Alicia Payne (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I want to thank the member for Jagajaga for bringing forward this vitally important motion that I'm proud to second. I begin by again paying my respects to the traditional custodians of the land on which our parliament meets, the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people. We open this parliament each day by acknowledging their traditional ownership of these lands. I acknowledge that this land was never ceded and I pay my respects to their elders past and present and those yet to come.

Fifteen years ago Prime Minister Rudd, as one of his first acts in government, stood in the Parliament of Australia and apologised for the wrongs committed against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. Prime Minister Rudd apologised for the laws and policies of successive parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on our fellow Australians. At that time the Rudd government also took concrete steps to ensure that those injustices didn't happen again and pledged that we all, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, would work to close the gap—the gap of life expectancy, of educational achievement and of economic opportunity—that stubbornly exists between us. Closing the gap is a core focus of our government. We want every Australian to have the same opportunities in life. While we have seen promising progress in areas such as babies born with a healthy birth weight, children enrolled in preschool and other areas, we have not seen progress in other areas. We need to do better on out-of-home care, rates of imprisonment and the life expectancy gap of almost a decade between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. To say 'we need to do better' is a gross understatement. It is not enough, and clearly we need a change of approach.

We know that better policies are made when the people who are affected by them have their voices heard, and that's why the referendum this year is so important. When Australians go to the polls this year, it will be a unique experience for many. For anyone born after 1981 it will be the first time they've ever voted in a referendum. When Australians go to the polls they will be asked to change the Constitution, to establish an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament. The Voice is about two things: recognition and consultation. Recognition of Australia's First Peoples in the nation's birth certificate, our Constitution—something promised by successive governments over decades; and consultation, giving First Nations Australians a say in the policies that impact them. These are simple things but they're a huge step for our nation, and one that we really have such a great opportunity to take together this year at this referendum.

If this referendum is successful it will improve the lives of Indigenous Australians. It will deliver practical change on the ground in areas like health, housing and education. It will be an important step on the journey of reconciliation because the Voice referendum could be a unifying moment for Australia. It's about taking this country forward for everyone.

I've heard from a number of my constituents who are already worried by the tone of this debate, and I urge everyone to conduct this debate respectfully, maturely and truthfully. This should be an issue above the daily political point scoring, and I remind all members of this House where the idea of the Voice comes from. This isn't Labor's plan or any politician's plan. It is the request of First Nations Australians themselves. The Uluru Statement from the Heart was a generous invitation from First Nations Australians, formed after a long, involved and deliberative process of consultation. It calls for three things: voice, treaty and truth. This Labor government is committed to all three of these elements, and I call on all members of this House, and all Australians, to join together on this path of reconciliation.

I encourage all of you, in the coming months, to talk to your friends, family and colleagues about how the Voice will help us of recognise Australia's First Peoples and make a practical difference to the lives and communities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. A Voice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians is an opportunity to address the injustices of the past and create change that will deliver a better future. Australians can answer this generous invitation by voting yes for the Voice. I look forward, as the representative of the Canberra electorate, to facilitating opportunities for that discussion in my electorate.

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