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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-11-25 Daily Xml
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WYATT, MR K.

Mr MARSHALL (Norwood) (11:31): I move:

That this house congratulates Liberal member for Hasluck, Ken Wyatt, on being the first Aboriginal member elected to the House of Representatives.

It is my great pleasure to rise today to propose the motion. Ken Wyatt was elected at the most recent federal election and took his place at the opening of the 43rd parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia on 28 September this year.

Ken Wyatt is the son of Don and Mona Wyatt, who raised a total of 10 children. Ken Wyatt's father served in the RAAF towards the end of World War II as a driver and left to work for the Western Australian government railways, where he worked as a ganger. His mother was one of the Stolen Generation and spent her childhood years in Roelands Mission near Bunbury in Western Australia. This is where she met her husband, Don. Ken Wyatt was born on the Roelands Mission, south of Perth.

Ken Wyatt graduated as a schoolteacher in 1972. He started his working career as a primary school teacher at the local school. He had a very positive career in the education department, eventually leading to the role of director of the Swan education district. He also has very strong credentials in the health sector and has, until recently, held the role of Director of Aboriginal Health in New South Wales.

Hasluck covers an area of approximately 227 square kilometres. It is home to over 93,000 residents, and includes the City of Gosnells, the western portion of the Shire of Kalamunda and parts of the Shire of Mundaring and the City of Swan. It is geographically and economically diverse and includes a range of industries, including retail, transport and service industries.

Ken Wyatt made his maiden speech on 29 September 2010, watched from the gallery by many Aboriginal elders, including our very own Lowitja O'Donoghue, who he described as an inspiration. Wyatt made his maiden speech wearing a kangaroo skin cloak, called a bookha, the traditional kangaroo cloak of the Nyungar people of Western Australia, which he also wore at the opening of the 43rd parliament the previous day. The cloak was given to him by Matilda House. In his maiden speech, Ken Wyatt said:

The apology to the Stolen Generation has been a powerful instrument in the healing of both our people and our nation.

Of course, South Australia was the first parliament in the commonwealth to apologise to the Stolen Generation. In fact, it was Liberal premier, the Hon. Dean Brown, who moved this motion some 11 years before the federal parliament managed to match our apology—South Australia leading the way yet again.

Mr Piccolo interjecting:

Mr MARSHALL: I will deal with him later. Mr Wyatt mentioned in his maiden speech that his mother and her siblings, along with many others, did not live to hear the words delivered in the apology which would have meant a great deal to them all.

Another major theme of his maiden speech was that of education. Mr Wyatt said that education was responsible for putting him into parliament. I strongly endorse those sentiments. It is incumbent on all governments of whatever political persuasion to recognise the importance of education and to fund it accordingly. Wyatt called on all MPs to be 'pathfinders', to accelerate change, and he described education as the 'great engine' of personal development. His maiden speech went on to recognise some of his colleagues. He states:

I have appreciated the personal support given to me since the campaign by the Hon. Tony Abbott and the Hon. Julie Bishop. My patron senator, who has walked very closely with me, Senator Judith Adams, was the mainstay of support that resulted in me standing here as the member for Hasluck in the chamber today.

The federal parliament has had Aboriginal members in the past. The first, of course, was Neville Bonner, who was elected as a Liberal member of the Senate from 1971. Aden Ridgeway was then elected from 1999. In his maiden speech, Wyatt lamented that nothing had significantly changed since these two Aboriginal senators had outlined their aspirations for Indigenous Australia in their own maiden speeches.

It is truly significant now to have an elected member in the House of Representatives. Tony Abbott said that Mr Wyatt deserves to be honoured. He said 'almost nothing gives me more pride than having in the ranks of the Liberal Party an Aboriginal member of the House of Representatives'.

Both major parties have made contributions to addressing Aboriginal disadvantage. Both parties have had some highlights and both parties, of course, have had their low lights, but it is incumbent on all of us to work in a bipartisan way to address Aboriginal disadvantage. This takes more than acknowledging country, it takes more than flying the Aboriginal flag; it requires parliamentarians to roll up their sleeves and address this huge disadvantage which is, of course, a national shame. I would like to conclude by reading a small extract from Ken Wyatt's maiden speech. He states:

I hope that all governments continue to embrace new solutions to enduring problems where old approaches have failed, where enduring approaches need to change and where the future we all influence is based on mutual respect, mutual resolve and mutual responsibility. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the agencies of government need to jettison the old mindsets that embody Indigenous Australians as passive recipients of government programs and services, and to instead truly regard people as equals and allow them to be equal partners in developing their solutions.

