Warren Entsch (Leichhardt, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) Indigenous tourism plays a vital role in supporting businesses, creating jobs and driving economic empowerment of Indigenous Australians;

(b) the Government's $40 million Indigenous Tourism Fund announced on Friday, 19 February 2021 will support Indigenous tourism businesses and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community organisations; and

(c) the establishment of the National Indigenous Tourism Advisory Group will advise the Government on strategic priorities for the growth of Australia's Indigenous tourism sector in a way which best supports the broader tourism sector's recovery; and

(2) recognises and acknowledges that:

(a) Australia's Indigenous culture, country, art and history are unique in today's competitive international tourism market, and are equally attractive to our domestic audience; and

(b) employment in the Indigenous tourism sector provides the opportunity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians to stay on country while maintaining and sharing their culture and traditions.

I rise to support this motion but more importantly in support of a critical role that Indigenous people and culture play in our nation's tourism offerings. It's no more evident than in my vast electorate of Leichhardt that includes the Torres Strait, Cape York, Cooktown, Mossman, the Daintree, Kuranda and Cairns. All of these places have a rich history in connection with Indigenous people and their amazing culture. In fact, my electorate is the only region with two distinct Indigenous cultures: the Aboriginal and Torres Strait people.

Australia's Indigenous culture, country, art and history are unique in today's competitive tourism market. My electorate is fortunate to be the home for a number of Indigenous sites and attractions including the Mossman Gorge, Gab Titui Cultural Centre on Thursday Island, the Daintree Discovery Centre and the amazing Quinkan rock art galleries near Laura, just to name a few. Cairns is also home to Tjaukai Cultural Park, which has been closed temporarily because of COVID. But I expect that it will open again in the not too distant future. It's also home to CIAF, Australia's premier Indigenous arts fair that attracts people from all over the nation. And let's not forget the deep and spiritual connection Indigenous people have at places like Kuranda, Mossman, our Daintree Rainforest and, of course, our Great Barrier Reef.

I mention these places specifically because each and every one of them is one of several Indigenous owned and operated tourism businesses. In fact, there are countless Indigenous tourism businesses throughout my electorate of Leichhardt offering world-class tours and experiences. These businesses are important in that they are owned, they are operated and they employ Indigenous Australians. What better way to experience and immerse yourself in the history and culture of these sights and attractions than with a person who has a real connection to them?

Indigenous tourism plays a vital role in supporting businesses, creating jobs and driving economic empowerment for Indigenous Australians. Indigenous tourism, especially in my electorate, is, in fact, very big business. People now want more from their holidays. Instead of simply seeing the sites and flocking by the pool, people want connection. They want a unique and authentic experience. That's why the Morrison government has recently partnered with the Cairns Regional Council to establish the Cairns Gallery Precinct. One of our jewels in the precinct will be a new world-class Indigenous art gallery. This precinct will focus on celebrating and supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art and culture, while creating further opportunities for cultural tourism. As the Cairns Regional Council Mayor Bob Manning rightfully said:

When complete, the Gallery Precinct will provide us with a number of unique quality art spaces that will attract national and international exhibitions and also showcase the works of our region's best artists.

And we have no shortage of them.

Importantly, it will provide, for the first time, dedicated places in which to highlight our talented Indigenous artists – not only here but all the way into Cape York and the Torres Strait – and the unique artforms they create.

This exposure to the national and global stage will drive demand for authentic Indigenous art, which will increase the opportunity for career pathways and be an inspiration for our youth, especially our Indigenous youth, to pursue careers in the arts.

You see, Mr Deputy Speaker, the Morrison government understand the importance and vital role that Indigenous tourism plays in supporting businesses, creating jobs and driving the economic empowerment of Indigenous Australians. That's why we put some $40 million towards establishing the Indigenous Tourism Fund. The fund aims to help Indigenous tourism businesses capture a share of the Australian tourism market. As I mentioned earlier, Australian Indigenous culture is a point of differentiation in our tourism market and provides an important source of employment and economic opportunity, particularly in regional and remote areas of Australia. The four elements of the tourism fund are designed to deliver complementary support through grant funding to enhance capability and facilitate Indigenous tourism sector leadership. It includes $12 million for tourism grants, $10 million for Indigenous business, $10 million towards the National Indigenous Tourism Mentoring Program, $17 million towards strategic Indigenous tourism projects and a million dollars towards an Indigenous tourism advisory group.

