Alan Eggleston (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The apology motion carried in both houses of the federal parliament yesterday closes a chapter on the past. But it has to be acknowledged that in some sections of our Indigenous population there are still many problems to be overcome before all of our Indigenous people are able to enjoy the benefits that living in contemporary Australia should bring them.

I believe that we as a nation need to acknowledge the reality of Indigenous poverty and disadvantage in our society. As members of the Commonwealth parliament, we need to pledge to do all we can to ensure that all of these contemporary problems are corrected. It really is a disgrace that in modern Australia there is a segment of our population with much lower life expectancy and higher infant mortality and morbidity rates, often living in substandard housing and needing better health services and improved access not only to basic education to ensure that literacy standards are met but also, more importantly, to job skill education so that our Indigenous people are equipped with the skills to enable them to find worthwhile jobs in our community.

However, in this atmosphere of apology I believe that we should acknowledge that much progress has been made in ensuring a better quality of life for Indigenous Australians. Our record as a nation is far from being all bad, as some would have it. According to the report Overcoming Indigenous disadvantage: key indicators 2007, published by the Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision, encouraging progress has been achieved in improving the lives of our Indigenous people.

Debate interrupted.