Katie Allen (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on a matter of great importance to my electorate of Higgins and, indeed, to our nation at large—Indigenous recognition. I would like to start by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet and pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging. As I said in my first speech, a strong country is one that is at peace with its past.

Certainly, the Statement from the Heart was an important and historic process in progressing peace with our past. However, despite its immense value, the Statement from the Heart did not prescribe specific details about how to practically legislate on this very issue.

Indigenous culture is an essential and core part of our national heritage and fabric. We need to continue to embrace it, through the themes of voice, treaty and truth. Accordingly, further work is needed to define the detail of an Indigenous voice, and this is what our government is seeking to undertake. Our government is working to empower Indigenous Australians, and at a deeply practical level we strive to close the gap for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.

The recent date of 26 January marks a contentious date in our national calendar for some in this country. Contentious issues such as these only further highlight our need for a voice for Indigenous Australians, to ensure that our First Nations peoples' voice is amplified and heard on this very important issue and on other matters that affect them. The Morrison government believes that the Indigenous community requires a strong and distinct voice. With this in mind, at the heart of our decision-making, we have committed $7.3 million for the co-design process to determine options for an Indigenous voice.

I know that some in my electorate of Higgins have a view that we should change the date of Australia Day. They have written to me as their member and representative to outline their immense passion for this matter. However, others in my community want Australia Day to remain on 26 January. They tell me they are not convinced that changing the date of Australia Day would right the wrongs of the past nor that it would progress closing the gap for our valuable and vulnerable Indigenous community. I listen to the voices of Higgins and, whilst I am open to a conversation about changing the date—if that is indeed the wish of the Australian people, and particularly our Indigenous community—I am not open to cancelling the date. I believe this would be a backward step for our country.

I think all Australians want to be proud of who we are. We need to be able to understand our past and respect that our history has been complicated. We need to come together for these types of conversations—much like the Indigenous community concept of 'yarning'. We need to speak respectfully to each other, to better gain an understanding of how to embrace our past and move forward to a better future, one where Indigenous Australians do not have a yawning gap in health, education, employment and mortality outcomes; one where we can celebrate the beauty and dignity of Australia's Indigenous culture—the longest surviving culture, one that is more than 60,000 years old.

With this in mind, the Morrison government has now launched the second stage of the Indigenous voice co-design process, inviting all Australians to provide their feedback on Indigenous voice proposals. If anyone in the electorate of Higgins—and, indeed, Australia-wide—would like to provide feedback, please visit voice.niaa.gov.au and have your voice heard in the process. It's so important for all Australians.

Higgins has a proud history regarding constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians. It was Prime Minister Harold Holt, the first member for Higgins, whose government successfully passed the 1967 Australian referendum for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. In continuing the legacy of my electorate, I am proud to be a member of the parliamentary working group on Indigenous recognition. The meetings that I have participated in over the past year give me hope that we can move to right the wrongs of the past.

There is no doubt that we are currently at an important milestone in our country's history in the way of Indigenous recognition. This is a time for us to look forward and take action. This is a time to seek to be at peace with our past.