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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
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CONSTITUTION (RECOGNITION OF ABORIGINAL PEOPLES) AMENDMENT BILL

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 29 November 2012.)

Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (15:57): I am not the lead speaker, but it gives me great pleasure to speak on this bill.

Wati Speaker, ngyalu Pitjantjatjara wankapai tjuku tjuku. Ngyalu wea wankapai Kaurna munta. Ngyalu wankaku nyangantja manta ka nyarratja manta Kaurna manta. Mr Speaker, I just said that I speak a little bit of Pitjantjatjara (I do not speak any Kaurna, and I am sorry about that) and that this land and the surrounding lands are Kaurna lands and that we recognise that. It is important that we do acknowledge the long history of Aboriginal people in South Australia and Australia. The bill before us now is a small step in further reconciling the history of the interaction between the white settlers and the original inhabitants of this country, and it is a very important step.

I like to think that from the reaction I get from the Aboriginal elders in South Australia that I have a very good relationship with them. I like to respect their cultures. In fact, this morning I was telling a delegation of Norwegian nurses here about the fact that in South Australia we have about 39 different distinct tribal groups. When you put Australia across Europe and talk about the Aboriginal people, we should be talking about the 400-plus diverse groups of Aboriginal people and, here in South Australia, the 39 different groups that have been here for thousands and thousands of years.

That said, the relationship with the Aboriginal elders here is very full and frank. I undertook to learn a little bit of Pitjantjatjara so that I could show my own respect for the history and also get a better dialogue going between those Pitjantjatjara-speaking people in my interactions with them. When the Kaurna elders come down to my electorate of Morphett, which of course is where the original proclamation was read on 28 December 1836 by Robert Gouger, the colonial secretary, I say to them, 'Welcome to my country.'

Now, they know exactly what I mean. This is not any usurping of their backgrounds, their rights or privileges: it is about the fact that I am now working with them and reconciling with them that this is a country we are all sharing now, and I recognise the fact their history here is an inalienable one and their right to have that acknowledged is an inalienable right. So, that is what we are doing with this piece of legislation: we are enacting some legislation to bring into the South Australian Constitution Act a recognition of Aboriginal people.

By saying that to the Aboriginal elders, I am also making the point that I am doing my very best to continue that level of care for not only the people who are living in that area now but also the environment, the whole of the ecology and the social welfare of the electorate of Morphett. Some of the Aboriginal people who I do not know so well are a bit miffed when I first say that but they very quickly realise where I am coming from. I hope to continue to improve my relationship and my understanding of the relationship of Aboriginal people with the land.

I was very privileged a number of years ago to be taken by some of the elders from out at Oak Valley to a particular site. I cannot speak about it in here because there are women present, but I was taken out there to observe some of the tjukurpa. We talk about Aboriginal dream stories and dreaming. The tjukurpa is the Pitjantjatjara word that we would call dreaming; it is more than that. It is a religious experience that is as real to the Aboriginal people as Catholicism is to the Pope, and we should never ever forget that. It was a very moving experience for me to be out there with the watis, the older men—the tjilpis—the really old men out there, to listen to them talk to the young men about this particular part of tribal law.

Those sorts of experiences have ingrained in me the real need and the real passion to improve Aboriginal welfare in South Australia. We spend $1.3 billion, between the federal and state governments, every year in South Australia on our Aboriginal people. About $200 million goes into the APY lands. We spend $50,000 per man, woman and child on the approximately 30,000 Aboriginal people in South Australia.

To see some of the hardships and living conditions that some people are having to put up with—never mind those massive gaps that still exist between the opportunities, advantages and living conditions of Aboriginal people in South Australia and those of the white population—there is still a long way to go to explain to Aboriginal people what we want for them and what we think we should be able to do to assist them to achieve their goals and their ambitions.

The $1.3 billion does not seem to be doing a lot. There have been some significant improvements; there are still lots and lots of challenges though, and I hope to be part of a parliament—not just a government or an opposition—that moves together to make sure that Aboriginal people are having a big say in what they want to do and where they want to go. Recognising them in the Constitution Act is something that we really need to emphasise is just another step forward on a long road and we have a fair way to go yet.

