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

Yesterday, while talking to a matter of public importance, I was ordered to remove a prop: the message stick I brought into the chamber with engravings for lives lost through deaths in custody—441 lives. I would like to state to this chamber that a message stick is not a prop. It is a means of communication for my people. It is no different from the pieces of paper, the mobile phones, the iPads et cetera that everyone is allowed to carry in here. I would like to point out that the move was disrespectful to my people and culture and undermines cultural safety in this place. I will therefore approach the President and seek to find a way forward to ensure the practices in this place are respectful to First Nations people.