Jacinta Nampijinpa Price (NT, Country Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Hansard source

As unfortunate as it is, this is certainly an issue about race, and it's completely and utterly unavoidable. It is unavoidable. I can stand here as a person of Warlpiri heritage and tell this chamber that there's not a day that goes by that I'm not reminded of my racial heritage in this place, because it is brought up over and over again. Whether it is in the form of virtuous platitudes or not, it is still brought up.

Ultimately, as Australian citizens, we would hope that we can be all treated as such equally, without a requirement of special measures enshrined in our Constitution. Ultimately, your government and all of us want to see the gap closed. We all want to see all Australian citizens on an equal footing. That doesn't happen by constantly singling us out because of our heritage, our race, whatever you want to call it. It's in the memorandum: 'difference'. The focus is on difference. The focus is not on understanding basic human similarity, understanding how human beings become successful based on the experience of other human beings regardless of their racial heritage, whatever heritage it is; it's pertaining to race. It would be beneficial that we could one day simply be treated as equal going forward. Does the Albanese government aim for true equality? Is that what the final outcome is?