Can I just read from the proclamation which Robert Gouger read out, and which is read every year down in my electorate of Morphett at the Old Gum Tree. In the proclamation, Robert Gouger, who was reading the words of the king at the time, said:

It is also, at this time, especially my duty to apprise the Colonists of my resolution to take every lawful means for extending the same Protection to the Native population as to the rest of His Majesty's Subjects and of my firm determination to punish with exemplary severity all acts of violence or injustice which may in any manner be practised or attempted against the Natives who are to be considered as much under the safeguard of the law as the Colonists themselves, and equally entitled to the Privileges of British Subjects. I trust, therefore, with confidence to the exercise of moderation and forbearance by all Classes, in their intercourse with the Native—

I am reading from the original handwriting, and it is a bit difficult to read—

in their intercourse with the Native inhabitants, and that they will omit no opportunity of aspiring to fulfil His Majesty's most gracious...intentions.

So, initially, there was recognition of the fact that the initial inhabitants, the Aboriginal people, were to be treated with exactly the same rights and respect as those who had arrived in the 1830s. Unfortunately, we know that the outcomes of that desire were very short lived. What we need to know now is that we are still moving forwards towards the ultimate goal of complete reconciliation and complete achievement of the aims and ambitions of all Aboriginal people in South Australia.

I taught high school at Port Augusta for three years in the mid-seventies. I used to drive the school bus out to Davenport Mission, as it was then, and I had a lot to do with Aboriginal families. It was really amazing to be involved with those families, to be with the kids at the high school, to see the interaction between their family groups, their traditional obligations and their participation in school. There were some conflicts, there were some issues, but we worked around them. We had a great time, and there were some really inspiring young people who I was working with then. I have tracked down a few of them, and I am very pleased to say that they are doing very well for themselves. I do not know where a number of them are right now, but I just hope they are doing well.

One young fellow I was with in grade 7 at Salisbury Consolidated Primary School was young Kenny Haines. Kenny was a full-blooded Aboriginal fellow and one of the most gentle people you could ever find, young Kenny. I remember that he left me behind academically. He was a well-mannered example to the rest of us in grade 7 at Salisbury, because we were a bit rowdy. Kenny was a fantastic bloke. I do not know where Kenny Haines is nowadays, but I just hope he is going well. Kenny was taken from his family and put in a foster home.

There are massive and serious issues with that, and we know that. We are currently looking at ways of going back to try to repair the damage that was done. Dean Brown in this place in 1997 issued the first apology to Aboriginal people for removing them from their families. We heard Kevin Rudd's apology (with its fifth anniversary just last week) on behalf of the nation to the whole of the Aboriginal people across Australia, for the issues they faced in the past and are trying to overcome today.

The need to move forward is something that I think this piece of legislation will come somewhere towards achieving. It does have written in it in the last paragraph of the particular copy I have, which I think is the latest one, that the parliament does not intend this section to have any legal force or effect. I do not think the Aboriginal people want that. They are not looking for another handout. What they are looking for is recognition of the fact that they are the original inhabitants and that they have a relationship with this country that is as real today as it was 170-odd years ago when we first arrived here and as real as it was those many thousands of years ago.

This is a vital piece of legislation, and it is an important step forward for all of us in this place, and I mean all of us, not just opposition, not just government, but everyone in this place. It is really pleasing to see that it has been put forward. I know there has been some criticism about the need to do this, that it should not be necessary in 2013, that it should have all happened in the past, that we should have reconciled, but the reality is there are big issues out there. There are serious issues which we need to reconcile, and I for one will be doing all I can to continue that in this place as a member of parliament.

With that, I congratulate the Aboriginal leaders in South Australia on the fine work that they are doing. The Commissioner for Aboriginal Engagement, Khatija Thomas, is in the gallery today, and I thank her for the work she is doing and continuing on, and I thank the members of the board for Reconciliation SA who are here as well. I think we have to make sure we continue to reconcile the past so that we can move on with the future.

The Hon. S.W. KEY (Ashford) (16:09): I am very honoured to be able to contribute to this debate today. I pay recognition to the leaders and workers who have made this possible who are in the gallery and thank them for all their ongoing work, and also the former minister of Aboriginal affairs, minister Paul Caica, who, after cabinet approval, established the advisory panel to make this recognition of Aboriginal people in our constitution a reality.