I therefore ask the house to join with me in congratulating Ken Wyatt on his achievement in becoming our first Aboriginal member of the House of Representatives in the federal parliament. I am sure all members will wish him well, and we hope he is the first of many Aboriginal people to take their place in the House of Representatives.

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI (Hartley—Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers) (11:38): I rise to support this very important motion and I commend the member for Norwood for putting it forward. The government would also like to extend its congratulations to the new member for Hasluck, Ken Wyatt, on his election to the federal parliament. His election is a significant step forward in Aboriginal parliamentary representation. It is outstanding to see Mr Wyatt join the ranks of democratically elected Aboriginal representatives in our parliaments.

This is an important statement of reconciliation and inclusion of the first Australians. It is, in my view, an expression of the maturing of the electorate that they see, first, the qualities of their candidates and make a choice based on skill and ability rather than race or background.

The Labor Party has, around the country over many years, promoted a number of Aboriginal candidates for election. In fact, in the last federal election we were very proud of the work that Mr Tauto Sansbury did as the candidate for the seat of Grey. In parliaments around the country, there are a number of Aboriginal members representing the ALP, for instance. Further, we were the first political party to elect an Aboriginal person as a national president of the ALP when Mr Warren Mundine was one of the first three national presidents chosen by rank and file members. He served in this role in 2006 and 2007. Mr Wyatt has achieved, undoubtedly, the historic position of being the first Aboriginal person elected to the commonwealth's lower house.

We should also acknowledge the other outstanding Aboriginal Australians who have taken their place in the parliaments of our nation. Neville Bonner, as the member for Norwood mentioned, from Queensland was the first Aboriginal person elected to the federal parliament. He served as senator from 1971 to 1983. Until Mr Wyatt, the only other Aboriginal person elected to the federal parliament was Aden Ridgeway of New South Wales, who served as a senator from 1999 to 2005. Of course, Senator Ridgeway was also deputy leader of the Australian Democrats in 2001.

There have been several Aboriginal people elected to the Northern Territory's Legislative Assembly. Since Ms Hyacinth Tungutalum entered the assembly as the member for Arafura in 1974, other Aboriginal members of the Northern Territory assembly included Mr Maurice Rioli, elected in 1992 tot he same sat, and Mr John Ah Kit, who became the member for Arnhem in 1995. Mr Eric Deeral was the first Indigenous person elected to the Queensland parliament when he became the member for Cook in 1974 until 1977. Ms Carol Martin was the first Indigenous woman to be elected to a state parliament when she won the seat of Kimberley in the WA parliament in February 2001.

Mr Ernie Bridge—in fact, I met with his son yesterday—who was elected to the seat of Kimberley in 1980, became the first Indigenous person to serve as a minister in any Australian government in 1986 when he was appointed as honorary minister assisting the ministers for water resources, the north-west and Aboriginal affairs. Mr Bridge then held various ministerial portfolios until 1993. Of course, we are all familiar with Ms Marion Scrymgour who was elected in 2001 to the Northern Territory parliament and was appointed to the Northern Territory ministry in 2002. She was also deputy chief minister from 2008 to 2009.

Finally, the first Indigenous person to serve in the New South Wales parliament was the Hon. Linda Burney, who is very familiar to many of us. Elected as the member for Canterbury in 2003, she is currently the Minister for the State Plan and Minister for Community Services.

In South Australia, the first Aboriginal candidate for this parliament was Ms Ruby Hammond in 1990. While there have not been any Aboriginal parliamentarians in South Australia—a fact we are all very disappointed about—in 1976 Pastor Sir Douglas Nicholls was appointed as governor, and he was the first Aboriginal governor of any Australian state.

I join with the member for Norwood and with everyone, I am certain, in this place on congratulating Mr Ken Wyatt, and commit to working with all South Australians and all members to correct this deficiency certainly in this place. I congratulate Mr Wyatt and I wish him and his family all the very best, and join with the member for Norwood in wishing him an outstanding parliamentary future.

Mr GARDNER (Morialta) (11:43): I will be very brief in joining the member for Norwood and the minister and, I believe, the member for Stuart and others who may wish to speak as well. Mr Ken Wyatt AM, of course, is the first self-identifying Aboriginal Australian elected to the House of Representatives, and that is a great honour. I reflect the accolades on that achievement that the members for Norwood and Hartley have already contributed, and acknowledge the previous elections of Senators Neville Bonner of the Liberal Party and Aden Ridgeway of the Australian Democrats prior to that.

