Marion Scrymgour (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

There are critical moments in political careers in which one gets the opportunity to be part of something bigger, to take a stand and work towards a brighter future. The Voice to Parliament represents such a chance for all of us in this place and in Australia, a once-in-a-generation opportunity. I want to pay tribute to the leadership of our Prime Minister for advancing the cause of the Uluru Statement from the Heart. It would have been easy to put this in the too-hard basket, just like the member for Cook did for many years. It would have been politically understandable for him to take a back seat, yet he has shown a remarkable degree of courage. As he so eloquently puts it, if not now, when?

I want to pay tribute to our Minister for Indigenous Australians, my friend the member for Barton, Linda Burney. Our mob are not easy taskmasters. They demand a lot from their representatives. The Minister for Indigenous Australians has charted this government a path that has put Indigenous affairs at the centre of government policy, and she has done it with grace and strength. Thank you. I think of Senator Jana Stewart; my colleague the member for Robertson, Gordon Reid; and other First Nations people, but I in particular think about Senator Dodson and Senator Malarndirri McCarthy.

We all know we're not elected, paid and given privileged positions to make easy decisions. We're expected to confront real issues with character and conviction. I want to acknowledge those opposite who have shown character and conviction. To all my Labor colleagues: you have all shown that this side of parliament has what it takes to bring our nation together, to heal deep wounds and to take courageous steps forward. I know it's not easy to stand up to do better. I know that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will acknowledge and appreciate the sense of integrity you all bring to your jobs. I also want to recognise the work of the former Minister for Indigenous Australians, Ken Wyatt. I have huge respect for our former Indigenous Australians minister. Regardless of our political colours I always enjoyed working with Ken. He is a person who cares deeply for our people. To have him join the yes campaign is a big moment, and I recognise his continual advocacy to try and make things better for First Nations people across the country. This is not a political campaign in the normal sense, nor should it be; this is an extension of a long history of advocacy from First Nations leaders stretching back to at least the early years of the century before the one we are in now.

I want to spend a few moments reflecting on the struggle of how we have come to this moment—a struggle I hope the Australian people will appreciate for all its hard-fought nature and dogged perseverance. For over 60,000 years our First Nations people have inhabited this land. First Nations people cared for country, undertook trade, formed complex social structures and developed unique spiritual and cultural practices. We are the first inhabitants of this great continent and have been intricately connected to its land and waters for countless generations.

In 1770 Captain Cook navigated the east coast of Australia. He and his crew observed Aboriginal people occupying parts of the coastline during the course of their journey. Cook had instructions on behalf of the King which told him:

You are also—

and this is really important—

with the Consent of the Natives to take Possession of Convenient Situations in the Country in the Name of the King of Great Britain: Or: if you find the Country uninhabited take Possession for his Majesty by setting up Proper Marks and Inscriptions, as first discoverers and possessors.

Australia was never uninhabited, and the British did not have the consent of the natives to set up colonies here. Notwithstanding that, towards the end of his trip up the east coast Cook climbed a hill on a small island a few miles north-west of the coast of Cape York. He performed a simple ceremony in which he claimed the whole of eastern Australia for the Crown. There was no plan at the time to set up a future settlement; the main point of this exercise was to make a claim as against other European nations—in particular the French.

When the British came back to Australia in 1788 for the purposes of setting up a penal colony, it was different. This time Governor Phillip's instruction didn't mention getting the consent of the natives, and he was told to claim all territory westward to align right down the middle of what became South Australia and the Northern Territory. Unlike Cook in 1770, the British in 1788 didn't have a look and then leave; they stayed. What the British did in Australia was different from what they did in other parts of the world when establishing their colonies. The international law of the day and the recognised practice of the British themselves required engagement with Indigenous people occupying the land the British wanted to colonise. Terra nullius was the toxic pretence utilised to ignore their own rules and justify this massive land grab. The moral bankruptcy of the terra nullius pretext was demonstrated repeatedly throughout Australia over the next 150 years, as Aboriginal resistance was crushed with lethal force. That was something which wasn't supposed to be necessary with an uninhabited continent. The solution to this problem was to substantially outsource the dirty work required to clear people from the country.

