean it and you move forward so that you don't repeat or continue to repeat those mistakes. There is much, much more to be done to close the gap, and every small step to do so is greeted with warm welcomes, providing that those steps are the right ones. I believe that is absolutely on track when we say we should do things with Aboriginal people and not to them. I am not quite sure why the Prime Minister's action on the Uluru statement is at odds with the rhetoric that we keep hearing.

I am proud to stand up for all people in this House, especially those who don't have the opportunity to do so for themselves. With the work that I have already done in my community around helping to end Aboriginal disadvantage, I will continue to do that, in spite of those who seek to railroad that and ensure that we don't actually address this.

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