Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker Andrews, for the privilege and opportunity to speak on this matter in the Chamber today. I don't intend to give a long speech but simply to acknowledge, as many other members have done, the progress that has been made and also the sadness that comes with an agenda unfulfilled and one that continues to need to be supported by all members in this place.

As the Closing the gap report outlines, there is still significant disadvantage experienced by people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage compared to much of the rest of the Australian population. The purpose of Closing the Gap is self-evident, but improving the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders so they can live to their full potential is always in our interests. We must remind everybody that this is in the national interest as well as, of course, in the interest of the people affected, because, when you look at everything that our great country has achieved and everything that is before it into the future, you realise the full potential of the individual, you respect their humanity and their dignity, and what they can contribute to enhancing a greater Australia. That is why this agenda is so critical to Australia today—to address the wrongs of the past but also to build the type of country that we want to be into the future.

As the Closing the gap report outlines, three of the seven targets in the Closing the Gap strategy are on track to be met. But it is with sadness that we also acknowledge that four out of seven are not on track to be achieved at the current rate, and we must redouble our efforts and refocus our energy to make sure they are.

Let's go with the good news. The target to halve the gap in child mortality by 2018 is on track. As the report outlines, over the long term, between 1998 and 2016, the Indigenous child mortality rate declined by 35 per cent. There has been a narrowing of the gap by 32 per cent. Improvements in the key drivers of child and maternal health over the past few years suggest there are further gains to be made. We know the continuing problem of fetal alcohol syndrome in Indigenous communities and remote communities, and these are important issues which continue to need to be addressed. It isn't enough to focus on mortality; it has to be coupled with improved healthcare outcomes throughout all stages of life.

The second target on track is to have 95 per cent of all Indigenous four-year-olds enrolled in early childhood education by 2025. In 2016, around 14,700 Indigenous children, which is 91 per cent, were enrolled in early childhood programs. As we know, that target isn't just about making sure that children are engaged in the discipline of school; it is actually about the important role that education can play in building young minds and in expanding their opportunities beyond the immediacy of their lived experience. We must continue to make sure that we focus on that, because it comes at the heart of the potential for many young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders to go on and live as fulfilled a life as they would seek for themselves, and to know the world beyond them and their immediate surrounds, so they can make their choice about their future.

The target to halve the gap in year 12 attainment by 2020 is also on track. Nationally, the proportion of Indigenous 20- to 24-year-olds who have achieved year 12 or equivalent has increased from 47.4 per cent in 2006 to 65.3 per cent in 2016. While the attainment rates for non-Indigenous Australians also improved at the same time, the gap has narrowed by 12.6 per cent over the past decade, which is a very good achievement as well. It follows on strongly from the sentiments I made about the previous target and the potential and what it can do to improve human lives.

Sadly, though, there is bad news—or news that leaves room for opportunity for us all to struggle together to do better. Unfortunately, the target to close the gap in school attendance by 2018 is not on track. In 2017 the overall attendance rate for Indigenous students nationally was 83.2 per cent, compared with 93 per cent for non-Indigenous students. So there is a need to continue to focus energy on that as well. The target to halve the gap in reading and numeracy by 2018 is also not on track. In 2017 the proportion of Indigenous students achieving national minimum standards in NAPLAN was on track in only one area—year 9 numeracy—of the eight areas, including reading and numeracy across different levels. However, the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students has narrowed since 2008, across all NAPLAN areas, particularly reading in years 3 and 5, and numeracy in years 5 and 9.

Similarly, the target to halve the gap in employment by 2018 is not on track, with Indigenous employment rates falling slightly over the past decade; however, progress is being masked by a change in remote employment programs during this period. The employment rate has improved by 4.2 per cent over the past 10 years. In 2016 the Indigenous employment rate was 46.6 per cent, compared with 71.8 per cent for non-Indigenous Australians.

The final target not to have been met, the one that, I think, always brings the most sadness to every Australian, is the gap in life expectancy, that by 2031 we may see a significant reduction in the gap of life expectancy. Instead, between the periods 2005 and 2007 and between 2010 and 2012 there's been a small reduction in the gap of less than a year for males and 0.1 years for females, so almost no significant shift, tragically, for women. The report states:

Over the longer term, Indigenous mortality rates have declined by 14 per cent since 1998.

