Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'd like to start off by acknowledging that we are on the land of the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people, where this parliament is. I'd also take this opportunity to recognise that in my own electorate of Adelaide we are on the land of the Kaurna people and to pay my respects to those past, present and into the future. I'd also like to recognise one of the Kaurna elders in Adelaide, Uncle Lewis O'Brien, who never ceases to try and educate people on Kaurna history, Kaurna traditions and Kaurna everything—from mathematics to hunting to science—that they have passed down from generation to generation for over 60,000 years.

In Australia, we pride ourselves on our democratic system of government, on our equal opportunities, on equal rights for everyone, and it's clear Australia is represented by the people for the people. Like all Australians, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should have a significant say in the development of law and policy that affects them. I see this vote as a particular once-in-a-generation opportunity to make Australia a better place. We have an opportunity to listen to grassroots solutions directly from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We also have an opportunity to deliver constitutional recognition through the Voice.

This necessary alteration will make a huge difference to the lives of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, whilst having no difference to the lives of those who oppose it or vote no. The constitutional recognition of the Voice will lead to more informed and responsive public policy and it would lead to better outcomes. But it means so, so much more. This proposal should have been part of our Australian Constitution in the first place. This is our chance to grasp an opportunity, to move forward and to help heal the wounds. It will give us the opportunity to move towards being a more healed country.

We know this will not fix everything. We know that, and we know that there's a lot of work that we still have to do. That doesn't mean that this work stops. It continues—in closing the gap, in doing everything that we can in this place, from both sides of parliament. This is our chance to be unified on a topic that shouldn't involve any division, arguments or sides, because it's about taking Australia forward into the future.

We are a very different Australia today from the one when the Constitution originally was written. Australia has moved on since those days. The younger generations, especially, want to see all of us here working together to ensure that we respectfully reconcile the past wrongs and look to a brighter future. This is the best chance that we have to address the injustices, which we cannot ignore, and to create change that will deliver true unity.

I hope that all members of parliament will find it in their hearts to see the importance of supporting this positive step forward, a step to recognise Australia's First Nations People, to recognise that these people were here for 60,000 years before any white person came to Australia, to actively work towards creating a more equitable Australia and to listen to the voices of our constituents. In my electorate, they want to see a future of recognition and respect for all Australians, especially Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

We must all remember that the Voice isn't the government's idea. It was a request from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, and we have the power to help make this monumental change in this place. Every one of us here today should want to contribute, in any way we can, to make sure that meaningful action is followed through. I hear in my electorate people who want to see a government that listens and understands, and we must understand the significance that the constitutional amendment will have on our children and grandchildren and for generations of Australians to come.

This is a very significant and important piece of legislation, and the referendum later on in the year will have a positive impact on Australia for years to come. We don't want the next generations to grow up in a world where not recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is accepted. We want our leaders to show how powerful and unified Australia can be, and this is our opportunity to do that, all of us together—the opposition, the government and all community groups. I know I want to be part of an Australia that recognises its wrongs, involves all, listens to all and acts together so we can build a better future for all Australians.

The detriment of not supporting a First Nations voice is another stab to an already bleeding wound for our Indigenous brothers and sisters. Without appropriate and impactful reconciliation there will always be division. We have a chance to ensure past mistakes will not be able to be repeated. Every one of us has that choice, a choice to be part of a long-sought-after, supported, historic change. I implore every member and every Australian to think wisely when deciding what kind of Australia they want to live in. Is it an Australia that moves forwards? Or is it an Australia that will move backwards if we don't work together to push for a First Nations voice? For those who do oppose it, I ask: If not now, when? And if not yes, why not? We are all here in parliament to be a representatives of the Australian people and to help build a positive, unified way forward.

As I said earlier, recognition in the Constitution should have been done many, many years ago. Recognition is about righting a wrong. It is about a recognition of people who have been here for 60,000 years, but it is not just about the 60,000 years but the culture and languages that have been passed down from generation to generation. There is no other culture in the world like it. We have seen empires come and go, yet the First Nations people have been here for 60,000 years.

Before I finish, I will talk a little about the history of the Kaurna people in the Adelaide Plains, where my seat of Adelaide is located. The Kaurna are the original people of Adelaide and the Adelaide Plains. The area is now occupied by the city and the parklands. It was called by the Kaurna 'Tarntanya', or Red-kangaroo Place. This was the heart of Kaurna country. Before 1836 it was an open grassy plain with patches of trees and shrubs, the results of hundreds and hundreds of generations of skilful land management. Kaurna country encompassed the plains which stretch north and south from Tarntanya and the wooded foothills of the range which borders them to the east. 'Karrawirra Pari', or Red-gum Forest River, is the Kaurna name for the watercourse now called the River Torrens, which runs through my electorate. It was an important resource area and a favourite camping place for the Kaurna people, providing their hunting, water, fish and other foods. The Kaurna were usually called by the colonists 'Cowandilla', which was another First Nations word for 'running water', or 'Adelaide tribe'. The term 'Kaurna' is now generally accepted around the Adelaide Plains as the name for the first inhabitants of that area. They spoke a complex language which reflected their sophistication, culture and deep knowledge of the environment. Kaurna society was ordered by a system of structures. They continued their traditional way of life. Official reports, if you look at the documents, noted their declining numbers. The Kaurna were being decimated by the processes of colonisation, new diseases and alcohol. Underpinning everything else which was very, very detrimental to them was the loss of land and livelihood. This took a very heavy toll on them.

The story of the Kaurna people is not much different from First Nations peoples all around Australia. So I ask this place respectfully—members on all sides—to find it in their hearts to vote for the bill. I know I will be supporting the 'yes' vote when the referendum comes. It's really important that we have a respectful debate and ensure that we right a wrong and recognise that this land was inhabited 60,000 years before the colonists came here.

This is one of the most important bills that I have seen in this place. It will make a real change in terms of the recognition of our First Nations people.

See this speech in context