Fatima Payman (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I will take that interjection. I do know it. For those who sitting opposite saying, 'If you don't know, vote "no",' do you know what you are doing? You're insulting the intelligence of the Australian people. That's a shame on you because you sit here demanding and taking this moral high ground, thinking that you are alleviating Australians of this dilemma that they find themselves in. But it's very simple. If nothing changes, we cannot see results. You've been in government for the last decade. How much change have you seen? We're still seeing suicide rates skyrocket. We're still seeing incarceration rates through the roof. You call us a first-world nation when you're treating your Indigenous people as third-class citizens. Senator Hanson, what do you have to say for that?

Through the chair, I would like to come back to the point here. When I'm talking to people on the ground, the fearmongering of those on the other side, who are not basing any of their arguments on facts, is outrageous. It's all about the hypotheticals. It's all about making sure that they politicise. They use every opportunity to politicise this campaign when they know that it's simply a generous invitation for us to close the gap, for us to listen, for us to get better results.

My late father used to always used to say that God has blessed you with two ears and one mouth so that you can listen twice as much as you speak. Clearly, those opposite are just talk. They do not walk the talk. They just sit there. They just spread misinformation and they expect that Australian people are that stupid that they will listen to their fearmongering and listen to the misinformation that they're spreading. Don't you know that people on your own side—people such as Julian Leeser, Malcolm Turnbull, Julie Bishop and Jeremy Rockliff—are voting yes? Why are they voting yes? You clearly don't know.

Do you know what? I don't know that you're ready to face the facts. I don't think you can handle the facts. The facts are out there. They've been out there. People have been asking for this. An overwhelming majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are asking for this. Now, you all have families and children. Put yourselves in their position. They are begging for your vote. Each and every Australian out there has this opportunity, and I have faith in the Australian people. I know that we will make the right decision when it comes to 14 October, because we want to see a united nation. We want to see our nation come together.

It's really important for us to realise that the two components of the question that will be asked of the Australian people are very simple. They are recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and making sure that there's a voice to parliament—not a voice in parliament, but a voice to parliament—that will listen to the concerns of Indigenous people and ensure that, when it comes to policymaking, there's effective policymaking by consulting with those whom it will impact the most.

I would like to rephrase what those opposite are saying when they say, 'If you don't know, vote no,' by saying: 'If you don't know, find out more.' As Australians, we are smarter than that and we deserve better than that. Don't let those opposite insult your intelligence. Find out more. Vote 'yes' if you want to see change. Vote 'yes' for a better Australia.