Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

When it comes to the upcoming debate on the much anticipated national referendum, there are two important words in this debate, 'consultation' and 'recognition'. They're two simple words that mean a lot to people who have been here for many, many thousands of years. The enshrining of a First Nations voice in the Constitution is built on these simple but essential principles. The question that the Australian public will be considering later this year is based on these principles—simple yet very important. It is time we as a nation listen to the voices that spoke at Uluru.

I want to start by acknowledging the traditional owners and custodians of the country of our great McEwen electorate, the people of the Kulin nation—the Dja Dja Wurrung, the Taungurung, the Wurundjeri and the Wurundjeri Woiwurrung peoples—and the traditional owners of the land on which we meet and are standing here today, the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples. May I say it's a shame we don't open our parliament acknowledging in First Nations language, something I think we should be doing. We should all continue to acknowledge their continuing connection to land, skies and community. We pay our respects to peoples, cultures and elders past, present and emerging, both in this place and within the vibrant communities that we all represent.

I rise to support this bill, the Constitution Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice) 2023, as we as a nation push towards recognition of our First Nations people, the beginning of healing after generations of advocacy and hard work from our First Nations leaders. This referendum is responding to the honest question put forward by the Statement from the Heart. It was a call to finally recognise the people who for over 65,000 years of continuous culture have walked this land. I'm proud to stand with a government that is ready to listen and answer that call.

The bill enables the beginning of this important process to get constitutional recognition that First Nations people have been fighting for. Our Constitution is the framework that binds and upholds the very laws of our country. The time of federation was momentous. It was the birth of modern Australia as we now know it, laying the foundations to build the country that we all love. When I think of the birth of modern Australia, Tom Roberts's The Big Picture painting is one of the first that comes to mind—a gathering of people from across the country, excited for a new beginning and to build a great country that would be 'renowned of all the lands'. But that room didn't welcome everyone. The custodians of the land, the First Nations people who walked this country, were locked out. Back then, they were not even considered citizens. As Thomas Mayor puts it in his book Finding the Heart of the Nation, the Indigenous populations were 'voiceless', believed to be 'dying out' in the eyes of our founding fathers. While First Nations people have since gained the right to citizenship, in the 1967 referendum—it is still baffling to think they had to go through that—what we haven't rectified is providing a voice to address the matters that affect Indigenous communities.

When we look at the artwork that surrounds the Uluru Statement from the Heart, Thomas Mayor likens those signatures to the southern sky. The lead artist, Rene Kulitja, wrote on it 'Uluru-ku Tjukurpa', which roughly translates to 'the traditional stories of Uluru'. It tells of laws, religion and the moral system through the illustrated story lines around the statement. This piece of art, as Rene emphasises, represents everyone. We're all citizens under the southern sky, and this Statement from the Heart outlines the importance of constitutional recognition and enshrining and protecting a voice. For our nation to continue progressing forward, we need to embrace our history, recognise the culture that has been the building blocks of Australia's foundation and make sure we uphold the simple but important principles of consultation and recognition.

As we step out to be a leader in this ever more globalised world, having this constitutional recognition and Voice that amplifies Indigenous voices will create a unique identity for our nation on a global stage. It will bring about better and more targeted policy that will have a positive impact on the Indigenous communities that it represents. It means that policy will have further reaching effects, going further to tackle the ever-elusive goals of closing the gap. It's not about a bunch of politicians around a table. It's about the coming together of voices from Indigenous communities and tackling issues that these communities see every day. They will have better ideas of how to solve the issues affecting their communities, and we must amplify these voices.

Where does the Voice to Parliament come from? We've heard tonight: 2010 this process was started. In 2017 a momentous convention of leaders and elders took place, in the shadow of Uluru, of 250 delegates that were nominated from their communities in 13 regional dialogues. This was the largest gathering of Indigenous representatives ever held, and what came out of it was a path of hope and empowerment, a way forward to build from the wrongs of the past for a brighter future, to make Australia more united and reinforce the pillars of our democracy. To talk about the Statement from the Heart we must acknowledge some of the dissent that was present during the convention, where a handful of delegates walked out of there, being vocal in their displeasure at the proceedings. It would be amiss to believe all Indigenous people are homogenous in their beliefs and values, and we can see that now in the present-day debate. But the vast majority stayed because for them it was important to have this done, and what came next was a moving and incredibly unified front for the way forward—the decision of enshrining a voice into the Constitution, along with constitutional recognition, being the first step.

This comes off the back of years and years of campaigning and advocacy by Indigenous leaders. This is what the Statement from the Heart put forward to the nation of Australia. June Oscar, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social justice commissioner, said:

The Uluru Statement carves out a path for change and we need that to be embraced by our fellow Australians and our political leaders.

