Cory Bernardi (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Families and Community Services) Share this | Hansard source

In rising to take note of this motion I open my contribution by stating that I do not personally feel any sense of guilt for what has happened during Australia’s brief history. I should also state that I am a strong supporter of the very limited role that I believe government should occupy. I support an increasing self-reliance for all Australians and a reduced role of government in their lives.

Today is a stark reminder that government intervention, no matter how well-intentioned, may not actually benefit the people but can, in fact, do the opposite. That is not to say that governments have not had a positive impact on the lives of Indigenous Australians. The Howard government stood firm in the face of great adversity to achieve practical outcomes for Indigenous people. We tried to break the cycle of poverty, hopelessness and dysfunction that afflicted many Aboriginal communities. We did it by drawing a line between what is acceptable and what is not acceptable. We drew a line between what is right and what is wrong. We ceased to accept excuses and we tried to move forward.

I realise now that what we did not do was embrace the symbolism that is represented by an apology to the Aboriginal people for transgressions of previous government policies. But I do not believe that the previous government, nor indeed any previous government, should stand condemned for this. There is no doubt in my mind that past practices in relation to the treatment of Indigenous Australians have caused significant distress to a number of people within that community.

I am in no doubt that some children were unjustly taken from their families, but equally I have no doubt that many of the so-called stolen generation were saved from what would have been an all too brief life of neglect and, in some instances, abuse. Let me be very clear that abuse, especially of children, can never and should never be defendable. I know that physical and sexual abuse of separated children took place in many areas of our community and most alarmingly it took place in the very areas which were designed to be sanctuaries. It was wrong and it continues to be wrong. But unfortunately much of that abuse is now taking place within Aboriginal communities. And this is the substance of my contribution today: we need to stop the errors of the past from being a reason not to confront the vile acts of today.

For my entire life I have observed any number of excuses for dysfunction amongst some areas of Indigenous Australia. When I was 14, I was set upon by a gang of Aboriginal youths for daring to be on ‘their land’ as they put it, which happened to be Glenelg beach in South Australia. Their violence went unpunished because, as I was told by a policeman, nothing would happen to them because they were Aboriginal. As a publican I remember rescuing an Aboriginal woman from a savage attack in the street by her husband. After providing her sanctuary within my premises, a group of elders came to visit and told me that unless I told her to leave my premises they would destroy my hotel.

For too long this type of behaviour has gone unchallenged. For too long excuses have been made that have established Indigenous issues in the minds of many Australians as simply too hard to deal with. That is why I think today is very important. As I said, I feel no personal remorse or sorrow. In fact I am quite optimistic about the future because I feel that today is a day that our nation can move on together.

While saying sorry is a symbolic gesture—and it is a symbolic gesture because surely none of us can truly believe that tomorrow will see an end to the alcoholism, violence, child rape, incest and abuse that takes place in too many Aboriginal communities today—tomorrow we can see an end to the excuses for this type of abhorrent behaviour, because today is the first step in achieving reconciliation. But it is only the first step, because reconciliation requires not only an act of self-mortification or sorrow but also forgiveness.

That is now the challenge confronting Indigenous Australia. They need to ditch the industry that has sprung up preventing the real changes—the policy areas that can have a significant impact on Indigenous communities—from taking effect. They need to reject the inevitable overtures from the no win-no fee ambulance-chasing lawyers—who will pop up as soon as tomorrow, I would guess—in pursuing billions of dollars in compensation. To do anything else would demonstrate that this call for sorry is more about compensation than about reconciliation and I sincerely hope that this is not the case.