The hugely popular and highly successful program has already resulted in more than half a million Australians snapping up cut-price fares to Cairns. It has been an amazing success, bringing a lot of people into our area to see this wonderful work from Indigenous Australians. It provides an excellent opportunity for Australians visiting Cairns and North Queensland to check out the experiences of countless amazing Indigenous owned and operated businesses and tourist attractions located in my electorate. I guarantee they will not be disappointed.

David Gillespie (Lyne, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Do we have a seconder for the motion?

Trent Zimmerman (North Sydney, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Alicia Payne (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the member for Leichhardt's motion on Indigenous tourism. The loss of First Nations cultures around this country is one of our country's greatest tragedies. The world's oldest continuing cultures have been attacked and denied by the colonisation of this continent for too long, and this denial and destruction continue to this day. That is why it is so important that we commit to the Uluru statement and its principles of voice, treaty and truth, and I was proud that the Labor Party reiterated its commitment to seeing this established in full, including a voice to parliament enshrined in the Constitution, on the fourth anniversary of the statement recently.

We are also seeing a revival of First Nations cultures around Australia. Here in the ACT, for example, the revival of Ngunawal language, the language of the traditional owners of the land on which we currently stand, is but one incredible example. Supported by AIATSIS, the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, Ngunawal families are contributing to the revival of their culture not only for their own benefit but for the benefit of all Australians. Businesses like Thunderstone here in Canberra, owned by Ngunawal elder Tyrone Bell, are pushing the resurgence of Ngunawal language and building successful businesses on the back of this resurgence. Thunderstone provides cultural tours and other education on Ngunawal culture.

There is a keen interest in the community to understand First Nations cultures and to understand the land we live on through a different lens. This desire is strong across the country and among foreign tourists, who seek out First Nations tourism experiences to better understand the oldest continuing culture in the world, so it is good that the federal government is finally providing support for First Nations tourism businesses. While this country should spend considerably more on preserving and celebrating First Nations cultures, further revival of culture may be a positive by-product. I say 'finally' because this fund was a commitment from the 2019 election; however, it has taken the Morrison government 643 days, from the announcement to the opening of the fund. And no funding has been announced, so we can presume that no First Nations businesses have actually benefited from the fund to date. Labor often calls out the Morrison government for not consulting widely enough, but in the case of this fund it seems the government took the opposite approach, consulting for 21 months. More likely is that this fund was put on the backburner by the Liberal-Nationals.

Finally, this isn't new money; instead, this money was reallocated from the Indigenous Advancement Strategy, which has been used repeatedly to announce and re-announce funding. But I commend the Morrison government and the member for Leichhardt for getting around to prioritising First Nations tourism businesses with these reallocated funds.

The pandemic has decimated our tourism sector. While Australians are now travelling domestically, the reality is that domestic tourists don't spend anywhere near as much as international tourists once did. Despite calls from tourism operators, travel agents and other tourism businesses for support, the Morrison government has abandoned the tourism sector during the pandemic. Without a vaccinated population, the sector is at constant risk of lockdown and further cancellations. The end of JobKeeper has put even more pressure on tourism businesses. Tourism supports spruiked by the Morrison government are actually just subsidies for the major airlines and not real support for tourism operators on the ground.

In the member for Leichhardt's part of the world, my colleague Queensland Senator Nita Green has been pushing hard for support for the tourism sector. Consulting with major tourist attractions such as Skyrail in Cairns, Senator Green has highlighted the difficulties that businesses in the tourism sector have faced during the pandemic. It costs a lot of money to operate facilities such as Skyrail, and without support the sector is on the brink. With the government's budget signalling the borders will be shut until at least mid-2022, there is no relief in sight for our tourism operators. We saw again today the Prime Minister failed to give a date in question time of when the full Australian population could expect to have an opportunity to be vaccinated.