Ken Wyatt is a man of Nyungar, Yamatji and Wongi heritage, and his mother Mona was a member of the stolen generation. If anybody here has not seen Ken Wyatt's maiden speech on YouTube, it is certainly worth looking up to reflect on the incredible passion with which he spoke of the apology to the stolen generations and the other matters relating to that.

The only thing I really want to add to the debate is to say that Ken Wyatt would make a very good member of parliament even if he were not an Aboriginal Australian. It is right that we honour this particular achievement, but we should not forget that he is a representative of the people of Hasluck, and he is going to be a very good one, and I am sure that in due course he will be set for higher honours.

His background is as a primary school teacher before working in public policy in both the education and health areas, particularly for the Aboriginal communities with which he has had involvement. His service to his communities was such that he was made a Member of the Order of Australia and he was also a recipient (as was, of course, the member for Norwood, who moved this motion) of a Centenary of Federation Medal for the work he has done in his communities.

It is right that we honour his achievement as the first self-identifying Aboriginal member of the House of Representatives, but I would like to add my congratulations to him as a fine Australian citizen who has been elected to the Australian parliament.

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN (Stuart) (11:45): I thank the member for Norwood for putting forward this motion and thank others who have spoken on it, as well. This is great news. This is really tremendous news, to have an Aboriginal man elected to the House of Representatives. Of course, we on this side are particularly proud that he is a member of the Liberal Party and representing the Liberal Party in federal politics.

One of the most important aspects of this man's election, which the member for Morialta just alluded to, is the fact that he was not elected because he is Aboriginal. He was not elected because he is Aboriginal but because he will be a very good member of parliament. He has been a community leader, he has been an exceptionally strong capable person in his own right and he displays all the characteristics of leadership and community support, which I am sure we all agree are the most important things of what we all try to do here. So, it is very important to point that out.

This is a quality, capable, high-capacity individual who has been elected to parliament, and it is also wonderfully symbolic that he is the first Aboriginal person to be elected to the House of Representatives. This is an important issue with regard to the electorate of Stuart, of course, where 6 or 7 per cent approximately of the people who live in the electorate are of Aboriginal background. I hope that this man, Ken Wyatt, serves to be a very positive example for many people in Stuart and certainly not just the Aboriginal people.

While I certainly do not intend to relinquish my position as the member for Stuart any time soon, I would be thrilled to think that one day an Aboriginal member of parliament could represent the electorate of Stuart—hopefully, not any time soon, as I just said, and, hopefully, he will be a Liberal representative. This will be a wonderful example for people all through the electorate of Stuart and South Australia as well.

One of the things that is really important is that, clearly, Aboriginal people often make up large numbers of what we consider to be disadvantaged people throughout South Australia. I would like to put a personal view. While that is certainly true, I think one of the most important ways of removing anyone from disadvantage is to help that person recognise opportunities and find ways to get advantage. I am sure that Ken Wyatt, as we would all ourselves like to do, will endeavour to do that for Aboriginal people all over Australia.

With respect to local government, we have all had local government elections throughout South Australia just recently, and one of the things I have said in my travels as a brand-new member of parliament over the last seven or eight months is that it would be wonderful to have an Aboriginal person on Port Augusta city council. I think that would be tremendous. Aboriginal people, or people with some Aboriginal background, represent 17 or 18 per cent of the Port Augusta population broadly, and I think that we would all agree that it would be quite fair if 17 or 18 per cent of the councillors could be Aboriginal people. Certainly, no Aboriginal person put themselves forward as a candidate, although I did encourage a few people to do so.

I also point out that, when I did that, I made it very, very clear that, while it would be wonderful to have at least one Aboriginal member of council in Port Augusta, I would not be encouraging anyone to vote based on race. I would not want Aboriginal people to vote for an Aboriginal candidate just because the candidate was an Aboriginal person. I think that would not be helpful.

In the vein of Ken Wyatt, I know there are some very good and capable Aboriginal people who could get elected and who could perform extremely well based on their own skills, background and capacity. I think that is an important thing drawing back into local government and I am sure that is the case in local government throughout South Australia.

Again, thank you to the member for Norwood for moving this motion. I wholeheartedly support it and I unreservedly congratulate Ken Wyatt not only for being the first Aboriginal person in the House of Representatives but, most importantly, for being an incredibly capable member of parliament in the House of Representatives.

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (11:51): I regret that I did not spend a lot more time reflecting before rising today to support the member for Norwood's motion, which, of course, we all celebrate and wish Ken Wyatt the very best in his parliamentary career. Listening to the names of the Aboriginal people who have gone before him, whom the minister mentioned in her contribution, it occurred to me how many women were on that list. Of course, Emily's List (which you would have all heard of) has a very definite and deliberate strategy to promote Aboriginal women wherever they can.

