Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Education) Share this | Hansard source

PLIBERSEK () (): I want to draw the House's attention to a petition I received this morning which supports the teaching of First Nations history in Australian schools. It was started by Isaiah Firebrace, a brilliant musician and young Indigenous leader, and has been signed so far by more than 290,000 people. Australians should be proud of our unique history. This continent is home to the world's oldest continuous culture, with 60,000 years of wisdom, knowledge, language and art. It's a privilege to walk in these ancient footsteps, and nothing encourages learning like passion. Isaiah's passion is infectious. He has more than 290,000 signatures to prove that. If we're being honest, we haven't always properly valued our First Nations history as much as we should have. But we are a strong country, a confident country, and when we study our history, all of our history, we become even stronger. So I thank Isaiah for his hard work and for his advocacy. I think it is truly wonderful that we have young people like Isaiah who are enthusiastic about our history and are hungry to learn more.

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