Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I second the motion. I support this motion and I'd like to acknowledge all the traditional owners of this country, past and present, including the Ngunawal, on whose land we stand today. Many people may wish to dismiss the acknowledgement of country as just a symbolic statement, but it's much more than that. It's something that should be respected, and I and many people respect the symbolism, because symbols create tradition. They create culture. Importantly, they can, bit by bit, chip away at biases, prejudice, preconceived notions and stereotypes and create change. This is why NAIDOC Week is so important.

Every week NAIDOC Week gives us the chance to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of our First Nations people. It's an important celebration because, all too often, our discourse around First Nations people centres on inequalities and injustices past and present. It is vital that we keep on doing everything in our power to correct these inequalities and right those injustices wherever we can, because the disparity in the life choices and chances for First Nations people in this country remains absolutely shocking, whether it's in relation to children in detention, domestic violence, health outcomes, educational outcomes or incarceration—and the list goes on and on. First Nations people remain so disproportionately represented in these areas that there is no other word for it than 'shocking'. This is something that we must all, as a nation, take responsibility for, and we all must play a part in addressing it. But, at the same time, it should not stop us from celebrating our First Nations people, especially their unbreakable connection to the land, to this country, and their contribution to our society.

The theme for this year's NAIDOC Week is 'Always Was, Always Will Be'. That is a powerful statement: it always was and always will be. It reminds us that First Nations people have occupied and lived on this land, on this continent, that we call home today for over 65,000 years. During those 65,000 years, they have had a long and rich spiritual and cultural connection to this country. This year's NAIDOC Week reminds us that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were Australia's first explorers, first navigators, first engineers, first farmers, first botanists, first scientists, first diplomats, first astronomers and first artists, and that is something that we should celebrate—one of the longest periods, over 65,000 years, of any history in the world. We should be proud of this, and we should be proud to have one of the world's oldest oral stories, paintings, ceremonies and unique technologies right here in this country we call home. Their connection to and knowledge of the land has taught them to adapt to climate change, droughts, rising sea levels, and the list goes on. While we learn at university and schools about Shakespeare, Egyptian pyramids, European explorers and classical Greek, we should also be learning about the great pioneers who inhabited this land long, long before us. NAIDOC Week reminds us that there is a gap in our knowledge and understanding and that we would all be richer were we to know more about it. As I said: it always was and always will be.

Imagine: there were once hundreds of nations throughout our continent, speaking hundreds of different languages, with different stories and different histories. It's estimated that in the late 18th century around 250 distinct Indigenous language groups covered this continent. Today around 120 of those languages are still spoken, and many unfortunately are at risk of being lost as elders pass on. Language is the link that connects us from generation to generation. When you break that link that connectivity somehow breaks as well. It's so important to try as much as we can to keep as many of these languages going and to do everything we can as governments to assist those languages to continue. They're not just a means of communication; they express knowledge about everything: law, geography, history, family, human relationships, philosophy, religion, anatomy, child care, health care, caring for country, astronomy, biology and food. Their continued loss is also our loss.

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