Dorinda Cox (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I'd like to start by acknowledging that this is Ngunnawal and Ngambri country. It always was and always will be. I honour their old people, their elders past and present and their future leaders.

I rise to speak on the ministerial statement on Closing the Gap. I note that this statement was made in the other place on the 16th anniversary of the National Apology to the Stolen Generations, an important time for remembrance and reflection for our First Peoples of this country, who endured such a devastating time individually and collectively, and for our future generations, who still feel the deep and profound trauma for their survival.

The destructive nature of this legislative policy never disappeared. The testament to that is the fact that I am standing here today. I consider myself one of the lucky ones. Against all odds, my family line has survived. This policy tore families apart, destroyed communities and actively attempted to sever First Nations' connection to country and culture, a culture that has sustained us for over 65,000 years. In many ways, we are still trying to recover from what we lost and to protect what we have left, which is why standalone legislation for the protection of cultural heritage is vital. Fundamentally, at the core of this policy, were two ideas: that First Nations people were 'less than' and not worthy of existence, and that the government knows best how to manage our people.

The Productivity Commission's Review of theNational Agreement on Closing the Gap, released earlier this month, showed two elements of those core ideas that were behind the policy that led to the stolen generations are, in fact, still ever present today. This report found that governments have largely not fulfilled their commitments and have failed to understand the nature and scale of change that is needed to meet their obligations under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.

This report makes four recommendations that are largely aligned with the four priority areas of this agreement. They include power sharing, supporting First Nations data sovereignty, rethinking government systems and culture, and stronger accountability. This report shows what we have known for a long time. In fact, as First Nations people, we live this every day. The gaps are still not closing. It is a scathing and, to be honest, very distressing read. But we, as First Peoples, didn't need another report to tell us that governments are failing to understand what communities need. We are offered lip-service every time government ministers and their officials come into our communities.

The report states that actions by governments 'exacerbate, rather than remedy, disadvantage and discrimination'. This is the definition of institutional racism. It shows how government departments and systems are reinforcing the disempowerment of First Nations people right across this country. These are the racist attitudes that led to the stolen generations, and these are the same attitudes that continue to keep our people out of schools, in hospitals or out of universities and workplaces. This government cannot sit around and continue to make small incremental changes. We have the most progressive parliament to date. There are wall-to-wall Labor governments on the mainland and there is prime opportunity for the radical overhaul that we so desperately need if we have any hope of meeting all of the 17 targets in Closing the Gap. Every day that passes without a government seizing that opportunity to make meaningful structural change is a conscious decision that this government makes not to improve the lives of First Nations people.

First Nations people have the solutions in our communities. They know what we need. They have done this for 65,000 years and governments need to support and enable community-led solutions. Closing the gap is not a day. It's not a breakfast. It's not an event. It's not even a campaign. It is a way that we strive to keep governments honest in this country and for us all to make changes that are necessary. In the words of the late Mr Yunupingu in his 1988 Barunga statement: 'Let's make this right.' Let's make it right. First-nations people have been calling for a chance to do things differently and actually make some meaningful change, but we have two start now. We need this government to be courageous, we need them to stop making lame excuses and we need to make the big structural changes that is going to see the gap close within a generation.

I am standing here as a First Nations senator. I've come to this place against all the odds and I'm going to keep fighting for my people to make sure that within that generation we are going to see that policy and legislative change.