Tania Lawrence (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Durack for shining a light on the continuing challenges facing Australian governments in closing the gap of disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Like my electorate of Hasluck, the member's electorate of Durack has a strong representation of diverse Aboriginal communities. When you strip away the political rhetoric in this motion it shows that the member for Durack cares, as I do, about improving outcomes. We share that common goal.

These are complex problems precisely because of their genesis. We must remain cognisant of the impact that the wholesale displacement of people from land, language and culture has had and the ways in which governments therefore need to respond. As the Uluru Statement from the Heart so graciously invited us to do, we need to continue to listen and be led by these communities. That statement closes with these words:

We invite you to walk with us—

walk with us—

in a movement of the Australian people for a better future.

I thank the member for the opportunity to speak on the government's commitment to a considered, deliberate and methodical approach to closing the gap. The Albanese government, with the leadership of Minister Burney, has engaged deeply with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to better prepare and implement policies that are community centred and that have an opportunity to provide sustainable, ongoing, positive impacts and success.

We have, among other things, created the new remote jobs program, funded 500 First Nations health workers, improved access to safe and reliable drinking water in the Northern Territory, committed $100 million for housing and essential infrastructure on Northern Territory homelands, provided housing for remote Northern Territory communities and created a landmark justice and reinvestment package to improve the community's safety and reduce incarceration rates. We've had over 14,000 First Nations students enrol in fee-free TAFE, improved access to renal services in remote communities, started on our plan to double Indigenous rangers by 2030 and supported the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation to employ 260 new workers.

The motion uses the words 'completely absent', and 'completely absent' describes what really has been a lack of a meaningful or coherent plan to properly listen over the last nine years of the coalition government. No clear attempt to build capacity in the community is evidenced—to be able to understand and to empower them to contribute to the conversations about solutions. It was more of the same paternalistic government-knows-best policies and packages, an approach which successive Closing the gap reports have shown to have been largely ineffective. This is what the Uluru statement speaks directly to. This is why our government has committed to providing an opportunity for voters to have their say on a constitutionally enshrined voice to parliament. The Australian public did not accept that proposal, even where it had overwhelming support from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We accept the outcome of the referendum. We continue now with renewed vigour to work at the challenge of closing the gap.

Following the referendum, Minister Burney has continued to engage in conversations with Indigenous Australians nationwide, gaining further insights into how best to have that voice heard in the absence of the structure proposed in the referendum. The government's commitment to collaborating with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities remains steadfast, recognising the importance of their perspectives and their involvement. The priorities reiterated consistently by community and representative bodies are health, jobs, education, housing and justice. I attended the 16th anniversary celebration of the national apology during the last sitting. At that event, we were challenged by the speakers to do better. On the same day, Minister Burney and the Prime Minister recommitted the government to the task with a fresh approach entailing a focus on self-determination and the building of capacity at the community level.

The government's tenets are formal partnerships and shared decision-making, building the community controlled sector, transforming government organisations so that they work for everyone and shared access to data and information to better support that work. I think we can all agree that the status quo is unacceptable. The government's approach will be informed by First Nations voices. The attitude of government-knows-best without that input has demonstrably failed over the past decade. At its base, closing the gap is about addressing entrenched inequality. We can do better, and this government is committed to doing better. I look forward to the constructive contributions of the member for Durack and this House.

See this speech in context