Uluru Statement

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (14:56): I ask the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation: what is his response to the Uluru statement broadly? Specifically, will he consult and consider First Nations' representation to be dedicated for this parliament?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Employment, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Minister for Automotive Transformation, Minister for Science and Information Economy) (14:57): I thank the honourable member for her question. The statement that came out of the discussions at Uluru, with almost 300 Aboriginal delegates from right around Australia I think, was quite a remarkable process that led to that. There were 12 dialogues right around Australia involving Aboriginal people, culminating in the meeting at Uluru over a few days at the end of last week.

One of the things that struck me is that all too often recommendations are made about or for Aboriginal people and not by Aboriginal people, and this was one of those occasions where both the process and the outcome was driven by Aboriginal people. The one-page statement that outlined the consensus view of those delegates who met in Uluru will now be considered by the Referendum Council, and I think it is either the end of June or July that the Referendum Council, incorporating what came out of Uluru, will provide a report to both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition.

I am not going to come out and say that I completely support everything that was said, or dismiss everything that was in that statement, but, as I say, I think it was a remarkable process and a well thought out statement that was arrived at. Certainly in some areas, like talking about a process for treaty, it is my view that this is unfinished business for us as a nation. We are one of the very few countries of those we compare ourselves with, like Canada, the US or New Zealand, that didn't have such a process at the time of colonisation. It is my personal view that this is something that is going to have to be addressed—the national issue of treaty—which was one of the two main elements that came out of the statement at Uluru.

In terms of Aboriginal representation, or the issue of reserved seats, that was not something that was contemplated in the statement that came out of Uluru. The discussion about treaty was one component; the other major component was a discussion about a body to give advice on legislation for the federal parliament. Certainly, reserved seats or guaranteed representation is not something we are contemplating in South Australia at this moment.

The other thing I want to mention in relation to the statement that came out of Uluru is the diversity of representation across Aboriginal Australia—representatives from right around this nation. For anyone who saw Q&A on Monday night out of Parliament House in Canberra, the statement out of Uluru was the topic of discussion. At the end of Q&A, the statement was read out in its entirety by Sally Scales, who is the recently elected APY female from the Pipalyatjara/Kalka area and the new deputy chair. I think that was an extremely proud moment for Sally and her family and, I think, for APY in South Australia.