I should go back a little bit and say that I was very shocked when I came into parliament in 1997. I remember having a discussion in the very first days that I was in this place with the members for Giles, Florey and Reynell, in particular, about how surprised we were that there did not seem to be any recognition of the first people of South Australia. I was particularly surprised because I came from the trade union movement and quite a lot of work had been done by Aboriginal workers and trade unionists to try to educate us non-Aboriginal people about the importance of paying our respects and also the recognition that needed to be made to people in particular areas.

I had also come from the experience of supporting the United Trades and Labor Council, as it was then called, now SA Unions, Aboriginal Affairs Standing Committee that had been running for quite some time and had been educating us about issues that we needed to take up and work with Aboriginal workers about. As a shadow minister, I had an opportunity to work with other Labor shadow ministers to talk about how we would address those issues. I think you will remember, Mr Deputy Speaker, that that was certainly on the agenda for the shadow cabinet about what we would do to actually change the recognition that did not seem to be there.

I particularly remember former shadow minister, and also minister, the late Hon. Terry Roberts talking about some of the views he had put together with regard to recognition of traditional owners. Some people, not necessarily people outside of the Labour movement, but some people really did not understand why we would acknowledge traditional owners, why we would acknowledge leaders or cultural views and also the connection of our first people to the land.

It took quite a bit of discussion to get to the stage where it became part of our policy, as government in 2002, that that acknowledgement should start all government speeches, and in fact all speeches that Labor Party politicians made, and that it would be made clear to the departments and the people who worked under the government that they would need to find out what the protocols were of a particular area and make sure that acknowledgement was given to traditional owners. So, although it seemed, at the start, a small thing, I am particularly proud that it is something that anyone from the kindergarten I was in yesterday right through to the Premier and the Leader of the Opposition is making that acknowledgement there.

Having the honour, in what was the Rann government, of being the minister for the status of women, it was really interesting to work with Senator Amanda Vanstone in recognising that we needed to look at establishing an Indigenous women's forum. I am pleased to say that when the status of women ministers met on a federal level under the leadership of then Senator Vanstone, we made sure that there was also a gathering of Indigenous women at the same time. I have to say those meetings were a little bit scary because we also had the influence of women who represented the Pacific rim, and I remember the Māori women in particular being very fierce and talking about how all of us, particularly us non-Aboriginal and non-Torres Strait Islanders, should get our act together and recognise the different issues that were being faced by our sisters.

There has also been over time, and certainly in my experience, an acknowledgement of the fact that not only did we need to do the symbolic recognition of Aboriginal people but that, if we were serious about what we were going on about, the constitution had to be changed. I must say that, although it took quite a while, I am very pleased that the South Australian government, in support of everybody else in here, did make contributions to the advisory panel and here we are now, finally, with a bill that says that we need to recognise our first people in our state's constitution.

I thank everybody who has had an input in this process and say that it is about time, and I am very pleased to be part of this debate.

The Hon. R.B. SUCH (Fisher) (16:15): I support this bill. I only heard part of the contribution from the member for Morphett outlining his experiences growing up and teaching, when he worked with Aboriginal people. I have been fortunate. I went to school with some of the people from the then Colebrook home. Graham McKenzie was one of them and, as far as I know, he is still around the place, either at Murray Bridge or Port Augusta.

When I was only a little tacker, Lowitja O'Donoghue and Faith Coulthard, as she was then, (now Faith Thomas) used to come to our place, partly to get some support and just interact with us. They were nurses at the Royal Adelaide when Aboriginal people were not that well accepted. So, I have known Lowitja for quite a long time. She is the same age (and I know we do not mention the ages of women) as my older sister, Pat.

Within my extended family now we have quite a few Aboriginal people. I do not profess to be an expert in any way, shape or form about traditional Aboriginal culture, but I have read quite a bit and I used to work with people who lectured on the subject at the Underdale campus of what was then the Adelaide College of the Arts and Education. It is quite sad, I think, that not only do European Australians not know much about traditional Aboriginal culture but that many young Aboriginal people know very little about it—and they should.

We should ensure that not only young Aboriginal people learn about their traditional culture but that every Australian understands and learns about it. It is often portrayed in simplistic and inaccurate terms, and there are some fantastic values and concepts in traditional Aboriginal culture. Sadly, many of the languages have disappeared and only a few are now left. Clearly, many of the tribes have disappeared as well. It is important, I think, that people have an understanding of traditional Aboriginal culture.

