Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Hansard source

It is unfortunate that I follow a speech that indicates a 'no' vote, because I want to say to the chamber, and to those that may be listening or reading our contributions at a later time, that I will be voting yes. I want to also acknowledge the many speakers who have contributed on this history-making bill and who have indicated that they will be voting yes.

The bill before us, the Constitution Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice) 2023, is an extremely important step on the pathway to recognition and ongoing consultation. That's what it is: recognition and consultation. I often wonder why those that oppose the Voice are so frightened of recognition and consultation. It just means listening. Why are they? Everything that I've heard so far from those that oppose, including the previous contribution, does not adequately address these concerns. Yes, they seek to provide misinformation and disinformation to the wider community, to those people that are considering how they may vote in the forthcoming referendum, and to scare them into a position of voting no. If you have to scare people to support your position, you really need to have a good, long, hard look at yourself. This bill proposes an alteration to the Constitution to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by establishing a voice to make representations to parliament and to the executive government on matters that relate to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Right now, our Constitution doesn't refer to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people once—not even once.

Simply, this alteration is about two things, as I've said: consultation—meaning listening; it is not a hard thing, not a big thing, to ask for—and recognition. As a nation we need to grasp this opportunity with both hands; that's my view. It is an opportunity which will work to address the structural and systematic problems that continue to produce devastating outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. I don't think there's a person in the chamber that would suggest that the current outcomes that are being produced by government policy are working. I don't think there would be a person that could stand up here and suggest that what we've been doing in the past has worked.

We have a thing or two to learn, I believe, from our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities—65,000 years of knowledge passed down from generation to generation through songlines, all of which have been dismissed and ignored far too long. The generosity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in sharing their culture, their songlines, their stories—as an Australian nation, we should feel privileged that they have reached out to do that. I defy anyone that goes to an Aboriginal community, goes to an Aboriginal ceremony, to not feel touched by what First Nations people are imparting. If you don't feel touched and blessed—that is a big thing for me, because I'm not a religious person.

I was up at the NT, and I was having a discussion with—