Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

It's no surprise that Senator Hanson and Senator Roberts just don't get it. After all, their political party was built on reactionary racism. Not that it will make any difference to them, but here is what the Black Lives Matter protests were about. They were about the 437 First Nations people who have died in custody since the royal commission in 1991, with not a single person charged over any of those deaths. They were about the systemic racism based on a racist colonial legacy that is impacting so seriously on First Nations Australians and other non-white people in this country.

If others don't get it, they should take a look around this country. Look at Western Australia, which has effectively reinstated debtors' prisons by throwing people into jail for unpaid fines, disproportionately affecting First Nations people. Look at Victoria, where the rate of First Nations people in custody has nearly doubled in the last decade. Look at our calamitous racist policy of offshore detention, which has seen thousands of innocent people of colour exiled to Manus Island and Nauru, where many have died and many more have had their lives destroyed. If they can't look that far, look at the TV. Look at Channel 7 who paid for Senator Hanson to be a commentator and reinvigorated her political career.

The Black Lives Matter protests should make all of us in this place reflect on what we can do to start turning this shameful situation around. If Senator Hanson and Senator Roberts can't do that then they should get out of the way and let those of us who want to make Australia a fairer, more equal, less racist country get on with the job. Black lives do matter. Thank you to all who joined the protests on the weekend.