Some members would be aware of a recent book by Bill Gammage about the use of fire by Aboriginal people in managing what he called 'the greatest estate on earth', and it is well worth reading. It describes a very skilful use of fire to manage the environment, and that ties in with a point I want to emphasise. Aboriginal people in their traditional setting did not have a concept, as we do, of ownership of land. They believed that the land in effect owned them. I do not want to be nitpicking in terms of the wording, but where reference is made to traditional owners I think it would be more accurate to say that Aboriginal people were custodians of the land. The notion of ownership is a Western-type concept.

We often hear people talk today about sustainability. Traditional Aboriginal culture was sustainable: it went for 60,000 years, and it could have gone on forever because it was genuinely sustainable, renewing itself and allowing for renewal of the landscape. If people want to look at the notion of sustainability, then look at how Aboriginal people, as custodians of the land, looked after the land.

I only heard the tail end of the member for Morphett's speech, but I believe he made reference to the proclamation in South Australia that was dated the 28th day of December 1836 and issued by Governor John Hindmarsh on behalf of the king. I will say it again, even though the member for Morphett may have quoted some of this. The Governor said:

...especially my duty to apprise the Colonists of my resolution to take every lawful means for extending the same Protection to the Native population as to the rest of His Majesty's Subjects and of my firm determination to punish with exemplary severity all acts of violence or injustice which may in any manner be practised or attempted against the Natives who are to be considered as much under the safeguard of the law as the Colonists themselves, and equally entitled to the Privileges of British Subjects.

We know that that good intention was never followed strictly to the letter but I think it is fair to say that in South Australia, whilst there were some bad practices and bad outcomes particularly in certain areas, South Australia, to its credit, did things in relation to recognising Aboriginal people long before the other states. In fact, in the 1850s South Australia gave voting rights to Aboriginal men. I think the year was 1856 but I stand to be corrected—it was certainly the 1850s. Then Aboriginal women in South Australia got the vote in 1894, the same year as European women. So South Australia was and has been a leader in respect of giving some acknowledgement to Aboriginal people. They were also given early recognition in courts of law as being able to give evidence and so on.

That does not diminish the fact that in many other respects they were not treated as they should have been. However, when South Australia became part of the federation in 1901, the other states would not agree to Aboriginal men and women having the vote. They then had to wait basically until the 1960s before that injustice and denial of a basic right in a democratic society was corrected.

As I say, the track record in South Australia has not been anywhere near as good as it could have been, or should have been, but, in comparison to what happened in much of the rest of Australia, South Australia established some practices which were, at the time, very commendable and showed considerable foresight and a step towards some recognition of the traditional people who had custody of this land.

I support this bill. Some people say words do not mean much—words do mean a lot. We often hear people quoting the Magna Carta or the Declaration of Independence and a whole lot of other documents—words are important. They are not just part of a symbolic act; they do have some significance. I think that linking this bill with the Constitution Act is important.

I will conclude by saying that, whilst we tend to focus on Bridging the Gap and the fact that we still have a long way to go in respect of Aboriginal people with regard to education, health and so on, I think we should also focus on the positives. There have been tremendous achievements by many Aboriginal people. I quoted a figure the other day to someone and said that there were 165 Aboriginals in Australia who have PhDs. This person said to me, 'Oh, that's not worth much.' I invite them (and I am sure the member for Port Adelaide would, too) to have a go at doing one and see what is involved.

I think that figure of 165 would surprise a lot of people but there are many Aboriginals who are doing great things. John Moriarty was at Flinders University when I was there. I saw him recently and he is very successful as a designer and business person. There are many Aboriginal people in all walks of life who do not necessarily make a big fuss of the fact that they have achieved success. There is more than one dance company and there are all sorts of opera singers.

What we are doing here is part of a legal process. I know that this does not have any legal force in a technical sense, but what it does is acknowledge that Aboriginal people are part of the family of Australia and that they are achieving. In some areas, it is taking a lot longer than we would wish, but I think that, in focusing on what has been in some ways a negative aspect in our history, we should also acknowledge that things are going forward and Aboriginal people are achieving and contributing in a whole multitude of ways to modern Australia.

I support this bill. It does not undo the wrongs of the past, but I think it does help chart the future so that Aboriginal people can be recognised more fully, more adequately in our society and acknowledged as fellow Australians.

