Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'd like to respond to the comments that have been made today. I totally agree with the comments made by Senator Liddle and Senator Nampijinpa Price. I first spoke about this 28 years ago, as a candidate and then as a member of parliament. I have been calling out the corruption, the lies, the inequality in the system and the treatment of one race of Australians against another race of Australians. It's racism. That's exactly what it is. There are inequalities in our system.

Why have we allowed it to go on? When I was in parliament in 1996, it was brought to my attention that the plan was to create a nation within the nation, based on what happened in Canada with Nunavut and the Inuit people. That was the plan for Australia. Successive governments haven't addressed this and have left the Aboriginal people in poverty stricken areas with low life expectancy. Their conditions are horrendous. The children are abused. The sexual abuse is disgusting. There are the education levels, the incarceration and the health systems, yet the leaders of this nation, even Anthony Albanese, cry out in this chamber time and time again saying that they want to help them but they're really not—not at all. You're allowing it to go on.

What Senator Nampijinpa Price said about the vote and the Labor Party—you are; you have done it for years. You've actually paid for the Aboriginal vote through the handouts that you've given them over the however many years now that it has been going on. You round them up, you take them to the polling booth, you actually tick off the names, you go into the nursing homes, and they have no idea what they're doing. You're allowing this to go on. It is absolutely disgusting what you've allowed to happen.

I kept calling out—actually, it was last year when this was brought to my attention; an investigation by the Department of Social Services into the aged-care sector, especially in South Australia, of people who were, again, found to be corrupt and are still employed in the aged-care sector—that I wanted to table documents in this parliament. But you would not allow it. You don't answer questions. I've written to the Prime Minister. I've written to Minister Burney. I get no response whatsoever. You're not forthcoming to the questions that are asked. Either that's incompetence or you've got something to hide. But you certainly don't care. You don't care what is going on in this country.

I'd like to really know how many of you, members in this parliament, mainly the Labor Party and the Greens and David Pocock, have actually, physically, visited these Aboriginal communities, been in their towns, gone to their schools, gone to their homes, spoken to them? Do you really know what's happening to these people? You've handed over power to a few in this nation, a few that have benefited from it, benefited to the extent of ownership of houses, cars and assets, which a lot of other people would never dream of having. You've allowed that to happen without any investigation. How did they get their wealth? How did they become so powerful? Why is it that people in these communities—one Aboriginal community leader said to me, 'Pauline, we can't even go on the native title land without the permission of Murrandoo Yanner. We can't even go there, on our own land. We're denied the rights.' There's another thing that I was told: he was given $1 million to set up a tour, to buy a boat on the river, which was never taken out. Where's the investigation into that? There are many, many cases that have been put out there. No-one cares.

Are you aware of the children in the streets? I'm talking about kids of about four or five years of age in the streets at night. Do you know where they go? They sit outside the school. That's in Doomadgee. You probably don't know where that is, but, anyway, it's in Far North Queensland—an Aboriginal community. They actually are sitting out there in the streets. I said, 'Why are they there?' They said, 'Because of the dysfunctional homes. Because they're in fear, they'd rather be on the streets at night than in their dysfunctional homes.' That is with either their family members, neighbours or whatever, with the sexual abuse, the alcohol abuse—that goes on. Then you have the children brought into this world because of the drugs and their drug dependency. Even with babies that are born, there is drug dependency. The sexual abuse, even on babies—and you won't even have a royal commission into it? It's an absolute disgrace.

What do I have to say—you talk about how you want to hear from the Aboriginal people. You want a voice to parliament. You actually have Aboriginal senators in this place that are screaming out for this, and you want a voice to parliament? You have your voice to parliament here, but you're completely ignoring it. You're completely ignoring these Aboriginal women that are calling out to represent their people—this is happening to them. You just turn a deaf ear to it. You disgust me. You absolutely disgust me. The majority of Australians, regardless of their racial background, are also crying out for the Aboriginal kids that are mistreated. They want to see a difference. They want accountability for their taxpayer dollars.

It's estimated that over a trillion dollars has been poured into this industry over the last 30 or 40 years. You set up the organisation ATSIC. It was only after it was complained about as a corrupt organisation that finally you got rid of it. That's what it was, and you wanted to set up another corrupt organisation with a voice to parliament which would do absolutely nothing. Now your Labor parties around the country are setting up your bodies for treaties in each state. What's that going to do? Absolutely nothing. More taxpayer funds will go into them, and they will make absolutely no difference whatsoever to the lives of these people.

We need to treat everyone in this country on an equal basis—based on needs, not race. We are all Australians together. That's the only way that you'll start to close the gaps. That's when the real benefits will be seen. Don't treat people differently because of their race; look at their needs. These very wealthy people can go and claim benefits. They don't need it, because they're millionaires, but that means absolutely nothing to you. Look at the ones that are living in shambles. Look at the poor kids in these communities who don't get a decent feed and don't get looked after. Look at the abuse that happens to them and at their health conditions.

I tell you what. If you'd like to go to some of these communities in Queensland, please come knocking on my door. I'd be glad to take you. I'm sure that Senator Price and Senator Liddle would also dearly love to take you out to Alice Springs. Maybe it will open up your eyes a bit and you'll see what is really happening out there. The Prime Minister couldn't even be bothered going out there for more than a few hours. He was more interested in going to see the tennis regardless of the crime that is happening on the streets. People are leaving Alice Springs. They don't want to live there anymore. Because of the escalating crime, they're in fear of walking down the streets. It's not a place where they want to live anymore. Did you know that Alice Springs is the capital of the world for stabbings? Disgusting, isn't it?

You really don't get it. You don't understand what the hell is happening in our country. Until you treat people equally, get accountability and cut the head off the snake using its venom to get whatever it can out of the people for its own benefit, nothing will change in this nation. Be the representatives for this nation that you were elected to be. Do it without fear or favour. I'd like to see some backbone in this place for a change instead of people always hiding behind the party. For Christ's sake, stand up and show some backbone, will you?

Question agreed to.