I commend this motion and the government for supporting Indigenous tourism businesses and their important role, but I do call on the government to implement the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full and give our First Nations Australians the voice they deserve in this parliament.

Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm very pleased to support this motion by my good friend the member for Leichhardt, recognising the importance and the value of Indigenous tourism. The statistics for health, education and employment of our Indigenous population, as I'm sure we all recognise across this Chamber, are far from ideal. The average life expectancy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is 10 years less than that of non-Indigenous Australians. Twenty per cent of Aboriginal women experience physical violence compared to seven per cent of non-Indigenous women. Indigenous Australians are more likely than non-Indigenous people to have mental health problems and chronic diseases such as respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and chronic kidney disease. We have seen recently media reports to that effect.

Improving economic, social and education outcomes for Indigenous Australians is a priority for this government. The Closing the Gap statement on improving the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders is also a national priority. The 2021 budget provides some $243.6 million to Indigenous focused programs, including new Indigenous skills and employment programs and funding of some 2,700 places at Indigenous skills academies. The measures complement the government's $40 million investment in the Indigenous Tourism Fund, which supports Indigenous tourism businesses and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community organisations.

In 2017, the Australian government released a report called My life my lead: Opportunities for strengthening approaches to the social determinants and cultural determinants of Indigenous health. During the consultation for this report, one of the key themes to emerge was that of culture as being central to Indigenous Australians' wellbeing and the need for it to be embraced across a range of Indigenous and mainstream services as both a protector and an enabler of health and wellbeing. Aboriginal culture is a foundation of everything else that it is built on: dance, music, arts ceremonies and storytelling. These connect the Indigenous people to family, community and country, and to the past and to others.

I am pleased to say there are a number of these programs across my electorate of Forde. The Spirits of the Red Sand is located not far from my office in Beenleigh, on Yugambeh country. The northern part of my electorate is Yuggera territory. Uncle Eddie set up Spirits of the Red Sand after visiting the Tamaki Maori Village in New Zealand. The mission of Spirits of the Red Sand is to create respect and admiration for the Indigenous culture through the act of storytelling and it provides a unique tourism experience by allowing visitors to participate in the telling of the story of our Indigenous community in our local area over the period prior to and post settlement. Spirits of the Red Sand offer didgeridoo lessons and a deeper understanding of welcome to country and tribal challenges for both individual and corporate visitors. The story they tell at Spirits of the Red Sand is based on that of a local family and many of the characters and many of the people acting out these stories are descendants of those original Indigenous inhabitants. Australia's Indigenous culture, country, art and history are key points of differentiation in a competitive international tourism market and to see their success is great testament to the work that they do. Supporting Indigenous tourism businesses, particularly those who share Indigenous culture and traditions, helps communities to realise the economic opportunities and importantly helps with health and wellbeing.

Additionally the Yugambeh Museum in Beenleigh was established to record and promote the traditional knowledge and language of the Yugambeh people. It works with the community to bring together initiatives centred around cultural and education exchange so future generations have the opportunity to embrace their language, hear their stories and connect to their legacy but also to inform the broader community.

Beenleigh Housing and Development Corporation is a Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisation that provides sustainable housing links to the Indigenous community. From the $750,000 they received through the National Indigenous Australians Agency fund, they have run programs to keep jahjum, or children, at school, engaged in starting in playgroups, completing year 12 and going to university. I commend the government for seeking to support these important initiatives through Indigenous tourism and other great initiatives.

Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm very pleased to speak to this important piece of private member's business. It is a credit to the member for Leichhardt for raising it. He understands this issue. From the Northern Territory's perspective, being the heart of our nation, our Indigenous communities have maintained strong and direct links to their culture for over 60,000 years. Engagement with our Indigenous cultures is one of the main reasons—and surveys continually tell us this—that visitors come to the Northern Territory. They want that genuine experience across cultural communication. It is the best way, I believe, to unite Indigenous and non-Indigenous people and communities. I think that Indigenous owned and run tourism offers that experience like no other. It is true, I think, that most Australians are seeking a deeper understanding of and connection with our nation's first people. I won't speak for everyone, but I know on this side of the House and certainly for some of the members from the other side that seek to speak on this there is a genuine acknowledgment of this important task that we all are engaged in.

