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

I present the voice of a young Territorian to parliament:

Hello, my name is Sienna and I'm 16 years old from Darwin. As a South Sea Islander Australian, not many people know about us, and when my dad organised the first event in Darwin for the 30th anniversary of our recognition, I was proud and happy to celebrate my heritage.

But I also realised that the history of our people and what happened to them is something I know very little about. All I know is that our ancestors were taken from Vanuatu during the Blackbirding.

I find it hard to connect to something that isn't talked about, including my ancestry.

I believe all Australians need to learn about our history and what we've contributed. If they did, it would help me and the other South Sea Islander people connect to our roots and be proud of who we are.

I hope one day I'll be able to go to Vanuatu and connect with my family there, to learn more about where we come from and our history.

I'm asking parliament to raise awareness about Australian South Sea Islander heritage.

Thanks very much, Sienna. I'm glad that I could give a voice for you to our federal parliament today. Well done to your father, Patrick, who organised a fantastic event to commemorate 30 since Paul Keating as prime minister said that South Sea Islanders are a separate cultural group. (Time expired)