HARMONY DAY

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (15:36): I acknowledge that we are meeting on Kaurna land, and I pay my respects to the traditional owners, past and present. Today is Harmony Day, a special day each year when we really focus on the things that bind us and unite our community. It is especially important this year because shortly in the other place of this parliament the Hon. Ian Hunter will make his second reading contribution in his capacity as Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation on the constitution recognition bill.

Other MLCs will no doubt join in the debate in front of a gallery that today will have a large number of Aboriginal people and their supporters present. This is a very special day and an important recognition of the existence of Aboriginal people and culture for thousands of years. I must admit that I did not think I would see this progress in my lifetime, knowing how long it has taken to achieve so many other things for Aboriginal people. It just shows that patience can eventually be rewarded.

It is good to see since my time in this place that Aboriginal people have come more often to watch proceedings in the chamber, that the Aboriginal flag is now proudly flying on the building and that following an initiative by former Speaker Breuer an acknowledgement is made at the beginning of each week's sitting in this chamber, and I believe that has begun today in the Legislative Council also.

That is a tiny gesture in front of the esteemed people I understand are in the gallery—members of the advisory panel whose work has been the basis and foundation of the constitutional amendments. My constituent, Mr Peter Buckskin, is among them, and the Hon. Robyn Layton will also be there, and she is co-chair with Mr Buckskin of the Reconciliation SA group. Also there are Khatija Thomas, Commissioner for Aboriginal Engagement; former Justice von Doussa; and, of course, Ms Shirley Peisley, the poster girl of the 1967 referendum.

Shirley has been and remains a strong influence on me, and I owe her a good deal, for it has been through our association that I have been able to do what I hope has been some useful work. Shirley and her associates and contacts remain a strong part of the Florey Reconciliation Task Force, which still meets regularly in a similar fashion to the talking circles that were a feature of earlier efforts for reconciliation around the time of the bridge walks.

The Florey Reconciliation Task Force also relies on Ms Lea Crosby and the Florey electorate office staff for administration support, and I thank them and the many community people who attend often at various times of the year, but we have a large number who come and join us in our discussions.

The Florey Reconciliation Task Force will shortly be having a discussion night following Rolf de Heer's wonderful movie, Ten Canoes, a movie I recommend thoroughly to anyone who has not seen it, as it is a marvellous insight into Aboriginal culture. Along with other movies, like Tracker and Rabbit Proof Fence and the TV series Redfern, these artistic achievements offer a window into Aboriginal life of yesterday and today.

One of the opportunities I have greatly appreciated in my time here was my time on the Aboriginal Lands Committee. I resigned from that committee some months ago because it was not possible to achieve the sorts of changes I felt necessary to close the gap on so many aspects of Aboriginal life. Perhaps this is another example of Aboriginal patience—perhaps the changes I think should be made will be one day soon. I note in an announcement earlier today on the national Closing the Gap strategy, Aboriginal people are still living 11 years less than non-Aboriginal people—something that will need to change for their to be any true harmony.

Some time ago at an earlier opportunity, I also raised the thought that perhaps Aboriginal people should enjoy superannuation rights sooner than non-Aboriginal people because of their life expectancy being much shorter. It is good to see that it has moved down now to 11 years. It was much greater at the time I first introduced that thought about superannuation. Of course, we have large numbers of Aboriginal people in urban populations who are enjoying a much better standard and quality of life than those in the outlying communities.

It is still very important for us to remember that the children in those communities rely on us to make sure that the health improvements that are so vital to their lives come into play much sooner than they are. No matter how many ear infections we work to keep under control, the reinfection rates are very high, and a life of poor hearing or no hearing means that their learning capacities are greatly diminished. On Harmony Day, I hope everybody has the opportunity to share a little harmony with their colleagues, and I do think of my colleagues in Canberra today and wish all members a happy Harmony Day.