Jacinta Nampijinpa Price (NT, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to express my support for the government leading the next National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children, and I'd also like to begin by recognising the work of my own mother, the first Warlpiri speaking, the first language speaking, minister in the Northern Territory government, of the former Country Liberal Party, Bess Nungarrayi Price. She was integral in the establishment of the very first national action plan to reduce domestic violence, and she worked closely with my now colleague Senator Michaelia Cash.

It was very difficult for her, but this is an issue that is very close to our hearts, both my mother and I being survivors. We have also seen violence played out within our immediate family over the years and have experienced the challenges of being Aboriginal women in a traditional Aboriginal context. We talk about culture, and today we are bringing to light the traditional cultural impacts that immediately affect our family. When I hear my colleagues speak of the rates of violence against Aboriginal women in this country, they're speaking about the women in my family. There's a lack of understanding or want of understanding to understand those cultural impacts of when young girls are promised to older men and are forced to be in outstations, where, like my aunt, they go missing for decades. They are forced into those circumstances. When these circumstances are supported by family members, it makes it even it harder for Aboriginal women. It makes it harder when Aboriginal women try to get up and talk about these circumstances and we're immediately affected by our own traditional culture. Others call you a sellout; others call you many different names but don't want to recognise the pressures that we come under as those who live under the confines of traditional Aboriginal culture.

If we were to address this correctly, we would see rates of incarceration drop dramatically. We would see children being able to live in homes free of violence. We would start to see the sort of equality that we want in this country if we could actually recognise those elements that are most destructive, those elements that have taken away the lives of many of my family members, those elements that led to the death of Candy Napaljarri; Marion Napurrurla, her daughter; Kayleen Nungarrayi, another mother to me; Linda Nangala, my niece, who was stabbed in a town camp and killed, who left two children behind; Rita Penangke, my aunt, who left my little cousin behind; Rosalie Nungarrayi, my mother's sister, who was stabbed and killed in a town camp in Katherine; Caroline Napaljarri, my cousin; and, Stephanie Napaljarri, my cousin whose body I had to ID in a morgue.

If we are serious in this nation about lowering the rates of domestic violence for Aboriginal women, we have to listen to the voices of the women who are prepared to speak up. One of those voices is Cheron Long, who I brought to this parliament last year, and her sister, Meescha. Her sister was found hanged from a boab tree in a Territory community, but they believe she was murdered. The investigation didn't find that. These are injustices that need to be followed up in this country. These voices, those ones that are rarely heard, need to be heard in this conversation. Otherwise, we'll continue to see the rates of deaths of Indigenous women remain at critically high levels. These deaths are due to family and domestic violence and sexual abuse that are experienced in places that are out of sight and out of mind to the rest of this country. It must be understood. We talk about culture and toxic masculinity. It occurs in traditional Aboriginal culture as well. I know because my family have been subjected to it, and we need to start taking this seriously.