In the Northern Territory, our art is a major channel to do that. We have world-class First Nations art in the Northern Territory, from the delicate cross-hatchings of the saltwater people of north-east Arnhem Land to the bright shapes and pastels depicting the central deserts of Australia. The Aboriginal art of the Northern Territory is world famous. Every August in Darwin we host the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Awards, one of the richest and most prestigious such prizes in the world. We also host the National Indigenous Art Fair, bringing the artwork of Indigenous communities from around Australia into the Top End so they can showcase their work. I was very proud last week to present an award to the Darwin Aboriginal art fair for their great efforts in not letting COVID stop the art fair. They transitioned online, and they raised almost as much money as they did when they had people coming in the door and seeing the artwork firsthand. It's hugely popular with international visitors and interstate visitors alike. Obviously it will just be interstate visitors this year. We do get huge spikes in tourism numbers when these prestigious art events and art fairs are held in Darwin, and we're very proud to host artwork from all around Australia's many First Nations communities.

We have a lot to be proud of in our artwork, but also in our landscapes, which are like no other. And it is here that we need to help Indigenous-owned businesses get Australians out onto country, and then, when we open up, bring out people from around the world. I do want to say that it is disappointing that the government has been so slow to act to support industry in this regard. Kakadu National Park is an absolute jewel in the crown of Australia's national parks, and yet some of its major tourism sites, like Gunlom Falls, will remain closed for yet another year due to a sacred site being disrespected by Parks Australia.

Parks Australia has had a difficult and fraught relationship with traditional owners in recent times, but it wasn't always that way. It used to be a model of what joint management—traditional owners with Parks—could achieve. I really encourage the minister and Parks Australia to spend more time trying to understand the importance of these sacred sites, and to work together with the traditional owners, with Indigenous-owned and with non-Indigenous-owned tourism businesses so that we can get more Australians out on to that beautiful ancient landscape. We need to do that as a matter of priority.

There has been a lot of talk. The Prime Minister went up there during the last federal election and promised $216 million for Kakadu. We've seen next to nothing of that. We're coming up to another election. Will he come up and reannounce money for Kakadu? I hope not. What we want to see immediately is that funding get onto the ground to make our jewel shine, as it deserves to. Indigenous tourism is incredibly important. I'm glad that we've had a chance to speak on it today. I encourage the government to fund Kakadu and to live up to its promises.

Andrew Laming (Bowman, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is little disagreement now, in 2021, that we can stand up and recognise the continuous unbroken connection to land of Indigenous Australians. In my electorate there are the Quandamooka people; there is Minjerribah obviously, formerly North Stradbroke Island, and Moreton Island, which was also recently transferred to Quandamooka management. I would argue the three language groups that make up Quandamooka are probably among the most innovative and progressive of the urban Indigenous groups that are working to co-manage this incredible resource that is Moreton Bay, but also capitalise on what makes it truly unique.

I have talked a lot about how unique Moreton Bay is, not just from an ecological sense, an estuarine sense, but also because of those incredible sand islands that hold spring water that is tens of thousands of years old. It has been, at times, an island that has been mined, but now we recognise just how important this island can be as an ecological asset. And it is the Quandamooka people who have full responsibility, after a period of co-management, to transition to a period of innovation, while also shining a light on what truly makes Moreton Bay special. This is an opportunity we leave to them, and already we've seen people like Josh Walker and his Quandamooka dancers, Mark Jones and Straddie Adventures, and Minjerribah Camping that runs at least half a dozen camp sites on Minjerribah. It is running what is, effectively, the traditional Aussie great escape to the great sand islands, like North Stradbroke, Moreton and Fraser, and giving Australians a chance to have that holiday on those beautiful islands. Let's also remember, of course, the possibility of landing at an international airport and, within 45 minutes to an hour, being on a sand island, being able to, in many cases, live on islands where one can commute to a major CBD. This makes the Moreton Bay area truly special.