This report gives all of us pause for thought. I know that many people have remarked already about the disappointment of what has not been achieved in the past decade, but we also need to recognise what has been achieved as well. We have seen a shift and improvement and a proper focus on many of the issues to improve the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, but, as part of the continuing pursuit of justice for our entire country, we need to continue to focus on and address many of these gaps.

It doesn't sit, of course, in isolation. The targets that are very important to provide the foundations for people to be able to go on and live healthy, happy and successful lives have to be matched with other policy priorities that advance the interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders to be full members and full participants in the Australian community. In my previous capacity as Human Rights Commissioner, one of the bits of work I was very proud to work on was realising the potential of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders over their native title lands to increase the potential for that land to be used to its full extent in the interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders under the control of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders to pursue the interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as part of the fulfilment of the destiny of this great nation.

My hope is that out of this report people will focus on what we need to do next and will make sure that there is proper recognition of the challenges that continue to remain for our Indigenous Australians. It isn't just a responsibility of the state or federal governments. Every Australian needs to take an active interest, because these are our fellow country men and women—people who have experienced many difficult times in the past and the legacy and trauma that continues to be inflicted upon them culturally and socially. It's time that we all took a greater interest and had more sense of obligation about trying to improve the circumstances of every Australian, because that is the only way we will get to the point of developing and building a more inclusive, more harmonious and more respectful nation.

Of course, not having firsthand lived experience of the challenges in many of the areas that this report seeks to address, can sometimes make it challenging for a lot of people, including myself, to understand that lived experience and to participate successfully with full empathy. But I think that most people would see that the situation being faced today by so many other Australians is beyond anything that this nation should tolerate, particularly at this point in our history, with our position of wealth and opportunity. Now is the time for us to take even greater responsibility, to make sure that it does not continue into the future.

Linda Burney (Barton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to join with my parliamentary colleagues in making further comments in relation to the Closing the gap report for 2018. This week in the parliament has been monumental so far. On Monday we saw the Closing the gap report delivered and this morning in the Great Hall we had the breakfast and the coming together of many people from the stolen generations for the 10th anniversary of Kevin Rudd's apology to the stolen generations.

The apology was a truly remarkable and historic moment for our nation. It acknowledged the painful truth and injustice of the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and the destruction of our families, communities and cultures. It also recognised that while these injustices happened in the past the impact is still with us. Intergenerational trauma is becoming more and more understood, and it is very much a part of this discussion.

At the breakfast this morning there were stories, as there are with every gathering of the stolen generations, on painful display, stories about the indignity and the humiliation that members of the stolen generations were made to feel but also stories about their incredible strength and resilience and the amazing generosity of that generation. I think that is a lesson that we can all well take on board. People were taught to be ashamed of their Aboriginality, and they were often lied to about their family and family circumstances. We heard that today. We heard about how separation affected people—not only individuals and families but whole communities—and how, as I said, the vicious cycle of intergenerational pain and humiliation has impacted young people today.

We can see this in the overrepresentation of Indigenous Australians in incarceration or out-of-home care. In fact, my side of the parliament argues that there should be two new additional targets: one in relation to incarceration and the other in relation to out-of-home care. The gap that alarmed me most was the gap that still exists in literacy and numeracy, and the fact that it's not going to be met. I think that that and the school attendance gaps are the real story out of this particular report. And when you start to unpack how the numbers were arrived at and the way in which the calculations were made as to what was on track and what wasn't, you start to get even more questions about the accuracy of the report.

The apology 10 years ago was a great national effort to close the gap but it is also everyone's business. It was also part of the journey towards healing and part of the journey towards reconciliation. I have always maintained that reconciliation is not a destination; in fact, it's a journey. This is about the acknowledgement of this journey and how long it will continue for, and what the tangible, practical and meaningful steps towards closing the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians actually require.

The report the Prime Minister delivered on Monday clearly said that there is so much more to do. I find it rather galling at times when we say we've made such big efforts; we've made such big gains. Well, let's remind ourselves just how low the bar is. Of course, the progress for year 12 completion, early childhood participation and mortality rate improvements are welcomed, but they are still way below those of the broader Australian community. It is also disappointing to still see that the progress in life expectancy, employment, school attendance, and literacy and numeracy outcomes are not going to be met. It is almost incredulous when I speak to people from other countries and say that my life expectancy as a first-nation woman is much less than it is for my non-Aboriginal sisters. It is difficult to understand in a First World nation like ours, a wealthy nation like ours, how this situation can still exist.

