Mark Coulton (Parkes, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Indigenous Australians. It has been reported that a video has emerged of a member of the minister's First Nations Referendum Working Group, Professor Marcia Langton, stating that social workers are 'by and large white and racist' and that police 'are racist' and 'get brownie points for rounding people up'. Does the minister believe Professor Langton's comments accord with her request for Australian's to act respectfully and will the minister condemn Professor Langton's comments?

Linda Burney (Barton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Parkes for his question. On 14 October, Australians will come together to vote on whether we should recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in our Constitution. This is our moment to embrace recognition, our moment to move Australia forward more unitedly, our moment to listen to the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. I say once again: there is no room for racism in Australia. The pain of racism is real for those people who have experienced it. It is something that should not be used for political purposes. It is something that we should all agree is harmful and unacceptable, and it is something that we should all agree must stop.

I have faith in the Australian people to engage in this debate respectfully, to walk in other people's shoes and to approach this referendum with empathy and with compassion towards one another.