Ken Wyatt (Hasluck, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I present the Uluru Bark Petition, which has been approved by the Standing Committee on Petitions.

The petition read as follows—

To the Honourable The Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives

From the Aboriginal People of Australia and being undersigned by members of the Argan, Arrernte, Bidjara, Biripi, Bundjalung, Bunuba, Dainggatti, Erub, Gidja, Githabul, Gooniyandi, Gumbainggir, Juggera, Jaru, Juru, Kabi-Kabi-Waka-Waka, Kamilaroi, Karajarri, Kaylagal, Koara, Kooma, Luritja, Mamu, Mangala, Mantjintjarra, Mara, Meriam Mir, Munjunjarli, Ngaanyatjarra, Noongar, Nyawaygi, Nyigina, Pitjantjatjara, Wadi-Wadi, Wagilak, Walawurru, Walmatjarri, Wangkumara, Wiradjuri, Wongatha, Wooroora, Wuthathi, Yankuntjatjara, Yidingi-Mbabaram, Yidingi-Mullen-Barra, Balardung people groups and tribes, representing the Aboriginal People of Australia, hereby declare:

The Aboriginal People of Australia are the original inhabitants and the first Nation people of this great southern land Australia. Our continuing cultures and traditions are l,000s of years old and are recognised as the oldest on Earth. Although Aboriginal People come together as one nation through many different self-governing language and kinship groups with unique cultures and traditions, the sanctity of marriage between man and woman continues to be held in honour among all.

Our Fathers and Mothers are also honoured and form the foundation of our families, clans and systems, and pass down our teachings, our culture, our traditions, from generation to generation. It is therefore an affront to the Aboriginal People of Australia to suggest another definition of marriage.

The Aboriginal people of Australia recognise the House of Representatives as a governing body and strongly calls upon the House to reject any attempt to redefine the institution of marriage, and in doing so, honour the sanctity of both the tradition of marriage and the spiritual implication of this sacred union.

from 40 citizens

Petition received.

On indulgence: I was approached by the leaders of 70 different cultural groups to present the Uluru Bark Petition on their behalf and to make a very short statement on the purpose of the petition. It is a petition to be presented to you, Mr Speaker. I seek leave to make that statement.

Leave granted.

The statement that the elders would like me to read and pass to Peter Walker is:

Over 70 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, including senior Elders, travelled from various regions including the Kimberleys, Western Australia and Far North Queensland, to gather at Parliament House to raise a united Indigenous voice on the 'same-Sex marriage issue.'

…   …   …

The heart of the Petition states that marriage between a man and woman is, and has always been, sacred to the oldest living culture on earth. The Petition adds that fathers and mothers—who are deeply honoured in Aboriginal culture—also form the "foundation of our families, clans and systems, and pass down our teachings, our culture, our traditions, from generation to generation."