Patrick Dodson (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Wong. Why is the Albanese government committed to continuing on the path of reconciliation?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Dodson, for this question, on what is your last day in the Senate. It is a question that goes to Senator Dodson's life's work. For many Australians, Senator Dodson is the father of reconciliation. I know that the disappointment he felt, that we share, about the referendum was profound. I ask all of us to reflect on his words yesterday about the result. He said:

That 60-40 spread of that vote makes it an Australian problem. It's not an Aboriginal problem …

We need to seriously think now of the way in which our civil society knits together with this diversity and differences.

'Knits together.' So this cannot be the end.

I say to senators: this is not something we need to think about only from the point of view of closing the gap, as important as it is. This is something we need to think about in terms of healing our nation. This is about the country we choose to be. Will we allow history to entrench difference and disadvantage? Or will we decide to build a future that unites, which is what Senator Dodson has been seeking all his life?

I know we are all saddened that Senator Dodson leaves this place when there is still so much to be done, but I would say to all of us that it is our job to continue his legacy and to continue the task he set out in his first speech:

If we work to find what we have in common rather than what divides us, I believe that we can be better people; we can build a better Australia; we can build a better place for the next generation together.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Dodson, a first supplementary?

Patrick Dodson (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Does the minister believe that, in order to achieve justice for First Peoples, we need to work constructively and bring Australians together?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, I do, Senator Dodson, and I know you do too. In fact, you have been a leader in that for all your life. That is your legacy.

We know it is always easy to use difference to divide. It is always easy to use prejudice to divide. It's always easy to score political points. But none of that—none of that—builds a path to a better and more just future for all of us.

If I may remind the chamber of what Senator Dodson said in a report, The state of reconciliation in Australia, previously, he said this: 'Reconciliation must transcend Australian political theatre and promote a sense of national unity.' The soul of our nation cannot be a target for political slings and arrows. On his last day here, I urge all of us to reflect on what Senator Dodson has taught us. We are all better off when we're reconciled, and justice is only achieved when shared by all.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Dodson, second supplementary?

Patrick Dodson (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, why does the way we talk to each other matter for the kind of country we live in and the country our children inherit?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Each of us has a role in making Australia a better place, and our words and our deeds shape the lives of all Australians. We know, in the wake of the referendum, many are hurting. We know Jewish communities, Palestinian communities and many more Australians are so distressed by the conflict in the Middle East. We must maintain respect for each and for each other's humanity. There is no place for prejudice in this country. And when we speak, let us strive to speak with understanding for difference and let us strive to speak with mutual respect. Let us strive to always remember our diversity is one of our greatest strengths. At a time of heightened tension, at a time of distress when people are hurting, we all have a responsibility to bring people together.

Senator Dodson, no-one has done more to bring Australians together than you. On behalf of the Labor Party here in the Senate, and I'm sure I speak for many others, I thank you for all you have done for our country.