Constitution (Recognition Of Aboriginal Peoples) Amendment Bill
21/03/2013
The Hon. K.L. VINCENT (16:53): I put on the record Dignity for Disability’s very strong support for this bill, and I begin doing that by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land upon which this parliament stands, the Kaurna people, and all other groups and elders, past and present, whose footprints meet our own every time they touch this land, and within whose stories we weave our own. Some members may recognise that as the acknowledgment I read into my very first speech in this parliament and, while I certainly repeat it every day in my own way, I thought it important to recite it verbatim on this particular occasion.
Aboriginal reconciliation is often used as something of a political football and spoken of as some kind of noble goal of a caring government, but to my mind reconciliation is none of these things because the need for reconciliation between our nation’s first and, I suppose, second peoples arises from a debt—a debt thanks to which our forbearers have prospered at the cost of the health, happiness, dignity and even the lives of the native inhabitants of this country. Because this debt is so often in many ways yet to be repaid, we here in this room are still prospering because of it.
Of course this no longer needs to be the case. We know now that the treatment of Indigenous Australians, upon which our nation is founded, was wrong at best. By and large, today’s Australians realise that race is no reason for two groups of people to be treated differently. We have a new school of thought, we have the resources, and on days like today—although not nearly often enough—we have the political will. So it is time to repay that aforementioned debt.
Of course, no singular action, particularly a symbolic action like what we are discussing here today, is going to do this. The amendments we make today are simply words and I say that as someone for whom words are a great love, but they are at the end of the day only words without legal effect. While there is no doubt that this change to our state’s constitution is an incredibly important gesture, we must not forget that it is, in the end, only a gesture and I feel that we have a responsibility to use this change in our words as a springboard that will propel us to change our actions also.
I am extraordinarily proud and privileged to be part of a process that recognises and addresses the long and dark history of the dispossession of the state’s Indigenous inhabitants. I will be even more proud, however, if together we can now rally and redouble our efforts to address the social, political and economic marginalisation that Aboriginal people still suffer in Australia today.
Many Aboriginal Australians are still subject to acts of racism, including racial stereotyping and decreased life expectancy. Unemployment in these communities is still disproportionately high, as is the presence of chronic health issues, addiction and disability as well as many other issues which members have already touched on today.
Not too long ago I travelled to the state’s Far North and visited the APY lands. There I met with health workers, advocates, community leaders and Anangu people, particularly those with a disability and their families. To say the least, I was struck by the adversity I saw—the harsh conditions, the high cost of living—but I was also struck and deeply effected by the goodwill and perseverance of the people and the genuine desire to work to overcome that adversity.
While I acknowledge the good in the fact that this parliament is uniting today to progress this landmark bill, I will not insult those to whom this bill is most important by glossing over the fact that this parliament, and more so this Labor government, is more often less a source of hope on these issues than it is a source of bitter disappointment. The failures of governments past are well documented, but unfortunately we do not need to look too far back in this present government’s history to see examples of disappointment.
During my aforementioned trip to the APY lands it became almost immediately obvious to me that the people living on the lands had been completely left in the dark when it came to being informed about the incoming National Disability Insurance Scheme. This is, of course, in spite of the fact that disability is almost two times more prevalent in Indigenous communities and in spite of the cultural, linguistic and geographical differences that make a timely comprehensive consultation all the more important.
Of course, it was only recently that this parliament rushed through the Petroleum and Geothermal Energy (Transitional Licences) Amendment Bill—a sloppy and dubious piece of legislation that placed more importance on saving the government a bit of embarrassment than respecting the wishes of many in our community. I know that Dignity for Disability has not forgotten this shameful act as I am sure the community has not forgiven it.
While I am proud to be taking a step forward with the passage of this bill today, I am more concerned that it will not be long before we see this government’s selfishness and lack of respect and cooperation drag us back two steps again. This is why Dignity for Disability, as a party founded on ideals of social and economic justice, will continue to work with Aboriginal Australians to ensure that their voices are both heard and heeded.
I would like to express again the deep sense of privilege I feel at being able to take part in such an historic occasion and I feel it would be remiss of me not to offer my humble thanks to those who have been involved in this important process and those present in the gallery today for allowing me to share in this moment with them. With those brief words, I commend the bill to the council and hope that the goodwill and cooperative spirit that we have seen here today will continue and be carried forward by this parliament as we continue to work towards reconciliation because that work is a duty we can no longer afford to ignore.