We also know that we need to listen and we need leadership. The Labor Party have said to the government, in a very, very real way, that we will work with you but we will not wait with you. We have made the point, although it has been denied, that there has been half a billion dollars cut out of the Indigenous Affairs program, and there are consequences of that that many of us see in our daily lives as members of parliament.

I do want to emphasise in the little bit of time I have left the proposed cuts to the remote housing program. If these funds are cut, if this effort is not renewed with the states and territories, then we may as well not even print a Closing the Gap report next year, because it will make a mockery of the whole idea of closing the gap. One of the important things is this notion of self-determination, which was clearly one of the recommendations in the Bringing them home report. Self-determination is at the heart of closing the gap; self-determination is at the heart of much of the rhetoric of both sides of parliament in this place. Self-determination can be realised by way of an Indigenous voice to this parliament. We want to work with the government on this, and I was very disappointed to hear the Prime Minister's statements in the House today in light of this.

Last night, I attended the screening of a film about the alarming rates of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care. It is just incredulous, and I know each side of politics agrees wholeheartedly with this. It is difficult to accept. We understand that the states are the jurisdictions that basically look after child protection, but the number of children in out-of-home care has doubled in the last 10 years. One of the women last night said there is not a new Stolen Generation but that the Stolen Generation has never finished.

I have spoken about many things today and I'm not going to be able to speak about everything that I wanted to, but I did want to say that I am very proud of Labor's story when it comes to Indigenous policy. We will never forget that image of Gough Whitlam pouring sand into the hands of Vincent Lingiari at the handover of Uluru, of the Whitlam government's abolishment of discriminatory practices perpetrated against Aboriginal Australians. We also know that we look at the Keating government's passage of native title and also the Mabo decision. Keating's Redfern statement is something that will sear into the heart of this country forever. I know some of you were here at the time, but I was in the gallery, actually, when Kevin Rudd made the apology to the Stolen Generations. We, today, make an ongoing commitment to the Stolen Generations by way of a $10 million fund and also reparations when it comes to the ACT, the Northern Territory and other federal jurisdictions. We will also have a first-nations children's summit within the first 100 days of forming government if Labor is elected.

I will finish my comments today to this chamber by saying that it is critical that there be a mechanism put in place. We're not talking about a third chamber; we are talking about an advisory committee to this parliament, made up of first nations peoples from across the country, to make sure that the decisions that we make within this parliament will truly contribute to the realisation of closing the gap and the aspirations in the Bringing them home report. As I said, we are prepared to work with the government in a very real way, and Labor, as a first step to ultimately recognising the first nations voice, will do some preliminary work around what that voice might look like.

I finish by saying we are confident that, in the fullness of time, the Australian public will see that this is an important mechanism within the parliament and something that we can all embrace. This, too, will not be easy, but Labor has listened and Labor now stands ready to lead. We ask the Prime Minister and the government to do the same thing.

Lucy Wicks (Robertson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to respond to the 10th Closing the gap report, tabled yesterday by the Prime Minister. I would like to begin by acknowledging that we are meeting on Ngunawal country, and I acknowledge and pay respects to their elders past, present and future. Reflecting on the past 10 years of the Closing the Gap framework, there's been a lot of progress, but I think we can all recognise that there's a lot more work to be done. As I look around this parliament, I see a resolve and a commitment to close the gap on all sides of the chamber. I see it when I'm part of events such as as the co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of the Close the Gap Campaign and I see it as a member of the backbench policy committee on Indigenous affairs in the government. I see it in the hard work and the commitment of the Prime Minister, the Minister for Indigenous Affairs and the Minister for Indigenous Health, including through this government's commitment to continuing this work with the involvement of First Australians as well as all states and territories. And I see it in the heartbeat of our Indigenous people on the Central Coast through their passion and their care for one another and our community.

In particular, on a day like today, I'd like to pay tribute to the Barang organisation, which includes the NAISDA Dance College, led by the talented and indefatigable Kim Walker; Yerin Aboriginal Health Services, led by Central Coast local Belinda Field; and, of course, the Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council, led by our respected community leader Sean Gordon. To each of you, thank you for the extraordinary work that you do in our community.

