Cathy O'Toole (Herbert, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would firstly like to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of my parliamentary colleagues the member for Barton, Linda Burney; Senator Patrick Dodson; Senator Malarndirri McCarthy; and the member for Lingiari, Warren Snowdon. I would also like to acknowledge the shadow minister for Indigenous affairs and Leader of the Opposition, Bill Shorten, for his leadership. I also acknowledge the members on the other side of this committee, because, as the member for Lingiari said, this has been undertaken in a very bipartisan and positive way. The aforementioned members have worked tirelessly on this committee, and I believe that their work deserves thanks and recognition.

Beautiful Palm Island is in my electorate of Herbert. Palm Island is the largest discrete Aboriginal community in Australia, and I am honoured and proud to represent the traditional owners and custodians, the Manbarra and Bwgcolman people. In honour of Palm Island and in recognition of their centenary celebrations this year, I want to tell the story of Palm Island so that members in this place are aware of their very hurtful history and of how far the community has come, and why it is so important that a voice enshrined in parliament be achieved and that we have truth-telling and a makarrata. The truth of the history of Palm Island has not been spoken about by previous members in this place, so to show my support for the Uluru Statement from the Heart, truth-telling is a very critical and important component.

Palm Island was gazetted as an Aboriginal reserve in 1914. Chief Prosecutor J W Bleakley designated a specific role to Palm Island as a penitentiary for troublesome cases. The establishment of Palm Island was part of a wider national attempt to control the locals by taking control of all aspects of Aboriginal lives at a time now known as the protection era. In every state and territory laws were passed governing where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people could live and what they could and could not do. Representatives from over 47 tribes were displaced and sent to Palm Island for a variety of reasons, including as a prison sentence for troublemakers at other locations and as a result of the destruction of the whole river mission at Tully. More than 47 different language groups were sent to Palm, locating their camps in areas to mirror their positions on the mainland. The enforcement of so many tribes living in one place has generally been cited as a major cause for the unrest on Palm Island over the years.

Palm Island became exile and punishment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who disobeyed the strict laws of the day or if people refused to comply with government policy. During this time, people worked for rations, not wages, and they worked hard. Apartheid-like arrangements of space and design extended to the schools, with a white school for the children of the officials and a native school on the opposite side of the road. Children were separated from parents. Men were separated from women by confinement to dormitories.

By 1919, a jail was established on Palm Island to confine those who breached the stringent reserve regulations. The authority of Curry and all subsequent superintendents was reinforced by a team of police who operated as a private military force. Speaking out or practising Aboriginal culture and languages resulted in disciplinary action and retribution. Some of the disciplinary action included lengthy imprisonments, public humiliations and floggings of those the superintendent perceived as threatening his control.

This is the scary and scarring history that Palm Island has risen from. It has only been through sheer resilience and determination, the fight for equality, justice and recognition, and the rebuilding of the island left by their ancestors over many years, that we have the Palm Island of today that we all know and love. The First Nations people of Palm Island deserve to be heard and they deserve for the truth to be told. They deserve the right to tell that truth. They also deserve to be recognised. In Herbert, the Manbarra people deserve to be recognised and heard as the traditional owners. The Bwgcolman people deserve to be recognised and heard as custodians. The Wulgurukaba people deserve to be recognised and heard. The Bindal people deserve to be recognised and heard. All of our First Nations people deserve to be recognised and heard.

What the Referendum Council has recommended is both plain and simple: for our First Nations to be both recognised and heard. Yet the Turnbull government has turned its back on the demands of our First Nations people to be heard and recognised—leaving our First Nations people, right now, both distraught and heartbroken. Despite this, Labor fought to establish the joint select committee on constitutional recognition to keep the issue of constitutional recognition on the agenda of this parliament, and Labor has worked hard through the committee to get cross-party support for an Indigenous voice to parliament. Labor has made its point of view very clear: it is completely disrespectful to ask First Nations people for their views and thoughts regarding constitutional recognition and to then completely reject their feedback out of hand.

That is why Labor fought hard for the formation of the joint committee for constitutional recognition. The Labor-initiated committee has today released its interim report, putting calls for a voice for First Nations people back on the national agenda. The interim report puts all options back on the table, including constitutional change, the establishment of regional voices, truth-telling, a makarrata and a treaty.

The debate regarding recognition and inclusion of our First Nations people has been going around in circles for far too many years now. The circuit-breaker for this debate was the Uluru Statement from the Heart. This report follows on from those recommendations, with the committee working closely with our First Nations people around the country. What is clear from the report is the committee's intent. For any change to occur it is important to build consensus both among the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and among the people in the general community.

Through the report it is clear that many people support the principle of constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, but there is still much more to be done and further consultation and work to be carried out regarding the design of the recognition. It's important to get the detail of any change right. The committee is currently seeking additional submissions examining the principles and models outlined in the report and addressing the questions posed in the final chapter.

The committee have also made their intentions clear to undertake further consultation, travelling to other parts of Australia to speak with both First Nations people and broader communities before delivering the final report in November. I implore the committee to visit Palm Island and the Torres Strait in order to engage with the wider North Queensland community. North Queensland has a large First Nations population, and their evidence to this committee would be highly valued. It would also show respect to those First Nations people.

I encourage all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island organisations and community members to make a submission to this very important committee. Please note in particular the questions in chapter 7 that the committee is seeking further evidence, support and clarification on. This issue is far too important for people not to be involved in the conversation. We must get this right.

Our First Nations people have clearly articulated their position and they want the process started now in order to work towards reconciliation, recognition and truth-telling. Labor has always supported the Uluru Statement from the Heart and remains committed to working with First Nations people to ensure their voices are heard and respected, including through a voice to parliament. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull can no longer ignore our First Nations people. It's time for the Prime Minister to reverse his position and to back the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

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