Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

The Australian Greens wholeheartedly support this motion for there to be a welcome to country at the start of parliaments. I am pleased to hear, even though I note the argument that went with it, that the Nationals will also support it. I was disappointed to hear that the Liberal Party will not. That said, I think the overwhelming support nationally for the ceremony which took place at the start of this parliament is an indication of the huge welcome there will be for this move that is being made by the government in the parliament today.

Senator Abetz said that the government should determine such matters. I would have thought that a Leader of the Opposition in the Senate would know that we are a democracy, where parliament makes decisions on its own processes. That is not a right, and never should be, handed across to the government executive. We are being asked here to mark the start of parliaments with a welcome to country from the first Australians. It can be seen as a ceremonial without effect on the true wellbeing of Indigenous people, but I believe that such symbolism, such recognition and the pride in country that comes from that are of themselves essential and important for all of us in recognising the extraordinary and at times devastating and harrowing history of the Indigenous people of this country since 1788. The welcome to country preceding parliamentary procedures is a very fitting way to take another step towards doing the best we can—though we can never make amends—to change the course of history from the past into a new future.

So the Greens welcome this proposal. It is a matter for parliament. While the government has brought forward this motion, it will be widely accepted by the public, including—if we take that reaction to the welcome to country back in 2007—Indigenous Australians. I think it is a pity it is being turned into a political debate. Maybe it is a pity that it has come so late in the procedures from the government, almost as an afterthought, but it is a very important and good afterthought. The process is right. It is the right thing to do. My colleagues wholeheartedly support this move, congratulate the government for bringing it forward and look forward to the next ceremony to begin the next sessions of parliament in this great democracy of ours.