I am from the Northern Territory, so I'm particularly interested in what happened in the north. In the early 1990s I was working in the Indigenous health sector. In Hidden histories by Deborah Bird Rose, a Native American anthropologist who dedicated much of her life working with the people of the Katherine west region, there are oral histories she recorded which confirmed massacres happened within living memory in and around the VRD region and beyond—some of the best cattle country in the Territory. The things Debbie Rose wrote about were not far away and long-ago things. They were raw and front of mind for the old men in the communities I worked with when setting up Katherine West Health Board.

Henry Reynolds, in his novel Truth-telling, wrote about the impact of colonisation. He certainly looked at the:

… generation of colonial leaders who shepherded their people into the new federal government on the first day of the new century the blood on their hands notwithstanding.

Because that is the truth of it: this Constitution, this birth certificate which we now seek to amend in such a modest way, was predicated on allowing the participating colonies to complete the project of cancelling out Aboriginal people, which they'd already embarked upon.

Giving our people a real voice now is the least that this country can do to make good the wrong that has existed at the heart of our founding document. William Cooper, and I heard his name mentioned before; Dexter Daniels; Vincent Lingiari; Eddie Mabo; Charlie Perkins; Pat Dodson; the late Mr Yunupingu; Faith Thomas; Truganini; Shirley Smith; Gladys Elphick; Eleanor Harding; Essie Coffey; Faith Bandler; Dr Lowitja McDonald O'Donoghue; and Joyce Clarke: all of them, at critical junctures in our history, fought tirelessly for justice. There have been some gains over the years, and many dispiriting losses. The Voice to Parliament must and should be viewed in the context of the efforts of these 20th century champions. They spoke truth to power, and the realisation of that truth is beginning to dawn on many Australians. At the end of the day, they are all saying the same thing: listen to us for who we are, the only ones who can properly speak for our country and our issues.

When I was putting down all these names, I realised Senator Dodson is probably the only one on that list of men who have fought over many years who is still with us. I so much hope that he will see this happen in his lifetime. I am thinking of you, Senator Dodson, and your lifetime of advocacy in fighting for our people. Senator McCarthy and I have often said to each other that we are here for a reason, and this is it. Pearl Gibbs—I often think about Pearl Gibbs, and I've read a lot about what she did—was the Aboriginal woman who planted the seed for the 1967 referendum.

The Constitutional Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice) Bill recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the first people of Australia. The Indigenous losers from the colonial enterprise do not get any restoration or reparation from the Voice in relation to what they lost. They just get an opportunity to be heard. What a small price for Australia to pay for us to be recognised in our region, and in the community of nations generally, as a country which is coming to terms with its past. The words of the new section are simple but powerful. They will allow for the establishment of an enduring institution which would make representations to parliament and the executive on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It will provide a mechanism for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to advocate and advise on policy that affects them.

I am Tiwi on my mother's side and Anmatyerr on my father's. As with other First Nation people, both the Tiwi and the Anmatyerr people have their own language and their traditional country. These things go back long before colonisation. I've been speaking to many people in the Lingiari community about the Voice. The Voice is a convenient word for saying 'let the right people talk'. If you ask community people, 'Do you support the Voice?' some of them might say: 'What do you mean? What's that word?' If you ask the same person, 'Should your people be allowed to talk to government about any government policies or laws that affect you and your country?' they will say: 'Are you stupid? Of course!' If you tell them the story of the Australian Constitution, that no Northern Territory countrymen—in fact, no First Nations people from anywhere in Australia—were consulted and that deliberate decisions were made to further marginalise them, they would be appalled.

People in my Lingiari communities want to achieve better outcomes when it comes to health, education and employment. People are aware of the problems with domestic violence and substance abuse and that there is a need to fix those too, but the starting point for everything is respect. People aren't asking to be heard because they are from any particular race. The racial characteristics of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are a complete red herring. In the Northern Territory, particular groups of Aboriginal people are asking to be heard because, since time immemorial, they've had obligations to, and responsibilities for, a particular part of this continent, and their culture and traditions are bound up with living at that place. It is disgraceful that people use that as a means to create doubt and division in the hearts and minds of people.

I get that there are Australians who have already made up their minds and will vote no. No other Australian has the same obligations and responsibilities. If something is going to happen that will affect Tiwi Islands and the people living there, they want to be able to speak about it to government, not just as Australians but as Tiwi. No matter where you go, on whichever group's country, the sentiment will be the same. People do not feel that they've been listened to for who they are, and the current political system does not have the bandwidth to properly register the nuance and context of that grievance. This referendum is a major step towards fixing that for this country. I commend this bill to the House.

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