Lidia Thorpe (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I too would like to comment on the Inquiry into Community Safety, Support Services and Job Opportunities in the Northern Territory. During this inquiry we heard from First Nations people across the Territory—families, communities, young people and some services, including community leaders—about the devastating impacts of the Northern Territory Intervention and, later, the Stronger Futures legislation on communities. The Intervention represents one of the darkest eras of First Nations policy this country has seen. Implemented by John Howard and then continued by subsequent Liberal and Labor governments, the Intervention was racist and paternalistic and undermined First Nations' rights to self-determination. The Intervention is evidence of the violent colonisation in this country and its oppressive regime.

Our people have never ceded sovereignty over these lands, waters and skies, which we have cared for since time immemorial. As the oldest living culture on this planet, we know very well how to care for one another, how to look after our old people, how to teach and look after our young people and how to care for country, because that's what we've always done. This knowledge, passed down through generations, remains as strong as our culture and our sovereignty that always was and always will be ours.

The Stronger Futures legislation packages disempowered our communities and added to the trauma caused by colonisation that has impacted our people across generations. Alcohol consumption is a symptom of the impact that trauma has on our communities—trauma that is complex and is only compounded by racist policies that lack proper consultation and certainly lack consent.

They undermine our right to self-determination, as we saw with the intervention and Stronger Futures. This shows the importance of finally ensuring our laws comply with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, UNDRIP, being enacted in this country. While Australia officially adopted the UNDRIP in 2009, this country has no regard for human rights let alone the rights of First Nations people. The principle of free, prior and informed consent of First Nations people, one of the core principles of the UNDRIP, is of particular importance to ensure First Nations self-determination as well as best outcomes for First Nations people, culture and country. This government refuses to acknowledge that First Nations people are sovereign nations and refuses to go out into communities and sit down and talk with our elders and leaders who know what is best for their people. Consultation is not consent.

I welcome the committee's acknowledgement of the ways in which these policies disempowered First Nations communities and the inadequate consultation and planning for the sunsetting of Stronger Futures. Despite knowing that this legislation would be ending years in advance, the government failed to properly consult with communities about what should come next. I fully support the committee's acknowledgement of the importance of local community led solutions and initiatives. As a country, we have a long way to go to make this a reality. Our people, especially our elders, hold the solutions to the challenges we face. This is why we need a treaty with First Nations people.

Treaty is a long-overdue end to the war that was declared on First Nations people at the invasion of these lands. It would acknowledge that First Nations sovereignty was never ceded and would provide a pathway for us to move forward. A treaty would enable us to address the underlying oppression and injustices our society was built on. Treaty can create true systemic change to allow much needed healing. Treaty is what First Nations people in this country have been calling for ever since invasion. It will be negotiated sovereign to sovereign and allow clans and nations to determine their own destiny. And it is the way to create jointly a brighter future in this country.

I will continue advocating for a treaty, for the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody recommendations to be implemented and for the Bringing them home report because these are what my people across the country have been calling for, and they would actually have a real impact on people's lives. Bringing those messages into parliament is an act of sovereignty. I look forward to bringing all peoples across this country along the journey of this movement towards justice and towards peace.

Question agreed to.