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

Yes, he does. And I have been up there many times. Balkanu, Pearson—those people speak for most of the people who want to lift themselves out of poverty, who want to lift their kids out of poverty. They do not want to be condemned to an everlasting life of social welfare, and that is what you are condemning them to: an everlasting life of social welfare where they and their kids will never be able to have a job and all that entails. Senator Brandis made a comment about the United Nations. He spoke very well—and so he should; he is a QC. But he put it very succinctly. He said that the Prime Minister at the time signed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. And what has the present Prime Minister, Ms Gillard, said? Commenting on the Closing the gap report, she called on the Indigenous people:

… to take a job when you find one; to create a safe environment; to send your kids to school, pay your rent, save up for a home; to respect good social norms and to respect the law; and to reach out to other Australians.

But in Cape York the Labor government is shutting down avenues for jobs and reaching out for Greens preferences on wild rivers.

What have the Aboriginals of Cape York received from this government? Sure, it signed the United Nations treaty. They were told to get a job. And we did have a 'welcome to country' put in this parliament, which no-one objects to—but that does not pay the rent. That does not give anyone a job. That does not lift people out of poverty. So what they got is tokenism—beads and mirrors. That is what this government has given the Aboriginal community: beads and mirrors. Nothing that says, 'Your kids can get a job.' Your kids cannot get a job; there are no jobs up there. And there will not be jobs up there unless you let the Aboriginals use the land that was given to them by previous state governments and that you have taken away.

Isn't it ironic that a party that has always been painted by the Labor Party as being against Aboriginals gave them millions of acres of land and put the first Aboriginal member of parliament into state parliament? I have been out campaigning with at least two—it was two or three—other Indigenous candidates when I tried to get them into parliament. It is ironic that the Labor Party that claim to be the friends and natural allies of the Indigenous people are stealing their land off them, and for Greens preferences. Senator Furner says, 'Hang on a minute, they can develop anything they like and there have been 113 developments applications,' and Senator McLucas says, 'Of course, if they want an application it will be passed.'

Let me just say that out of the 113 development applications 79 were for exploration permits. Of the 35 remaining 'development approvals', 17 were issued to government entities for activities such as fencing and gravel extraction; eight riverine protection permits and one environmentally related activity permit appears to relate to the Century Mine project, which is an existing development; three riverine protection permits are for the Stanbroke Pastoral Co., possibly for a fence; two vegetation clearing applications, for the Strathmore and Barr Creek holding, are presumably for clearing for a fence; and one approval was for Adels Grove camping park, which is an existing development. There have been none appr­oved. Yes, you can hide, you can run, you can misrepresent people, but they are the facts.

We heard—and you were there, Senator McLucas, in Cairns—when one particular community, I just forget which one, said that after the wild rivers declaration they cannot actually get their gravel out of a pit and they have to drive 20 or 30 miles there and back. They cannot even take gravel out of a gravel pit for the roads around the Aboriginal community. That is what you have done to these people.

Senator Fielding will be leaving this place in three or four weeks time and I want to give him this message. Senator, you have come in on a church vote; let me give you this message. What does it profit a man if he gets something but loses his soul? Take that with you when you leave this place.