Just as affirmative action made sure that women had significant numbers within the Labor Party, it is time, I think, that we thought of affirmative action across a whole broad range of issues in Australia to make sure that Aboriginal people are amongst the leaders of this nation, as they should be. We all know how difficult it is to enter a place like parliament. I think it is beholden on us all to be involved in a far more concerted effort to mentor Aboriginal people into places throughout all levels of society.

I particularly spoke with the Minister for Education yesterday about promoting Aboriginal people within the teaching hierarchy of this state, and the importance and impact it will have on Aboriginal people as they grow. I feel that an affirmative action policy is well overdue for Aboriginal people in Australia. I support all the sentiments expressed this morning and hope to do my bit to make sure that affirmative action becomes a reality for Aboriginal people throughout all levels of Australian society.

Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (11:52): I was listening to the debate on the motion by the member for Norwood in my office upstairs and I thought I had better come down to say one thing about this motion that I find disappointing; that is, that we are actually debating this motion today. We should not need to single out Ken Wyatt because he is Aboriginal. We should not need to single out any member of parliament because of their racial or cultural background, or anything like that.

However, having said that, I think it is absolutely fantastic that Ken Wyatt is there and he is participating. He is not only representing Aboriginal people in his own electorate but he is also acting as a role model and inspiring Aboriginal people across the whole of this nation, including Torres Strait Islanders as well. There are many, many people, both white and black, who could and should be in this place, but the determinants of whether they stand are many and very complex.

I describe this place as a parallel universe. We only have to look at the current situation with the tensions within the Labor Party being played out in the media. We see it so many times in other parties as well—

Members interjecting:

Dr McFETRIDGE: I am not being party political. I am just making the point that the exposure that you get as a member of parliament, in many cases completely unfair, is a complete disincentive for people to stand for parliament. Someone who does come from a different background is obviously going to be given a bit more scrutiny—and we are doing that in this motion. It is very important that we do make sure that anyone who comes from a different background and who may be put under the spotlight or given a bit more scrutiny is given the extra assistance and any protection they might require from any undue scrutiny and certainly unfair criticism.

It is very important that we recognise that Ken Wyatt is not in the federal parliament because he is an Aborigine; it is because he is a very experienced businessman and community member, and a man of high intellect. He was able to convince the people of his electorate that he is the best representative that they could have chosen in the last election. He got there—and he got there quite well, I understand. The best thing we can say about Ken Wyatt is that he is going to be a terrific member of parliament, not just that he is Aboriginal. He is going to be a terrific member of parliament because of who he is, not what he is. That is what we need to recognise here.

I wholeheartedly support this motion and I congratulate the member for Norwood on his passion for Aboriginal affairs. As everyone in this place knows, I have had my bit to say over the years about Aboriginal affairs, and I remain as passionate now as I was when I first went to Davenport mission in 1972 and met Aboriginal families and saw some of the issues there.

The gap that I saw between my living conditions and their living conditions was as wide then as it is today in many areas, unfortunately. I hope that the gap that exists between white men and women in this place and people of other backgrounds (including Aboriginal backgrounds) is going to close, and close dramatically, to represent what Australia is today, and that is a multicultural society.

We are all Australians and we all want this nation to continue to prosper—not because we are white or black, or from an Asian or African background, or many of the other cultures we have. Australia is a better place because of people such as Ken Wyatt and all the other people. I look forward to watching Ken Wyatt progress through his parliamentary career, and I hope it is not too long before he is joined by other Aborigines, Torres Strait Islanders or people of African background. The Hon. Jing Lee is the first Malaysian member of parliament in this state, and I congratulate her.

Mr Gardner: Malaysian-born.

Dr McFETRIDGE: The first Malaysian-born member in this parliament, and I congratulate her. It is important that we get everybody from the whole spectrum of what is Australia now involved in the democratic process; and also, at the same time, look at what we are doing ourselves in the democratic process, how we are portraying ourselves as members of parliament, and, by doing that, attract people of all backgrounds and experiences.

I support the motion. I congratulate the member for Norwood, and I look forward to watching his rise in this place, not only Ken Wyatt.

Mr MARSHALL (Norwood) (11:58): I will be very brief. I thank the members of the house and, of course, the minister for supporting this motion. It is great that both sides support this motion. I hope it ushers in a new paradigm of bipartisan support for this most important portfolio.

Motion carried.

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