Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The member for Durack has said that the Voice to Parliament referendum was 'divisive', language that is parroted by all those on that side. They mean divisive in a pejorative sense, in a black-and-white sense, in a First Nations and non-First Nations sense. Obviously the nation divides every election day. We make a decision, we cast a ballot and then we unite. It's no big thing to actually make a decision, especially when it comes to changing the Constitution. An idea—taking something to the Australian people and saying, 'This is something you should consider'—should not be something that scares people. The fact that our birth document does not mention First Nations people is surely something all sensible people would want corrected.

But the most divisive thing that I saw about this constitutionally entrenched and budgeted-for process was the misinformation peddled by the member for Durack and her colleagues—not all of her colleagues but some of her colleagues. For example, Senator Price from the Northern Territory, on referendum day, Saturday 14 October, was actually in my electorate of Moreton, on the south side of Brisbane. She was hard at it, spreading poisonous words and misinformation at some of my local booths, standing amongst some of the poorest people in Brisbane, before going off to party that night with a couple of millionaires—unbelievable.

When I think about the 'yes' campaign in Moreton, it makes me feel very, very proud, because people of all ages and political persuasions turned up in large numbers to take part in a grassroots, community based campaign, and none swanned in on jets from the Northern Territory; they were all locals. Most had never doorknocked before, and most were not political. They were nervous but passionate. It was their shared values that motivated them to doorknock and to talk to strangers about why they were voting yes, because they believed in constitutional recognition for our First Nations people and for the opportunities for change that a Voice to Parliament could provide—a simple advisory body that could help solve a wicked problem.

Obviously the people of Australia said, 'Not yet,' but we know that change is in the wind. This group of people in Moreton, like the broader 'yes' campaign, were peddling hope, a positive vision for a better future and the acknowledgement and honouring of the 65,000-year history of our First Nations peoples. There was no dog-whistle division in Moreton. The 'yes' campaign brought people of all descriptions together in a very positive environment. The Albanese government is now focused on our deep and unwavering commitment to working with our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and taking action to address entrenched inequality. Surely that's something that we can all agree on?

In the months since the referendum, the Minister for Indigenous Australians met with community members across the country, as well as the Indigenous affairs ministers from every state and territory. Indigenous Australians want action, not more reports and a punching-down by hypocritical, shortsighted politicians looking for cheap political points. They don't want another royal commission into child protection and nor do the 157 stakeholders working in the child protection sector. Instead, we listened to their recommendation for the appointment of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children's commissioner to work on the scourge of child abuse and ensure that every child has the right to grow up safely and healthily. They don't want another audit on Indigenous affairs spending, especially when there have been more than 20 audits since 2014. The National Indigenous Australians Agency has already begun implementing all of the Auditor-General's recommendations to ensure strong governance and accountability in programs and services, and this will be backed up by new integrity branch.

What Indigenous Australians want is action on health, jobs, education, housing and justice. The Albanese Labor government listens to First Nations communities. We are working and collaborating with them to design and implement the programs that they want and that will work. The remote jobs program is creating 3,000 jobs with proper wages and decent conditions over the next three years. We want to double the number of Indigenous rangers by up to 1,000 jobs by 2030. Our fee-free TAFE courses attracted over 14,000 First Nations students, opening up pathways for future employment, diverse opportunities and, importantly, purpose and wellbeing. And $100 million is been invested in urgent work on new and existing housing and essential infrastructure in the Northern Territory homelands. Obviously, we must always put First Nations leaders at the centre of all such decisions. Under the Albanese Labor government, First Nations people will go forward.

See this speech in context