Malarndirri McCarthy (NT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak tonight about the passing of two beautiful-hearted Australians. The passing of Mr Lester and Dr G Yunupingu has left deep hurt in Indigenous communities and indeed across Australia.

Today, the family of Mr Lester laid him to rest at a state funeral in South Australia, where some of our colleagues were able to attend. Mr Lester dedicated his life to Aboriginal affairs and the betterment of our people. He stood up for the rights of Aboriginal people in the face of tremendous adversity. He spent the best part of his life fighting for justice and recognition of the many Aboriginal people who, like him, were adversely affected by the nuclear testing at Emu Field. He was also a land rights activist. He worked tirelessly on the handback of Anangu Pitjantjatjara lands to the traditional owners in 1985. He also played a central role in the return of Uluru to Anangu traditional owners. The handback of Uluru and Kata Tjuta to traditional owners followed a long battle by Anangu and marked a symbolic pinnacle of the land rights struggle. Minutes after being handed the deeds, Anangu owners leased the land back to the Commonwealth for 99 years. The national park enclosing Uluru would be jointly run by them and the federal parks service, with millennia-old land management skills informing modern scientific practices. As the grandson of Mr Lester said, marking the 30th anniversary of the handback in 2015, 'People thought, "My grandson will have a job and a house and a car. There will be food in the fridge and green lawn to water. Even the dogs will be healthy.'" While Ayers Rock Resort, as the Indigenous Land Corporation owned tourism resort is known, employs many Indigenous workers, the dream of a job is still remote for many Anangu. The resort employs very few locals and the failures of the CDP program at Mutitjulu are evident. One of Mr Lester's dreams was to have traditional ownership of Uluru provide a secure future for Anangu, a share in the wealth generated by one of the country's most iconic places. It's a dream we still have to make a reality and one we should be working to achieve in memory of Mr Lester's legacy.

We also lost another Indigenous leader over the winter break, Dr G Yunupingu. This weekend just passed was the Garma Festival. Many people will be familiar with the festival. It is a sharing of Yolgnu culture, a festival of ideas, and has been the starting point of many friendships. The festival this year was tinged with incredible sadness, as the family of the late Dr G Yunupingu commemorated his life. From the remote community of Galiwinku on Elcho Island, he fought a long and hard battle with illness, an illness took him from this life way too early. He died at the age of 46 while he was in Darwin undergoing dialysis treatment.

He was an internationally renowned artist who didn't particularly like the lime light. He was an extraordinary musician, a self-taught guitarist with an unforgettable voice. Through his music, he generously shared his language and culture with people across the world. After starting his career with the band Yothu Yindi, he embarked on an overwhelmingly successful solo career, selling more than half a million copies of his albums across the world, and he made a deep and strong binding friendship with Skinnyfish's Mark Grose and Michael Hohnen. His generosity did not stop there. Dr G Yunupingu also established his self-titled foundation, which aimed to create greater opportunities for Indigenous young people who live in remote areas. He wanted young people to realise their full potential and contribute to culturally vibrant and sustainable communities.

The death of Dr G Yunupingu is a sad reminder of the cavernous health gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. Despite both of these two great men being blind, they both had great vision, with such incredible passion. Their vision was for a better Australia, where Indigenous and non-Indigenous people can share our culture and our history, while working towards a more reconciled future. These two men will be deeply missed by so many people. I pay my respects to their families, who are mourning tonight, in the heart of Australia and on Yolgnu country. Bauji bara, Mr Lester. Bauji bara, Dr G Yunupingu. Juju.