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

I feel like it must be a good day on our side when there is nothing coming from the opposition that questions our policies or our legislation. The questions that we received today are things that WA parliament is doing. I don't know if they realise that we're actually in the federal parliament, and they should, maybe, be asking some questions and attempting to criticise some of the things that we're doing here. But they want to focus on what the WA parliament is doing. I think the question is really simple: do you value Aboriginal cultural heritage in this country?

We have heard that both sides of this place agree that having a national conversation about protecting our cultural heritage is something that we all should be doing because we actually don't want to see something like the Juukan Gorge happening again, do we? There was national outrage—rightly so. If those opposite are now saying that they are happy for something like that to happen again, that we shouldn't be having a conversation about protecting our ancient history in this place, then they are wildly out of step with the Australian people. They are wildly out of step with the Australian people if that is what they think—that the destruction of cultural heritage in this place is acceptable. Because that is what I hear from across the other side. Make no mistake, this is actually just a scare campaign against the voice; that is all that this is. That is the only reason you would bring it to this place. So not only do you not want to hear from First Nations people about the things affecting us, you are also happy to talk about the destruction of our heritage—your heritage, too. That is what you are saying—that you don't want to hear from us or see us either on any of your country at all.

The conversation that is ahead of this country right now is about bringing us together. It is about listening to First Nations people about things that affect us and you. We want to have conversations about protecting our cultural heritage, not just for First Nations people but because protecting our cultural heritage in this country is for everybody. It is for everybody. It is something that we should all be incredibly proud of and feel like we own a piece of—46,000 years, gone in a blink. Thousands of Australians travel every year to see places around the world like Stonehenge, the Vatican and the Coliseum because they are thousands of years old. We have such a treasure here in this country of our own history, and those opposite are happy to lay the foundation for that to be destroyed, because that is exactly what I'm hearing from the other side—fear mongering, scare campaigns.

The proposal that is before the Australian people is simply about a couple of things. It is about recognising the oldest continuous culture in the world in our country's founding document, a history that every Australian should be proud of. It is about listening to First Nations people about the matters that affect us. Because everybody knows when you've got a challenge in your life, the best person to help solve that challenge is you. That is exactly the proposition that Aboriginal people are asking for. We want to be engaged on issues that affect us.

At the end of the day, it is about better results, actually. We don't want to continue to live in a world where we are not equal. I don't want my sons to inherit a world where they are not equal. I don't want your kids to grow up in a world where First Nations people are not equal with your children, your grandchildren, your nieces and nephews, whoever it might be. That is a country that all of us should be unhappy to leave to our next generation, actually. This is about uniting the nation. It is about uniting 65,000 years of history with the Australia that we are in today in our Constitution. It is nothing more; it is nothing less.