Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

The bill we have been asked to consider today may appear at first to be relatively simple. Altering decision-making from requiring a unanimous vote to requiring a majority vote does make sense and is in line with the accepted practice in most modern democracies. But my problem with this bill isn't so much what it contains as what it doesn't contain. We were asked by Senator Thorpe and the Greens to tick off on proposed amendments which she well knows contain no mention of accountability of full funds, outcome evaluations of the expended moneys, the effectiveness of the management of funds, and every other audit or performance related process that normally applies to the use of taxpayer funds.

It's almost as if Senator Thorpe is saying to the Australian people that Indigenous communities and authorities should be held to a lower standard than the rest of Australia in their use of taxpayer funds. It's almost as if the senator doesn't understand that an open and transparent review of the use of funds is a prime driver towards improving performance and processes going forward in future projects and grants. Perhaps Senator Thorpe doesn't understand that empowering performance and holding people to a higher standard in any area is a highly empowering process. But I'm sure Senator Thorpe and every one of her fellow Greens knows that the continuing empowerment of Indigenous groups and communities across the nation—something every right-thinking Australian supports—spells oblivion and total irrelevance for the posturing Greens and their mates in the Indigenous activist industry.

Senator Thorpe relishes her moment in the spotlight when she has an opportunity to harp on the theme of perceived Indigenous oppression and constantly labels Indigenous Australians as oppressed victims. There is never a mention from Senator Thorpe of Indigenous successes. That would seriously get in the way of her narrative of centuries of continuing oppression and enslavement. Preach only the negatives and do it relentlessly, and some of it might even stick in uninformed minds as fact. That's a classic tactic of the Left that we see every day in this place and across the media. Senator Thorpe and Senator Dodson would have us believe that any legislation to do with Indigenous issues is introduced to benefit mining companies. Senator Thorpe calls the $33 billion that went to all Australians, including Indigenous Australians, and a further $6 billion for Indigenous-only issues last year 'scraps'. Really? Scraps? Was $39 billion 'scraps'?

Senator Thorpe also hides an inconvenient truth when she fails to disclose that as far back as 2015 native title has been recognised over approximately 2,469,647 square kilometres—that's around 32 per cent of the Australian landmass—for less than three per cent of the population. That's a statistic that we will never hear from the Greens truth deniers, so I will repeat it for their benefit: there's around 32 per cent of the Australian land mass for around 750,000 people who identify as Indigenous—not necessarily Indigenous but identify. A third of Australia under native title and $39 billion are scraps according to Senator Thorpe and her truth-denying colleagues. If almost $40 billion and around a third of Australia are scraps, we can only thank our lucky stars the Greens don't have the keys to the Treasury.

Senator Thorpe failed to point out that, as Tom Connell told us on Sky News recently, the dollar spend equates to $22,000 for every non-Indigenous Australian and $45,000 for every Indigenous Australian. And more scraps, for Senator Thorpe's information, come from a look at the mining industry, which she and her follow truth denies love to vilify. There are around 6,599 Indigenous jobs in the mining industry. That's around 3.9 per cent of the total mining workforce. Over 6,000 jobs in any industry is anything but scraps, and I'm sure those Indigenous employees who take home their pay to their families each week see it that way too. If Senator Thorpe really wants to empower any group of Australians, she might consider calling on the government to ensure there are strong accountability and audit measures incorporated in any advance of federal funds irrespective of background, race, religion or gender. If you want to be seen as empowering the group you represent, irrespective of background, race, religion or gender, if you want to escape the need for federal funding and if you want to create for yourselves a sustainable economic future, you may want to consider including in your amendments performance reviews that closely examine how effectively the funds were used and include how the funds can be better used next time to deliver better outcomes all around. It's called gradual improvement.

Any bill that comes before us here that goes to perpetuate the victimhood status of any group of Australians has no place, whether that bill includes such mechanisms or, as the case is here, omits processes that will enhance the lives and futures of that group. We should give it no credibility. Senator Thorpe apparently doesn't even mind misleading the Senate, and I quote her words from Hansard when she told the Senate yesterday:

A nuclear waste dump in South Australia: traditional owners do not consent.

Senator Thorpe well knows there's no proposal to locate a nuclear waste dump on native title land in South Australia. But when we let fact and truth get in the way of a rolling agenda aimed at painting a falsehood of permanent oppression—the Greens and Senator Thorpe are a one-act pony when it comes to Indigenous affairs. They seek to label and to perpetuate the myth of permanent victimhood over our Indigenous Australians for their own scurrilous political ends. Unlike Senator Thorpe and the Greens, I have faith in our Indigenous Australians.

I have faith in all Australians. I was raised to think of myself as a proud Australian woman. I also know that by recognising and applauding success, by providing checks and balances, by reviewing and carefully auditing performance and by always seeking to empower and improve we will prosper as a people and as a nation. Australia is a country of equal opportunity. It's not a country that should ever regard one group more or less equal than another and it should never be a country that perpetuates victimhood against any group. Notwithstanding my comments, we will support the bill.