Jana Stewart (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

What we are seeing in Alice Springs is absolutely devastating and heartbreaking. I don't think anybody is suggesting otherwise. The impact that it will have on some of those people's lives for the longer term will be significant. Sadly, the challenges faced by communities in Central Australia are not new, and more needs to be done to improve community safety and to support community members to thrive. What we know is that when you work with and listen to local communities you achieve better outcomes. I was interested to hear Senator Nampijinpa Price talk about listening because I feel like some of the pleas of the community for the last 10 years have fallen on deaf ears.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister announced a quarter of a billion dollars in a plan for a better, safer future for Central Australia. This is in addition to the $48 million investment in community safety announced on 24 January this year. Next week, the Northern Territory government will be introducing urgent legislation to strengthen alcohol restrictions so that town camps and communities will revert to dry zones. These responses will improve community safety, invest in health services, invest in families, tackle alcohol related harm, focus on culture and on-country learning and provide more opportunities for young people. Critically, this work will be delivered in partnership with and by listening to these communities, not by grandstanding in this place. Listening is absolutely critical. We can agree on that.

Senator Nampijinpa Price's motion is redundant. She's been talking about it for months. Those on the opposite side would do well to stop playing politics with people's lives. She should be rallying around the Australian and Northern Territory government package and backing it in. She should be working to ensure this package helps the community in the best way possible. There is an obligation on both sides of parliament to make it work, to support the community now and in the future. I'm hearing nothing from the opposite side about the good work that has been done by First Nations leaders, community members and advocates in Central Australia. I'm hearing nothing from the senator regarding the resilience of Central Australian communities and people. We are still here, despite the statistics. The Closing the gap report continues to publish statistics which show that the current policies and initiatives are not leading to successful outcomes for First Nations communities. They're not leading to improvements in areas like social welfare, education, health, social justice and more. That's just putting it politely.

I'm proud to be part of a government who are fully committed to delivering a successful referendum and the Voice to Parliament in 2023. The voice to parliament is about giving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples a say in matters that affect their communities. It's about creating practical and lasting change that will lead to better policies and improve the lives of First Nations people in areas like health, education and housing. As Aunty Pat Anderson from the referendum committee has said, everyday First Nations people don't have the megaphone of politicians, and so we need to give all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities a voice.

Whilst the opposition has sought to distract attention from the core purpose of the voice, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Minister Linda Burney continue to share information about what the voice is about—recognition and consultation. Polling shows the vast majority of First Nations people support the government's proposed voice referendum—an estimated 80 per cent. A voice is what we want and what we need to begin to move forward as a nation to address the gaps for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across our nation. First Nations communities across Australia have been working towards the establishment of a voice for many years.

The referendum taking place later on this year is an invitation from First Nations people to each and every Australian. This invitation has been longstanding and is directly from First Nations leaders across the country to you, the Australian people—not to politicians. Let's create a better future for all Australians.