Warren Snowdon (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for External Territories) Share this | Hansard source

Firstly, let me say what an honour it is to be able to speak in this debate. I want to acknowledge the contribution just made by the member for Berowra, someone I've come to call a friend, even though we have diverse—I would say, very different—views on a range of matters. We've been working cooperatively together and in concert, along with my colleague the member for Newcastle, on the Aboriginal affairs committee. It's been a pleasure to work with him. I know I've learned a bit, and I hope he's learned something along the way as well. Thank you very much for your contribution.

I thank the member for Hasluck for the work he's been doing. We don't agree all the time, but his intentions are clear. I want to give him whatever support I can in his role. I would like to commend the member for Barton for her contribution, following on from the Leader of the Opposition's statement last week. They are significant statements in themselves and they bring to mind many of the things we need to properly comprehend.

Having been in this place for some time, I've been able to observe and be part of decisions and discussions which have caused hurt and heartache. I vividly remember 13 February 2008 and the apology by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. I'm sad, though, because the previous Prime Minister refused to apologise and referred to the 'black armband view of history'. When we contemplate the insult that that means, and where we are now in Australia when we discuss these issues, we must acknowledge how wrong he was. Those members of this chamber who either didn't appear at or walked out of the apology by Kevin Rudd are shamed.

I want to thank the government for the reparation scheme they announced for the stolen generations last week. As the member for Barton said, it was a commitment made by Labor at the last election, and I'm glad the government have picked it up. Following Kevin Rudd's apology, there were many people who had tears of relief and hope. But so many of those people who applauded, acknowledged and were part of that decision and who saw the fulfilment of that apology have passed, so they will not be beneficiaries of this new scheme. That's sad. I just hope we can get the current government, with great respect to the member for Hasluck, and the current Prime Minister to listen to people and to hear their advice.

I acknowledge the role of the wonderful Pat Turner and the Coalition of Peaks. Pat is a friend and was a neighbour in Alice Springs. I know she's a formidable individual and someone with a great deal of experience but who is grounded in her family and in her community. I commend her for the role she's had in this Closing the Gap approach.

I noted the Prime Minister's foreword in the report, in which he said, 'Too many opportunities have been missed to listen and to learn.' Can I say, Prime Minister, there is no point just having selective hearing. We heard from Uluru, from the Uluru Statement from the Heart. We heard what people around this country want: a constitutionally entrenched voice. And now, as a result of the statement from last week, it is clear that we won't have a voice legislated during the course of this parliament, let alone any commitment to enshrine a voice in the Constitution. That's why it's important to contemplate and understand the merit in the three parts of the Uluru Statement from the Heart: the entrenched voice, the makarrata and truth-telling.

Truth-telling goes to the heart of where we're at. We as a nation have to appreciate and understand the extent of the institutionalised racism that has been the driver of our governments for over a century. That has to go. If that has to go, it means the Prime Minister not only has to say we've missed opportunities but now has to listen, learn and appreciate the intelligence and charity with which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders speak to us, the government, as a parliament. They speak with respect, but that respect needs to be returned by way of action. I note the priority reform targets within this new statement, the partnership and shared decision-making, the building of the community controlled sector, the sharing of access to data and information at a regional level and the transforming of government organisations. These are commendable objectives, but at their heart they mean listening to people and responding in a serious way to close the gap in health, education, employment, housing and so forth.

I want to commend the Leader of the Opposition for the announcements that he made last week and the commitments that he made on behalf of the Labor Party not only to the voice but to the issues that were raised by the member for Barton about education and health. If I may, I want to make one observation about the member for Berowra's contribution and the money that, as a result of last week, has been promised by this government for boarding facilities for remote communities. I ask the government to look at the reports of this parliament. The House of Representatives committee for which the member for Berowra is chairman brought down a report on education specifically around the issues to do with boarding schools. It has clearly not been read, appreciated or understood by this government, just as it has made observations about explicit instruction, particularly direct instruction. I ask the government to look seriously at these reports. The member for Berowra, the member for Newcastle and I are involved in the inquiry, as was the member for Durack. Look! We've got them all here! They will understand what I'm talking about. I say to you: please, please listen; read what has been researched and the advice that has been given by that committee.

When I travel around the bush, which I do often, there are a number of driving requests that I have constantly, but there are two that are most important: housing and employment. We hear of housing because of the inadequacy of it and the failure of governments to properly respond in terms of making allocations that will address need. We think there's a shortfall of some billions of dollars, perhaps $5 billion, in housing alone in the Northern Territory. The other area is CDP. I know the member for Durack appreciates and understands what I'm going to say here. Labor is committed to scrapping the current Community Development Program. We are committed to developing a new community based program, possibly designed on the principles of the old CDEP system. That's what the community are asking for. I say to the Prime Minister and the member for Durack: if you think it's time to listen and learn, well, listen, learn and act. That's what we require you to do.

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