The heart gave Australia a pathway forward where delegates invited Australians to walk with them. Most Australians recognise we need to start walking along this pathway to make our nation fairer and a better place. As Thomas Mayor said, what was a people's movement soon became a constitutional movement. After the heart we have a way forward, and that is what the Albanese Labor government is following. We are listening to the needs expressed, making sure we are consulting with a large majority of Indigenous leaders and elders and respecting their wisdom. This government accepts wholeheartedly the recommendation, which is why we are pushing to hold this referendum, because we are listening and acting on what these communities are saying.

But what does the Voice actually entail? As we get closer, in the dialogue around the Voice we are experiencing an ever-growing campaign of misinformation and divisive rhetoric from those who seek power through confusion and division, so let's bring it back to the very bare basics. The Voice is about ensuring Indigenous communities from all around Australia are represented at federal level when it comes to policymaking on Indigenous issues. As Aunty Pat Anderson said:

It is about getting grassroots voices amplified and feeding into Canberra, representing the views and voices of their communities.

For instance, the Voice will provide recommendations to government on its Closing the Gap report, aiding and strengthening the decisions made that affect Indigenous health, livelihoods, wellbeing and justice. It does not have overreaching power to change government policy; it is there to provide advice, help create the best policy and get the best outcomes. Further, the Voice is an advisory body, not a third chamber to parliament. The people who peddle these lines are using scaremongering tactics against the goodwill of Australians.

What we as a nation will be given at the end of this year is a simple question: a proposed law to alter the Constitution and recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, creating a new chapter in recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Islander people in the Constitution. These are things that are actually important to the people who they affect. This is a simple change that won't have a noticeable impact on average non-Indigenous Australians. I will say this to people loudly: what changes for you the day after this referendum is successful? When you wake up in the morning, you put milk on your cornflakes, you hop in your car to drive to work or you whip down to watch your team play football, what change does it make? What impact does it have on you as a non-Indigenous Australian? The answer is simply nothing. But it does give you an opportunity to stand up and be part of a nation that actually acknowledges what happened in the past and is doing its bit to rectify problems that have happened and fix the future.

But what does it mean to our Indigenous Australians? It means a hell of a lot: consultation, recognition and a chance for them to be able to build a better future and have their voice heard by us and for us to go out and listen to them. I was listening to Ken Wyatt, the former member for Hasluck, the other day, in one of his interviews, and he said: 'How often do people go out and sit in the red dirt and listen to communities? How often do people go out and do these things?' That was a man who stood by his principles, and he left the Liberal Party because of that, because of their objection to this very simple question that has been put forward.

What those opposite fail to understand is that the establishment of a Voice and enshrining Indigenous rights in the Constitution is not mutually exclusive with achieving the targets we need to achieve. In fact, having a First Nations Voice helping with policy goals and being in a position to hold our government accountable will only strengthen Australian governments. We know there's been a lot of talk and a lot of stuff put forward that is just factually incorrect. As Thomas Mayo puts it, we've got to protect what we can build. That's the importance of the effect this positive change will have on the lives of Indigenous Australians, and we want to make sure it has a lasting impact.

There have been questions about the legal consequences, with the opposition seemingly wanting to make the Australian public believe this body would dictate almost how your kids make sandwiches. We've heard the utter rubbish from the shadow Attorney-General. This is the person that those opposite want to put as the first law officer of the land, talking about the impact of parking tickets. I don't think I've heard a bigger idiotic statement in my entire life. Maybe get back behind the whiteboard, where you seem a lot brighter, because it is absolutely wrong to have this rubbish on Anzac Day, talking about the football and what it means. That is purely the No. 1 tactic of conservatives: divide, conquer and scaremonger. That's all they've got.

If you want to do the right thing—if you want to stand up and say: 'You know what? We can acknowledge this and we're growing up and we're mature enough to be able to have this debate, have this referendum and bring our country forward'—then you've got to vote yes. It addresses so many problems for so many years. It's a simple way for us to be able to do the right thing, but it is a powerful and strong message that we send for Indigenous Australians that we hear them and we understand them and we want to get the best outcomes we can. We've seen that the opposition are going to be sitting on the wrong side of history with this scare campaign. As I said, the Voice not going to hurt non-Indigenous Australians. It's not going to impact them. It's not going to cause problems.

In closing, I'd like to direct everyone back to the Uluru Statement from the Heart—specifically the meaning behind the art surrounding the statement. Having the representation of the southern skies and the stories along the songlines of the Tjukurpa, it welcomes everyone into a better future that we can see. With the Voice, we are one step closer to finding the heart of a great nation, and we hope that the Australian people will accept the invitation and walk together for a better future.

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