We have the Moreton Bay Marine Park—that happened in the past two decades—and the co-management and increasing Indigenous leadership around places like Peel Island and Horseshoe Bay, where we see an overlay of colonial heritage. There is a lazaretto, where we can see still the original quarantine rooms that were used there. We have the original buildings from the turn of the 19th century, when a whaling community was initially set up on North Stradbroke Island. These are all incredible assets where tourists can enjoy both the overlay of colonial heritage and settlement, and of course the unbroken Indigenous connection to the land prior to 1788.

It was Matthew Flinders who first sailed into that bay and explored it. I think it was in 1801 he landed on Coochiemudlo Island in that the incredibly small skiff that he sailed right around the country. You'd have to call him one of the unluckiest adventurers of all. Having sailed up that coast looking for places to moor and harbour ships, he missed the Clarence River, the Brisbane River and, I think, the Fitzroy River. But, apart from that, he made some incredible discoveries on the way and he recorded, as many did, those first interactions with Indigenous Australians. There were mixed outcomes initially, but there has been a huge amount of cooperative effort to identify what is truly able to be showcased to the world. Moreton Bay will play a role in that.

The Indigenous Tourism Fund, which is $10 million a year, is enough to activate some of these young Indigenous entrepreneurs to show off these great areas, be they canoeing, the highly controversial whale-watching facility at Point Lookout or, more importantly, Brown Lake, Blue Lake, being able one day to travel on a walkway, a boardwalk, that effectively takes you around the island or being able to enjoy the 36 kilometres of unbroken main beach all the way down to South Stradbroke Island. These are the opportunities for my tiny patch of Australia, and the Indigenous Tourism Fund is critically important. We've tried driving small-scale economic activity. At one stage they were farming beche-de-mer, or sea cucumber. We've moved on to other forms of economic activity. We'd one day like to see a five-star hotel on the island so that the highest level of hotel and hospitality service can be offered. There's already a range of other accommodation, but never enough to meet the needs of a tiny patch of Australia that's so close to the population of two million that is Brisbane.

Those decisions fall to Quandamooka. We hope that they can have a CEO reappointed soon, given the departure of Cameron Costello late last year. The future is bright. The Indigenous Tourism Fund plays a huge role in the small startup grants that can fully capitalise and showcase the beautiful, wonderful Moreton Bay ecology.

Patrick Gorman (Perth, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Western Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We have 65,000 years of stories to tell, plus we are so privileged to have a live and living Indigenous culture all across this land. We know that the No. 1 desire of international tourists when they come to Australia is to see, experience and breathe Indigenous cultures, and we let them down in that expectation. We don't make it easy.

We also know that Indigenous stories and Indigenous cultures are some of the most powerful stories that we as Australians have to tell when we travel abroad. One of the most powerful tools Australia's diplomats have is talking about the ongoing struggles and process of reconciliation through which our country continues to grow. I've seen that firsthand when I've travelled around the world with Australia's foreign minister and with the gentleman who delivered the apology, Kevin Rudd. I've seen just how much people will stop and say, 'Tell us about that process. Tell us about what you're doing.' Countries all over the world want to hear about Australia's journey, and cultures all over the world want to hear about the culture that has existed here for 65,000 years.

Last week I met with someone who helps tell those stories and give that experience: Robert Taylor, who is the chief executive officer of the Western Australian Indigenous Tourism Operators Council. They have 146 members. For a long period of time they were the only Indigenous tourism operators council anywhere in Australia. They estimate there are about 600 Indigenous tourism businesses across this land. Robert is passionate about growing tourism and giving tourists, from school students to older international tourists, what it is they want to see when they visit this country: cultural education—making sure that people get a real sense of what Australia really is.

One of the groups that helps in that process is the Tjaltjraak people in the Esperance region. I, with my college the member for Fremantle, had the privilege of spending time with them just a few weeks ago, talking and meeting with their Indigenous rangers, who not only enable some of the tourism experiences that many people want but also make sure that we preserve for the next generation these lands and the way that people have lived on these lands for thousands of years.

The truth is that, right now in 2021, tourism in Australia is hurting like it's never hurt before. In 2019 we had more than nine million international visitors come, spending $45 billion. COVID decimated that industry. In accommodation and hospitality 27 per cent of jobs were shed in the first few months of COVID. The tourism industry dropped 15 per cent of jobs in 2020. We know that travel agents continue to feel the pain of not being able to provide the product that they sell. And so I say $40 million is a great start for Indigenous tourism from this government but that's all it is. It's a small start.

