Ron Boswell (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Senate is debating the motion of a national apology to the stolen generation. Today is about honouring Indigenous Australians, reflecting on their past and apologising for the laws and policies which failed to honour the Indigenous Australians. We say sorry today. We do not know ourselves the grief and the pain of forced removal and separation from family and community. But we know of it, and we have listened.

Today I also want to acknowledge that there were a lot of dedicated people, from religions and non-religious organisations, who gave a great deal of their lives to man missions or work with Aboriginals in these distant communities—the Lutherans at Hopevale; the Brethren at Doomadgee; I know the Catholics were represented, and so were the Methodists—to look after the welfare, the education and the health of Aboriginal communities. In passing this motion, we must in no way denigrate their efforts and their lives’ work.

We see by your reception of this apology how much it was needed. Today there will be celebrations aplenty. The sorry motion was telecast live by many media outlets. There was cheering from the crowds outside and in Parliament House, and there were people watching from around Australia. I know that today is all these wonderful things. But there are many Australians who will be thinking that tomorrow, in some remote and isolated Indigenous communities, there will still be no work, lots of alcohol and violence, child abuse and neglect and intolerable levels of sickness and disease. Apologies for the past are meaningful if they lead to a renewed vigour to do more and to do better. The past cannot be undone, but the future can be remade. There is a genuine mood in the nation today that we can do better, that we must do better and that we will do better.

One step in this process to do more and to do better is to look again at how remote communities can be made sustainable so that they are not reliant on government handouts and welfare but are in control of their own choices and destiny. For example, Indigenous communities in Queensland have large amounts of land and water not being used to grow anything. They could grow—and in some instances have negotiated forestry agreements to grow—trees, creating employment and hope for their communities by establishing a forestry industry in those communities in North Queensland that have lots of land.

Queensland has other good examples of success, such as contracting businesses in the cotton industry at St George and Goondiwindi. Many of the Indigenous people there have their own businesses and contract out to the cotton growers. There are also the mining and transport industries at Mount Isa. Mining companies also offer employment in remote Australia. Some communities are developing their own tourist villages and caravan parks. These are but a few examples of how sustainability can create and ensure a better future for those Indigenous people and their communities.

With this apology, we now need to ensure that our efforts are renewed and refocused to ensure that the mistakes of the past are learnt from and never repeated. I hope this apology assists in the healing process of those who have suffered from past decisions. I also hope that the momentum for a better future for our Indigenous community is continued with examples like those I have described in Queensland and with the Northern Territory intervention.

What worries me is that, one day in a parliament of the future, senators may vote to apologise for what this generation has failed to do for our Indigenous people. We will fail if we do not focus on practical help to forge healthy, educated, law-abiding and sustainable communities. Today, maybe we feel good about ourselves because we apologised for the past mistakes. But tomorrow we must assume responsibility for our own mistakes and make action, not rhetoric, our weapon of choice.

I cannot let this debate go by without recognising the frustration felt by many decent Australians when it comes to Indigenous policy. Their sincere and generous desire to help Indigenous Australians has been backed by a huge amount of public funds. Yet it seems to many ordinary Australians that there is such a long way to go. The willingness to see Indigenous Australians succeed is wholeheartedly felt across the nation. But the disappointments have been many. Cross-cultural misunderstandings and internal politics, black and white, have contributed to the difficulties. Sometimes there was conflict despite everyone having the common underlying aim of improving life for Indigenous people.

It is right that there be joy and tears today. It is right that we say sorry. It is also right that we move forward as a nation. The present and the future demand our attention. The world sees the huge abyss of despair in some Aboriginal communities. Australians want to help. They want to stop clouds gathering over the young children. So let there be jubilation today. Let the victims of injustice breathe easier. But, please God, let the leaders stand up and insist on a mutual responsibility as included in this motion.