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

[by video link] I rise to speak on the Commonwealth's Closing the Gap implementation plan. I speak on behalf of many Australians when I say, 'Well, here we go again—more targets, more priorities, more reforms, more agreements, a new approach and, of course, a lot more money.'

Much treasure has already been expended, with very little to show for it. Targets have not been met, gaps have not been closed, and there has been failure on incarceration rates, life expectancy and employment. There has been failure on child mortality rates, children's literacy and numeracy, and school attendance. We can only hope the new approach in the National Agreement on Closing the Gap will work. And it might, but only because there is finally some focus on empowering Indigenous Australians to take an equal partnership in the effort to close the gaps. Finally, by sharing equal responsibility for closing the gaps perhaps we'll start chipping away at the insidious culture of victimhood which has been unjustly imposed on Indigenous Australians.

I speak for many Australians when I say we look forward to a future where there are no gaps. We look forward to a future when all Australians, regardless of race, are able to avail themselves of the great opportunities that come with living, learning and working in this great nation. Many Indigenous Australians have already broken this ground and discovered how fertile it is. Many have made their marks on our country's culture, history, identity and character. As I have said before, the majority of Indigenous Australians are not victims. They are capable, resilient and valuable citizens of this great nation, and we are a better country thanks to their contributions. Dare I even say that we look forward to a future when reconciliation is completed, when we can all finally agree that we are in fact reconciled.

Many Australians, Indigenous or not, would be forgiven for being sceptical about those prospects, because the gaps will not be closed and reconciliation will never be completed as long as we continue to indulge the disgusting politics of racial division. This allows the unaccountable Aboriginal industry to prey on Indigenous communities and feast on Australian taxpayers by perpetuating difference, entrenching disadvantage and fostering a culture of victimhood. For these businesses and bureaucrats it's a licence to print money. That's why they're cheering on cultural separation and division, supremely confident that this government and this parliament could always indulge it. There is nothing more racially divisive than the push to specifically recognise Indigenous people in the Australian Constitution and to legislate an Indigenous voice to parliament, with the aim to eventually put that in the Constitution, too.

One Nation will take every opportunity to speak on behalf of the many Australians who will never support Indigenous exceptionalism being enshrined in the Constitution and will strongly oppose this attempt to divide us by race forever. It took 66 years for our Constitution to be finally made colourblind, removing all specific references to Indigenous people. It may take less time to reverse this important achievement by, once again, singling out Indigenous people to be treated differently from their fellow Australians.

I have warned the Senate and the Australian people about the potential ramifications of recognising traditional ownership in the Constitution should we ever become a republic. Traditional ownership could effectively take the place of the Crown, and the vast majority of Australians would no longer have sovereignty over their own country or land. I have reminded the Senate that one of the essential foundations of a representative democracy is that every citizen is equal before the law and every citizen has equal political franchise—one adult, one vote. A voice to parliament would effectively give a minority of Australians more political power than the majority of Australians based, on race. In South Africa that sort of thing was called apartheid. Fortunately apartheid is something that has been banished to the past. Let's not revisit it in Australia. Recognising Indigenous people in the Constitution and creating a voice to parliament will only open new gaps while doing nothing to meet the targets of the government's new implementation plan.

As I noted earlier, we hope the new approach will work and the important targets will be met as soon as possible. We have hope in particular for commitments to incentivise or expand service delivery and child and family safety and education based on evidence that they work. Too much money has been wasted on approaches that didn't work, even after it was evident. We have hope for the improved health outcomes coming from a large investment in health infrastructure and equipment in remote areas. We have hope for positive outcomes with more resources going into alcohol and drug treatments. We have hope because there are practical measures that can make a positive difference to the lives of Indigenous Australians where there is a clear need to do so.

As I have said before, that's where the focus of this government and this parliament should be: on what Australians need to make a positive difference. We don't need to change the Constitution to make that positive difference. It would risk the progress which has been made towards reconciliation. It would risk the sovereignty every Australian rightfully has over this country. It would further divide the people of Australia at a time when there are already too many entrenched divisions over almost every other important issue. Let us not move backwards. Let us not revisit a racist past. Let us leave the Constitution forever blind to race and colour. Let us no longer condescend to Indigenous Australians by tolerating the culture of victimhood, which only entrenches disadvantage through generations. Let us show Indigenous Australians the respect they have earned and long deserved by treating them as equals, as individuals, and not as victims looking for a handout. Let us abandon the awful politics of racial division and work with Indigenous Australians to close the gap so that all of us can fully share in our nation's boundless opportunities and take responsibility for the course our lives will take.

I'm going to take a minute or two to give my opinion on the diatribe that came out of Senator Thorpe's mouth. As an Australian, I was born here and I am indigenous to this land. I'm native to this land. I was born here, as many Australians feel. To continually have it thrown up that I don't belong here or that it's stolen land, I think, is a slap in the face. Her comments, in broad parlance, about white privileged Australians—as she said to a couple of senators, white old privileged males—are not pulling us together. This is not working together for reconciliation. She does not acknowledge the Australians that were born here. She says that there is a rate of overimprisonment. As with any Australian, if you break the law, you have to pay a penalty for it, and that means imprisonment. People must take responsibility for their own actions.

When she speaks of children being ripped from the arms of parents, that is because children in these communities, at such a young age—babies and toddlers—are being raped by their family members. We don't speak up about that. Yes, they will be taken away from their families, as it is in white society. You cannot blame it on your cultural differences. These are children that need to be protected, and families are not protecting their children.

As far as education is concerned, I have visited these very remote communities. People can send their children to school at the expense of the taxpayers. They are given every opportunity for an education. They are given every opportunity to have privileges paid for by the taxpayers. Other children don't have that opportunity. Billions—hundreds of billions of dollars—have been thrown at this Aboriginal industry, and yet we still talk about it today. Nothing's changed. You have representation in the parliament. People claim to have Aboriginal backgrounds—fair enough. But I am also here to represent on the floor of parliament those Indigenous Australians, as every other senator and every member of parliament is. Do not continue to divide us by throwing more money out without accountability. Do audits on the system. Ask why the land council won't hand over their land to the Aboriginal people for their independence so they can move forward with their lives. We don't do that. Why is it shut down? There have to be questions asked. Don't be afraid to ask them and speak up on behalf of those Australians.