The big opportunity when it comes to Indigenous tourism in Australia is what Infrastructure Australia has identified as a national priority—that is, to start building the network of Indigenous cultural centres across Australia to make sure we do give tourists that experience that they want. Tourism Australia says this will reduce the opportunities for exploitation of Indigenous artist, that many of the cultural facilities we have in Australia today aren't fit for purpose and what we need nationally is a nationally coordinated program of cultural centres.

I think Western Australia can be part of that solution. We have seen a $217 million commitment to increasing Indigenous tourism from the McGowan government. That includes some $50 million of seed funding towards an Indigenous cultural centre in Perth, ideally housed on the Derbal Yiragan in the heart of my electorate. I say it could be the Sydney Opera House of the west coast: something that everyone who comes to Australia not only wants to see but knows they have to see if they are truly to have experienced Australia. It can serve as part of the hub of Indigenous cultural centres across this land. It wouldn't be just for Western Australia; it would be for all of Australia. The federal government should look to do its part—more than the small, $2 million commitment we saw in the troubled Perth City Deal.

This is a major tourism opportunity for this country. It's an opportunity for Western Australia. It's an opportunity for Indigenous peoples across this country.

Pat Conaghan (Cowper, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Firstly, I would like to acknowledge the Worimi, Birpai, Djangadi and Gumbaynggirr nations, who are all traditional land holders in my electorate of Cowper. I give a personal shout-out to Uncle Bill O'Brien, who you know very well, Deputy Speaker Gillespie. Bill O'Brien OAM has the most magnificent welcome to country. He takes you on a journey for about five minutes, talking about the plateaus, the oceans, the fish and all the native animals. It gives you an insight into how powerful the attachment to land is. I have imagined being a tour tourist sitting there, listening to this welcome to country, and I've said for a very long time that Indigenous tourism in Australia is completely untapped.

The $40 million is a very good step in the right direction, but there are many excellent tourism operations and tourism providers—Indigenous tourism providers. In fact, this notice of motion is a very timely one. I met this afternoon with Minister Wyatt, Clark Webb, Christian Lugnan and Aunty Julie Carey, very proud Gumbaynggirr people who started the Bularri Muurlay Nyanggan Aboriginal Corporation. That not only is seeking to establish an Aboriginal bilingual independent primary school but in the past 10 years has set up three excellent tourism opportunities—or tourism experiences, I should say.

The first one is the cultural experience not only for the locals but for the tourists. That's been going for a decade. In addition, they have very successful cafe at the top of Sealy point in Coffs Harbour. They see over 30,000 people come through their cafe every single year. They employ in excess of 15 people. But, most important, and one of the reasons we were speaking to the minister, is the opportunity they see for an Indigenous ecoresort. It is just a magnificent idea. It's my idea of camping—it's a bit like glamping. It will employ 49 people, and it is well underway. They have the site and they expect to open within the next 12 months. These are the very essence, the very ideas, of Indigenous culture—being taken on a trip by the descendants of somebody from 30,000, 40,000 or 60,000 years ago, taking their same steps through the same countryside. Of course, I'm a little bit biased about Cowper: it is the most beautiful electorate in the country. But this is about gaining knowledge from an Indigenous person about what it actually means to be there, including local knowledge about food, hunting, and fauna and flora. This is untapped and such a fantastic opportunity for all our Indigenous people in all of our electorates.

In addition, there are numerous cultural experiences across the electorate. It was good to see, for Port Macquarie's bicentenary, the Wakulda light projection on the old courthouse, 'Wakulda' meaning 'as one' in Gathang, the language of the Birpai people. I sat there at the opening and watched the light projection on the side of the courthouse, recognising and acknowledging that that was on Birpai people's land; acknowledging that we are not the perfect country and we don't have the perfect past but that we are working towards conciliation and making right; and acknowledging and recognising everything that our Indigenous people have to offer to our country. So this $40 million will go a long way. It is a good step in the right direction.

Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.