Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Taiwan provides a clear example of constitutionally enshrined indigenous representation. Taiwan is described as a settler colonial society with a Han Chinese majority and numerous Austronesian-language-speaking first nations people. There are currently 16 officially recognised indigenous tribes in Taiwan, representing more than half a million people. Taiwan's indigenous community makes up about three per cent of the population, which is similar in size to Australia's First Nations people. Taiwan's indigenous communities claim thousands of years of history on the island before the first foreign settlers arrived in the 17th century—400 years ago next year, in fact. Interestingly, Taiwan's constitution sets aside six reserved seats for indigenous peoples, making sure that they're included in the democracy so that they have a voice to parliament.

I'm talking about Taiwan because my electorate has a very significant Taiwanese diaspora. In fact, they make up around 2.6 per cent of my electorate. The Taiwanese community were very supportive of the 'yes' vote in the Voice to Parliament referendum and were disappointed with the outcome, although we did get to 49.32 per cent for the 'yes' vote in Moreton. Given that they've had indigenous representation in their parliament for many years, the Taiwanese found it hard to comprehend that Australians would have such difficulty with this concept.

That's why I was very pleased to attend the official launch of the Australian Taiwan Indigenous Association Inc. at the Queensland Taiwan Centre on the weekend. This group marks the beginning of a meaningful journey to celebrate, promote and preserve the rich heritage and culture of Taiwan's indigenous communities right here in Australia.

This group started as an initiative of Edward Lin, Susan Yang, Melody Chen, Simon Shih, Lianna Cheng and many others who've been involved in assisting a group of young individuals with Taiwanese indigenous backgrounds to establish their own association in Queensland. Susan Yang is heavily involved in the Sunnybank Multicultural Gallery, where they've been presenting artworks related to Taiwanese indigenous culture over the last year. These exhibitions brought together a group of individuals who shared a passion for creating an organisation that would enable them to support each other and share their traditional cultures and arts with the broader Australian community.

The association was formally incorporated on 24 August this year, with Mr Ping Chen serving as the president and Ms Ya-Meng Yu as the secretary. The association has primarily focused on highlighting traditional singing and dancing performances—there are some incredible outfits—with a series of performances arranged at a number of upcoming multicultural events. I look forward to working with ATIA and the local First Nations community—my First Nations community on the south side—as our nation works towards reconciliation. We have much to learn.