Linda Burney (Barton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Families and Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the motion moved by the member for Grayndler. It recognises that 13 years ago the then Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, made a very long-awaited National Apology to the Stolen Generations on behalf of the nation. It was one of the first items of business of the newly elected Labor government. The landmark inquiry into the stolen generations, the Bringing them home report, had been launched a decade before. For 11 long years those taken, and in fact the whole nation, waited for the words 'we are sorry'. The Bringing them home report had 54 recommendations. This included that Australian governments acknowledge and apologise for the policies of forced removal. The recommendations included the Indigenous Child Placement Principle—the notion that, when an Indigenous child must be removed, they be placed with a family member, a member of the child's community or another Indigenous carer.

It's not just the recommendations that are important about this report. It drew a line in the sand for us as a nation. No-one could ever say again, 'We didn't know.' It represented an important act of truth-telling. There were many thousands of people who survived and were able to tell their stories for those of us who remained. Of course, the Archie Roach song 'Took the Children Away' says:

We'll give them what you can't give

Teach them how to really live.

Teach them how to live they said

Humiliated them instead

Taught them that and taught them this

And others taught them prejudice.

You took the children away …

The motion emphasises the importance of closing the gap and a commitment to, in fact, bring about justice and equity for First Peoples in Australia. Good words are only truly meaningful when they are accompanied with sincere deeds and lasting progress. This is the first year since the apology that we will not get a report from the Prime Minister on progress, or lack of progress, on the targets. What concerns me is that, after a decade, progress against the seven targets in 2020 was dismal reading, as the member for Grayndler outlined. At the conclusion of those seven targets, only two were on track. Child mortality; reading, writing and numeracy; school attendance; employment outcomes; and life expectancy—all not on track. These aren't just statistics; they are lives. I'm sick of going to the funerals of people who have died too young.

The National Agreement on Closing the Gap is indeed welcome. It is welcome especially because of the partnership with the coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peak organisations. This is a good thing. There are 16 new targets, with two still being negotiated. States and territories will have to report, as well as the Commonwealth. Labor in principle endorsed the new targets—in particular, the targets about the overrepresentation of First Australians in the child protection system as well as the criminal justice system, two targets that Labor had been advocating for for many years. The time frame for these targets is another 10 years. This means that, on the expiration of the new targets, over two decades will have passed since Closing the Gap first began—23 years, a whole generation. I say to this parliament: that is a very long time, so it is important that we get this right this time. We must not allow this decade-long time frame to become the impetus for kicking the burden of progress to future parliaments

If we want to see real and lasting progress on Closing the Gap, we need new investment. The Commonwealth government must fully embrace its share of the new Closing the Gap agreement, not simply wash its hands of responsibility and pass it to the states and territories. The First Nations people need to be placed at the centre of decision-making on issues affecting First Nations people. We are best placed to find the solutions on issues that affect us. Labor remains committed to the Uluru statement in full. This includes the constitutionally enshrined voice to parliament, a voice that reflects the diversity of challenges that we face across the nation, a voice that listens to our regions and remote communities as well as our urban areas. It's been 3½ years since the Uluru statement. It's time to get on with it and get it done.

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