Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Financial Services) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

  (a) 29 April 2020 is the 250th anniversary of Captain James Cook's landing in Botany Bay; and

  (b) the Government is planning a range of exhibitions, activities and events to commemorate this occasion;

(2) acknowledges:

  (a) that during Captain Cook's expedition to Australia in 1770 a number of Aboriginal artefacts and cultural heritage materials were taken from local Aboriginal people and removed to Great Britain and other countries;

  (b) many of these cultural heritage materials are now on display or housed in museums and colleges in Great Britain and other countries; and

  (c) the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) Return of Cultural Heritage Project has been working to intensify the effort to return material held overseas to their original custodians and owners;

(3) recognises:

  (a) the historical, cultural and heritage significance of such cultural heritage materials to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Australian history;

  (b) that such cultural items, where possible, should be returned to the original custodians and owners; and

  (c) that these cultural materials:

     (i) play an important role in truth telling about Captain Cook's expedition and British settlement in Australia; and

     (ii) provide ongoing educational opportunities for all Australians about important Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, culture and connection to country; and

(4) calls on the Government to work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities, AIATSIS, foreign governments and authorities to:

  (a) establish a process for the return of relevant cultural and historical artefacts to the original custodians and owners; and

  (b) identify educational opportunities from the return of these important Australian cultural items.

'Aboriginal dispossession started there, in that very place.' They're the words of Gweagal elder Shayne Williams, referring to 29 April 1770, the day Captain Cook set foot on the sand at Kurnell in Botany Bay—or Kamay, as it's known to locals—to claim the east coast of Australia in the name of King George. Cook's historic declaration and his actions began the process of the First Australians being dispossessed of their land, robbed of their culture and cut off from their language. When Cook's expedition left our shores, it took with it the sovereignty of the First Australians over the land that they'd nurtured and inhabited for tens of thousands of years. It also took with it some of the symbols of that sovereignty—cultural artefacts, materials and human remains passed down through generations, through the longest continuing culture and the longest continuing connection with the land on the planet. When Cook and his crew left Botany Bay, they had in their possession many spears, shields and other cultural pieces that tell an important story about our nation's true history. These are deeply cherished and significant cultural relics that connect today's First Australians with their ancestors and with their traditions. They tell the truth about Australian history. In the journals of Sir Joseph Banks and John Hunter are entries recording their first encounters with local Aboriginal people and some of the cultural items that were collected. These items are now predominantly housed and displayed in museums throughout Europe. They belong on their country. They belong with the descendants of those who created them. They belong in Australia.

Next year, Australia will commemorate the 250th anniversary of Cook's journey to our nation. The Australian government is planning various exhibitions, activities and events to mark the occasion. Those government-sponsored commemorations must tell the truth about Australian history. The truth, uncomfortable as it is for some, must recognise that this great land was inhabited by the First Australians—Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people—and their land was taken from them without agreement, without treaty and often through bloodshed and suffering. That was unjustified and wrong. The symbolic representation of that truth is the fact that many of those artefacts that belonged to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were taken without their consent by Cook's crew and those that followed and are now in England and other parts of Europe. Since that time, many Australian people have called for the return of those artefacts to communities in Australia. There are a few cases where these requests have been agreed to, but that practice is the exception.

As a gesture of truth-telling, as a gesture of recognition, as a gesture of reconciliation, those artefacts should be returned to their people in Australia, where requested. These artefacts should be returned to country so that the descendants of those from whom they were taken can learn their history and their culture and pass this important heritage on to their children. The Australian government should facilitate this through consultation with First Australians and foreign governments on a process for the return of significant Australian historical artefacts.

The 250th anniversary of Cook's landing is a perfect opportunity to announce an agreement with the British government on a process to identify and repatriate historic Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artefacts and remains, and I call on the Morrison government to make this an important priority of next year's commemorations. I acknowledge the wonderful work of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, which is leading the Return of Cultural Heritage project to intensify efforts to return material held overseas to country for the purposes of cultural revitalisation. I also acknowledge that the government has devoted some funding to this. It's widely recognised that there are thousands of pieces of cultural heritage that remain overseas and that it will take many years just to identify them. And, whilst the government's commitment to this project in conjunction with Cook's commemoration is welcomed, it's a job that must continue beyond 2020. Many have asked why this is important. I've asked myself this question before. The answer was provided perfectly by Rodney Kelly, a descendant who has been campaigning for the return of artefacts from Botany Bay, when he said, 'Our future will be better if we tell the truth about our past.' (Time expired)

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