2016-05-28
I would like acknowledge the traditional owners the Wurundjeri people of the land on which we meet and pay my respect to elders, past, present and future.
It is highlight that the Greens know that sovereignty was never ceded.
I would also like to acknowledge• Senator Patrick Dodson, Senator for Western Australia and ‘father of reconciliation’ • Aunty Caroline Briggs• The Hon Alan Tudge, MP – representing the Prime Minister• Hon Bill Shorten MP, Leader of the Opposition• Professor Tom Calma and Ms. Melinda Cilento, Co-Chair Reconciliation Australia on Australia. • Mr. Justin Mohamed, CEO Reconciliation Australia• Hon Helen Coonan, Director of Crown Resorts
It is twenty five years since the establishment of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, which was established to promote according to the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation Act 1991, Section 5 … a process of reconciliation between Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders and the wider Australian community …As well ast wenty five years since the establishment of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, this year marks twenty-five years since the report of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. The final recommendation of that report was that:
That all political leaders and their parties recognise that reconciliation between the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities in Australia must be achieved if community division, discord and injustice to Aboriginal people are to be avoided. To this end the Commission recommends that political leaders use their best endeavours to ensure bi-partisan public support for the process of reconciliation and that the urgency and necessity of the process be acknowledged.
Twenty-five years later there is strong political support for the process of reconciliation as can be seen here tonite. Quick aside I would suggest today we should read multi-party support.
There has been significant progress on reconciliation and Reconciliation Australia (and the Council) have played a key role. Many of the people in this room have been part of that and we should thank those who campaigned for their struggle, and thank them on behalf of the generations to come, who will benefit from their years of working towards Reconciliation.
But we have a way to go. Reconciliation is still something that we need to work towards, and urgently.
The report earlier this year by RA, The State of Reconciliation in Australia, painted us a very revealing picture, with 33 per cent of Aboriginal people reporting experiencing verbal abuse. 62 per cent believe prejudice is high.
Aboriginal children are almost 10 times more likely to be in out-of-home care and the number of Aboriginal children going into out-of-home care is increasing. The Change the Record campaign reminds us that tragically, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults are imprisoned at a rate 13 times higher than non-Indigenous adults.
We all know there is much left to do in terms of health, education, and life expectancy outcomes.
25th Anniversary requires us to look at what next. Findings in the State of Reconciliation report indicate that until we accept our past, make amends for injustices and pledge to ensure that these wrongs are never repeated, we will not achieve true reconciliation.
The voices calling for sovereignty and treaties are growing louder and louder. Sovereignty and treaties, and constitutional recognition are part of addressing these historical issues.
We must tackle these issues directly, processes of constitutional recognition are underway, the Greens are proposing funding to support national conversations on sovereignty and treaty.
We can’t have full reconciliation until we address these issues.