I'd also like to place on the parliamentary record the resolve and commitment demonstrated on a daily basis by the selfless advocates at The Glen. The Glen is the largest Aboriginal drug and alcohol residential rehabilitation centre in New South Wales. It's based at Chittaway Point and it's assisting our Indigenous community right across the Central Coast and, indeed, beyond. Under the leadership of CEO Joseph Coyte, The Glen is a great example of how the Closing the Gap process is more than just a piece of paper, it's more than just a symbol and it's more than just a process. For people like Joe, there are people coming to The Glen who need help, rehabilitation and support that I'd venture to say extend well beyond what those of us in this place would have to deal with in our everyday lives. At The Glen, opportunity is more than a mission statement. It's a life-changing shift that can save lives and open doors to a brighter future. But to get there we first need the framework that's enabled by initiatives like the Indigenous Procurement Policy, or IPP. Joe has told me that The Glen has responded to the IPP by starting numerous social enterprises, including setting up a separate company to make profits that help fund the running of the rehabilitation program. Joe said:

This is a space that we have strategically identified as a possible avenue for us to help create employment opportunities for Indigenous people.

Joe also told me that the IPP will allow The Glen to become self-reliant, moving away from a reliance on government funding and, thus, allowing them to drive the future direction of the organisation. It's a practical example of what is being achieved. The IPP target was achieved three years ahead of schedule and has now eclipsed $1 billion in contracts to Indigenous business since it was launched 2½ years ago, up from just $6.2 million in 2012-13. The success of the IPP shows what we can achieve together when we set targets for which we have responsibility.

Importantly, this is not the only item that's now on track. As we heard in the House, for the first time since 2011, three of the Closing the Gap targets are on track. I acknowledge that this may not, for many, be seen as a significant step forward, but it is progress nonetheless. This year, the Closing the gap report found that the target to halve child mortality is back on track, with significant improvements in health care. Between 1998 and 2016 we've seen a decline of 35 per cent in the Indigenous child mortality rate and a closing of the gap by 32 per cent. The report also indicates outcomes in education are improving, with the early childhood education and year 12 attainment targets on track. Today there around 14,700 or 91 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children enrolled in early childhood education in the crucial year before starting school. This improvement means the target to have 95 per cent of Indigenous four-year-olds enrolled in early childhood education by 2025 is set to be realised. There are also more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students staying on until year 12, with over 65 per cent of Indigenous young adults aged 20 to 24 achieving year 12 or equivalent—well up from around 47 per cent in 2006.

I know, in concluding, that there is a thirst and desire for this common ground to be more than just a statement, particularly when it comes to our young people. This is true on the Central Coast, for example, with the advocacy of locals like Lisa Wriley in Kariong, who for many years has been involved in activities that have drawn together people from across our region to tackle issues around closing the gap and much more. Lisa told me about the initiatives of people like Dr Beryl Collier, Reverend Penny Jones, Phil Bligh and many others who hosted film screenings and barbecues for Indigenous young people. In fact, at the wonderful Kariong Eco Garden, there is a truly inspiring welcome mural and display, including a panel painted by Aunty Joyce Dukes. I'd love to know that this local committee and its initiatives have a future, and I commit to finding out.

I also know that it's another example of my community's desire to do their bit in helping to close the gap. It echoes the sentiments expressed by the Prime Minister, who spoke about how the solution to closing the gap rests within the imagination, the ingenuity, the passion and the drive of Indigenous people themselves, with government the enabler of their success. We must also seek common ground, the Prime Minister said, guided by the values that make us all Australians—values of mutual respect, equality and equal treatment under the law. I commend the latest Closing the gap report and I thank the House for the opportunity to speak to it.

Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Treasury) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last year, I put together a video for Harmony Day and I asked locals from various multicultural backgrounds to deliver a message of peace and unity in their native language. We had representatives from the Chinese, the Greek, the Bangladeshi, the Indian and the Muslim communities, who delivered a message in their native language for Harmony Day. But I wanted the video to begin with the oldest language of our area—the language of the local Aboriginal population at La Perouse, the Bidjigal people. When I made inquiries with the local community about finding someone to begin the video in that local language, I was stunned to learn that there was no-one left in that community that could speak the language. In fact, when many of those now elders were children at the La Perouse primary school they were actively discouraged from speaking their native language by the teachers at the school. They relayed stories to me of talking in their native language at school earning them a rap over the knuckles from the teacher. As a result, that language is now lost to Australia. In the wake of that, I thought to myself, 'What a waste.' Here we have the oldest continuing culture in the world, and a language that passes on and tells the stories of that culture—that history, that connection those people have with the lands and the waters around Kamay, or Botany Bay as it's more commonly known—is lost to generations. That is a symbol of the disrespect that white Australians have shown to Aboriginal Australians over the last 200 years.

