National Reconciliation Week

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (15:24): My question is to the Premier in his role as Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. What events are planned within the parliamentary precinct to commemorate Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week?

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (15:25): It would be a matter for the Joint Parliamentary Service Committee for any parliamentary events, but of course this a very important day that we acknowledge today. National Sorry Day commemorates the Bringing Them Home report, which was handed to the then Labor federal government back on 26 May 1997, so we have had this in place since. I think the first anniversary of that became the first National Sorry Day.

Of course, we in this parliament can acknowledge that we were the first parliament in the country to acknowledge the Bringing Them Home report and make that apology to the stolen generations. That apology was under the premiership of John Olsen, the Liberal Premier at the time. In fact, I think it was delivered by the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, the Hon. Dean Brown, himself a former Premier in South Australia.

We do acknowledge this day as a very important day. It is a day that is important in our overall reconciliation agenda here in South Australia. As the member would know, I served on the board of Reconciliation SA for an extended period of time; in fact, eight years—it might have been longer than that; I am just trying to recall; no, it was eight years—right up until the time I became the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation. In this parliament, I think we have done much to advance the cause in terms of reconciliation in this term of government.

I would like to place on the public record appreciation to you as the Speaker for allowing the Aboriginal flag and the Torres Strait Islander flag to hang in this very chamber. That was done without votes and without any acrimony, and of course it was a practical demonstration of this parliament's pathway towards reconciliation, as it was under the former government when the then Speaker agreed to fly the Aboriginal flag aloft this building.

I note that today we have not only the Aboriginal flag flying on top of this parliament but the Torres Strait Islander flag, which is unusual, because usually we have the Australian flag, the South Australian flag and the Aboriginal flag. Today, we have the Australian flag, the Aboriginal flag and the Torres Strait Islander flag.

It was also a great time for our parliament—and that was the basis of the question: what the parliament is doing—in that we had Dr Roger Thomas, who is our Commissioner for Aboriginal Engagement in South Australia, not just deliver his report to the parliament, he came and presented it in the parliament. To the best of my knowledge, that was the first time we have had an Aboriginal voice in this chamber. I think it was an historic day.

Obviously, now we are finalising our overall push towards establishing a voice to the government and a voice to this parliament, and we are hoping that legislation can be brought in the coming months.