Nova Peris (NT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I acknowledge the Ngambri and Ngunnawal people, the custodians of the Canberra region. I acknowledge my elders past and present. I begin by thanking the Prime Minister for beginning his first Close the Gap speech of 10 February in the language of the Aboriginal traditional custodians of this region. It was a remarkable thing. But what is not remarkable—and most of us in this chamber know this—is that we are on track to fall short again on almost all of our Closing the Gap targets. So we need to get real about what we are doing.

Today I had the pleasure of attending the National Press Club to hear eminent journalist Stan Grant give an address on his family's story—both Aboriginal and Irish, yet so Australian. His story is so familiar to me and to virtually every Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, because we share the same history. I echo Stan's words that all Aboriginal people in Australia continue to live with the weight of our history, we bear the burden of our survival, we share common wounds and it is unbelievable that we have been classified at least 64 times by government as half-castes, quarter-castes, octoroons or coloureds—the list goes on and on.

I come before you today not to quote statistics but to speak about human citizens, citizens of this country. I want to share with you my concerns as to why the whole Close the Gap campaign has effectively stalled. For 10 years, the infamous talking stick has been going around and around in circles, so my question is: who in this chamber will stand up, step out of the circle and begin a brand new dialogue with Aboriginal people?

Today, I want people in this chamber to know what it is like to walk in the shoes of an Aboriginal person. I want you to be able to see through our lenses, not yours. My uncle Patrick Dodson spoke wisely when he stated:

There's a lot of aspiration and maybe good intention, but unless you get participation from Indigenous entities at a local level and community level, it's not going to work.

Aboriginal people come here year after year with the solutions—that is right, the solutions. They continuously own the problems that have been caused by failed government policies and decisions. What sickens me is when our mob finally get a program up and running that is benefitting all in their community and their children, the rug is ripped out from underneath them, with funds being removed without due notice.

There is no denying the issues we face, but there is also no denying the government's nitpicking and micromanaging of our lives. We are at a crossroads and it is time to reassess. Let's stop with examining the oppressed; instead, we should be examining the oppressor. Our lives are not expendable, and we need to acknowledge the reality of how our decisions here in this place affect our families, children and communities back home. Enough of the rhetoric. We need to move forward together side by side and hand in hand to get it right for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and communities—and for all of us. After all, we are Australians.

We cannot keep coming back year after year nodding our heads and being a part of the problem. If the Close the Gap campaign is at its use-by date, then, Prime Minister, you said:

It is equally important we listen to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people when they tell us what is working and what needs to change. It’s our role as government to provide an environment that enables Indigenous leaders to develop local solutions. Again, Mr Speaker, it is time for Governments to ‘do things with aboriginal people, not do things to them’.

I say this, Prime Minister: imagine if all 339 recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody had been implemented, then how many lives could have been saved by the wisdom in this report. Imagine, Prime Minister, if the $245 million spent on remote policing in the Northern Territory was instead spent on our kids and early childhood programs, instead of a mere $13.42 million.

Imagine if Aboriginal children could have access to excellent educational and innovative programs irrespective of where they live, whilst maintaining their languages and cultural identity; then an Aboriginal child would be proud knowing that their own identity is valued this country. Imagine if Aboriginal peoples' incarceration rates were comparable to the general population; then the imprisonment rates for young Aboriginals would not be higher than school retention rates. Imagine if we had a national approach that had consensus from the states and territories for a grassroots driven and culturally appropriate out-of-home care program for our children in care. Our children should not become statistics in a flawed system.

Imagine if all of us here in parliament did more than just nod at the United Nation's Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Imagine if we actually acted on the articles of this declaration and implemented policies reflecting them; then perhaps our priorities would lead us to maintain the dignity and aspirations of Australia's first peoples. Imagine if the government let Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples assert their rights to participate in decisions that directly affect our lives and imagine if the protection of their lands, waters and culture were seen as our inherent responsibilities by everyone in this country. Imagine.

Imagine, Prime Minister, if Labor's national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide prevention strategy of 2013 was enacted; perhaps we could have saved the lives of those 300-plus Aboriginal people who took theirs. Imagine if Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people could create their own jobs with their own dreams and aspirations of what will work and sustain their community and cultural values. Imagine if we could all understand and respect that healing takes time—often, it takes decades. Imagine if Australian's black history was intertwined with white Australian history so that it was all one Australian history. We know that this country is not fair and that we are not all treated equally. But instead of criticizing this inequality, we must embrace and respect everything that makes us different. This can be an even greater country. We cannot change where we were born, or the circumstances in which we were born into, but we can work together to overcome the challenges that stand before us. If we cannot do this then the only thing we have to look forward to is more failure. Finally, I would like to remind this place of another time, in the past, when another senator gave his maiden speech, because despite the intervening decades, not much has changed. He said:

…all within me that is Aboriginal yearns to be heard as the voice of the indigenous people of Australia. For far too long we have been crying out and far too few have heard us.

…   …   …

It would be an understatement to say that the lot of fellow Aboriginals is not a particularly happy one. We bear emotional scars - the young no less than the older.

…   …   …

…my people were shot, poisoned, hanged and broken in spirit until they became refugees in their own land.

…   …   …

Whilst I commend the Government for its awareness of the need for improved programmes of housing, health and education, I want to take this opportunity to point out that in common with all citizens, Aborigines of Australia are most certainly not looking for handouts. They have suffered enough from the stigma of paternalism, however well intentioned it may have been.

Those were the words of the late Senator Neville Bonner, quoted from his first speech, in September 1971—the year I was born—and here, today, we are still debating the very same single issue. Today, Stan Grant said much the same at the National Press Club. For the betterment of this country let us all strive for a different story at next year's 'closing the gap' report.