There has been a lot of talk in this place and in Australian commentary over the course of the last couple of years about our approach to Aboriginal reconciliation and what we need to do as a nation to close the gap, to reconcile with Aboriginal people and, ultimately, to provide them with a better quality of life and higher living standards. A common theme that we've heard is, 'Do things with us, not to us.' That can be summarised in one word, in my view: respect. The Aboriginal people are only asking for respect, the respect that hasn't been there for the last 200 years. That is evident in the fact that they were not represented under our Constitution as citizens of our country until 1967. We thought we knew what was best for them when we took their babies away from them, despite the fact that parents were capable of raising their own children in a loving family environment as part of a community. We believed that they shouldn't have access to proper education and to places of public importance in our nation—most notably, pubs—where, in the past, we asked people to be segregated. Unfortunately, young Aboriginal men are well over-represented in our jails throughout the country, through their rates of incarceration.

I don't believe that present-day Australia, particularly with this Turnbull government, is adhering to that motto of, 'Do things with us, not to us.' That is evident in the Turnbull government's approach to the Uluru Statement from the Heart from the Aboriginal people. That was their voice. It was their recommendation to the leaders of this nation of that view, 'Do things with us, not to us.' It was their recommendation to ensure that that can occur in Australian politics. It was dismissed out of hand by this Prime Minister. In fact, it was done in a disrespectful way in that it was leaked from cabinet before it was even announced publicly that the government were rejecting those recommendations. It was a blanket dismissal of the wishes and the will of the Aboriginal people. It was disrespect continuing, unfortunately.

Now we've released the ninth Closing the gap report and it makes damning reading, once again. We are only making progress in actually closing the gap with three of the seven goals. And we're not going to close that gap—we are not going to make progress in these identifiable areas that the parliament has assigned as areas of proof of closing the gap—while we continue to show disrespect to Aboriginal people. At the heart of the problem is the fact that we continue to disrespect Aboriginal people in the approach that this government takes to Aboriginal affairs.

That's why, when it comes to life expectancy, there's a huge gap between Aboriginal Australia and white Australia, and why we're not on track to meet the goal of closing the gap on life expectancy by 2031. When it comes to school attendance, there's still a gap and we're not on track. When it comes to halving the gap in teaching reading and numeracy for Indigenous students, we are not on track. And we are not on track when it comes to halving the gap in employment by 2018. Thankfully, we are on track in three of the areas: child mortality, early education and halving the gap in year 12 attainment by 2020.

Bill Shorten has announced, quite properly, that if elected at the next election Labor will add a justice target, where we will work to reduce the shocking rates of incarceration of young Indigenous men. Each year in NAIDOC Week, I visit Long Bay jail and attend a function with Aboriginal inmates. Unfortunately, there are too many of them in Long Bay jail. You see in their eyes the lost hope, the feeling of despair from being away from country and from community and the plight of Aboriginal people over the course of the last 200 years.

For me, it all begins with respect. That gap is not going to halve and we're not going to make progress on Aboriginal affairs until we begin to show respect to Aboriginal people. We haven't done that in the past, and it's time that we started to do that. Thankfully, Bill Shorten has said that, if we are elected, we will introduce this justice target. More importantly, we will offer compensation for the victims of the stolen generations. We'll set up a $10 million healing fund to work with those people, and we'll launch an inquiry into the shocking rates of out-of-home care for Aboriginal children. Importantly, we'll also show respect to the Aboriginal people by working with them on the recommendations of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, rather than dismissing them out of hand, because we believe that respect means actually doing things with Aboriginal people, not doing things to them. That means action, not just hollow words. Labor, led by Bill Shorten, is committed to doing that.

Cathy O'Toole (Herbert, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today marks the 10th anniversary since the former Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologised unreservedly to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of Australia. This was a watershed moment for our country. It was a step in the right direction towards achieving reconciliation and an opportunity to begin genuine truth-telling and healing that would benefit our whole nation. This was the day when we said 'sorry' for the mistreatment, injustices and hurts that the stolen generations experienced. They carry the scars to this very day. It was a day when all Australians embraced one another and a day when we committed to working together to genuinely create equal opportunities. To use Senator McCarthy's words, the day of the apology was a day where our nation's heart beat as one.

Ten years ago today, we aspired to do better for our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander brothers and sisters in communities across the nation. We set out what were perceived to be ambitious targets to close the gap, to improve the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. These targets included closing the gap in life expectancy within a generation; halving the gap in mortality rates for Indigenous children under five within a decade; having 95 per cent of all Indigenous four-year-olds enrolled in early childhood education by 2025; closing the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous school attendance in five years, by 2018; halving the gap for Indigenous children in reading, writing and numeracy achievements within a decade, by 2018; halving the gap for Indigenous Australians aged 20 to 24 in year 12 attainment or equivalent attainment rates by 2020; and halving the gap in employment outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians within a decade, by 2018.

The 2018 Closing the gap report finds that, for the first time since 2011, three of the seven closing the gap targets are on track to be met. Sadly, however, this demonstrates that we are behind on four of the seven targets that we aim to achieve. This then begs the question: are we succeeding in achieving our objectives to close the gap? Are our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander brothers and sisters getting better lives in rural and remote communities?

Today especially I reflect on whether the lives of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been made better since the apology. We must read the Closing the gap report in its entirety and acknowledge the fact that we have not succeeded and that we can, and must, do better. If the lives of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had improved, then we would not see the life expectancy for Aboriginal people at approximately 10 years less than that of non-Indigenous people. The suicide rate for Aboriginal people is six times higher than that of the non-Aboriginal population. Countrywide, rates of imprisonment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are worse per capita than they were for coloured people in South Africa during apartheid! Clearly, governments aren't doing anywhere near enough.

I am proud to be the member for Herbert, which includes the largest discrete Aboriginal community in Australia, on Palm Island. Against all odds, the Palm Island people have survived and launched their centenary anniversary this year. The men came to this island in chains. The dormitories have left a lasting impact on the people of Palm Island. Palm Island has a rich history, but it is a history rich in pain. But they are a resilient community, with some unique challenges that the Turnbull government is completely ignoring.

Palm Island's unemployment rate is almost 27 per cent. The Palm Island Shire Council, led by Mayor Alf Lacey, are doing remarkable work to address these issues, and I will continue to work with them to secure recognition, equality and a better life. The biggest threat that the Palm Island community has now is the Turnbull government's cuts to the National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing. Instead of working with the community to address unemployment, the Turnbull government is cutting the national partnership on remote Indigenous housing, a 10-year, $5.4 billion program which expires on 30 June this year. For the Palm Island community this means job losses. Let me reiterate: it has a 27 per cent unemployment rate. Because of the Turnbull government's cuts, seven apprentices on Palm Island will lose their jobs. Last week during question time I asked the Prime Minister why he was cutting the program. He couldn't answer the question and instead referred the question to the Minister for Indigenous Health, the member for Hasluck, the Hon. Ken Wyatt.

Labor is prepared to work with the government, but rest assured that we will not wait for them when it comes to bettering the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Yesterday, the Leader of the Opposition, Bill Shorten, announced a few policies that Labor will take to the next election. A Labor government will provide $10 million to programs that assist with the healing of stolen generation members and their descendants nationwide. These are to be administered by the Healing Foundation. It will implement a program that will look at intergenerational healing, family reunion and return to country. Labor will work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to set justice targets, reduce incarceration rates and improve community safety. In its first 100 days, a new Labor government will convene a national summit for first nation children.

Further to this, Labor has already started working on legislating an Indigenous voice to parliament, without government support, because bipartisan issues of constitutional change do not mean doing nothing. Labor will work to enshrine a voice in the Constitution; a declaration to be passed by all parliaments—Commonwealth and state—acknowledging the unique place of the first nations people in our history, and of their culture and their connection. There will also be a makarrata commission to oversee a process of agreement-making and truth-telling.

Serious action needs to be taken to address closing the gap, and it needs to start today. It's a national shame that must be addressed urgently, and it certainly doesn't start with the Turnbull government cutting seven apprenticeship jobs on Palm Island. My message to the Turnbull government is simple: falling short of our targets does not mean that we should begin lowering those targets. We need to identify why the targets are not being met.

We do have to have the courage to acknowledge that a one-size-fits-all solution is totally unacceptable. We have to accept that we do not have the answers ourselves. We need the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to have self-determination, and when we see that happen we will see the gap closed. If governments are failing to meet the current targets then we must ask why, and continue to ask why. This is about doing what is right. Labor will work with the government on Indigenous affairs, but we certainly will not wait for them.

Ian Goodenough (Moore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It being approximately 6.30 pm, the debate is interrupted under standing order 192B. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.