Mr PEGLER (Mount Gambier) (16:26): I rise to support the Constitution (Recognition of Aboriginal Peoples) Amendment Bill. This is a great step forward for this state and for all the peoples of this state, especially the Aboriginal peoples of this state. If you think back to when white man first came to Australia, the land was referred to as terra nullius, which is Latin for a place that belonged to nobody. Basically, it was not recognised that the Aboriginal peoples even existed on these lands, and the British government believed that very strongly.

South Australia first became a province in 1836, and then we went through to about 1934, when we got a Constitution Act. The unfortunate part is that, in that Constitution Act, we did not recognise the Aboriginal peoples of this state. It has taken until now for us as a parliament to bring that about. I certainly support this bill.

My people first came here in the 1850s, and they always had a lot of respect for the Aboriginal people in my district, and I have always continued that myself. They are great people, they contribute a lot to our society, and we as a government and as a state should be recognising the Aboriginal people in our constitution.

I think that it is also important to bear in mind that the consultation process for bringing about this bill was very well done. Aboriginal leaders from right throughout the communities were consulted in a proper manner, and they came to agreement on the wording of this amendment bill. I certainly congratulate all those people who were involved. I will not go through and name them all, but they all know who they are.

It is also important to recognise that all the parties who were involved in that consultation process are aware that it was not intended that recognition would either create any new rights or remove any existing rights. Of course, this was necessary to avoid this important step of formally recognising Aboriginal peoples from becoming subject to a series of technical and legal debates and objections; we would have ended up in a hell of a mess.

I think that it is really tremendous that all those people worked together to basically bring about this recognition and ensure that it is not going to create another bun fight, which none of us want. The main objective is to recognise Aboriginal peoples within this state. I certainly support this bill.

Mr BROCK (Frome) (16:29): I also rise to speak in favour of the Constitution (Recognition of Aboriginal Peoples) Amendment Bill to amend the Constitution Act of 1934. I think it is well and truly overdue. The member for Mawson has left, but I want to acknowledge and pay tribute to him for speaking in the Pitjantjatjara language. I have not had that pleasure. I have had lots of dealings with Aboriginal people throughout my employment over many years, but I want to congratulate the member for Mawson on doing such a—

Ms Thompson: Morphett.

Mr BROCK: That's right. Dr Duncan McFetridge did a fantastic job. I also want to pay tribute to the member for Giles. The member for Giles has always spoken in this chamber about the high regard she has for the Aboriginal people across all of regional South Australia in her dealings with the Aboriginal people in her electorate. Again, I pay tribute to the previous Speaker, the member for Giles, and recognise her great contribution in this chamber.

In my past roles I have had many dealings with many Aboriginal groups. When I was an area manager for an oil company at Port Augusta, I had the opportunity to go to Ernabella mission and Indulkana and sit around the camp fires with the elders. I talked to them about their culture and the opportunities they have had, and you learn from those people. You learn how they have survived, how they can live and do all sorts of things. They are a very proud people.

My late brother accompanied me to Coober Pedy when I was there in my role as the area manager, and over a three-day period he ran up a great friendship with many of the Aboriginal people in Coober Pedy. It took a bit to get him out of there because he was enjoying the camaraderie and would not leave. He always spoke very highly of those encounters.

We can all learn from the great tradition and the culture of the Aboriginal people across all of Australia. When I was living at Port Augusta, I had the great pleasure of being able to go out to the Davenport facility just outside Port Augusta. Unfortunately, I did see some of the living conditions out there, and I think it is something our white society needs to be very ashamed of, but I think that has changed dramatically in the last few years. Certainly, we can learn from the traditional owners of our country because they have all the knowledge, and we should be learning from them and working together to have not only a far better South Australia but also a far better Australia.

I will also make mention of the great things I learnt about how to live in the outback. I was up at Port Augusta for five years. I travelled a fair bit, and every time I met the Aboriginal groups, whether at Ernabella, Indulkana, Coober Pedy or wherever it might have been, I learned more ways of survival and traditional ways of living.

One thing both the South Australian government and the federal government should be looking at improving is the living conditions and housing in some of our regional areas for the Aboriginal people. Health is a big issue across all of South Australia, but the life expectancy of certain cultures or nationalities is less than others, and we all should be having great health. Education is another issue we should be pushing very strongly.

On education, I will not mention this gentleman's name—he is a student at the John Pirie Secondary School. Minister Portolesi and the Premier were up there recently. This young fellow is an SRC leader in the school. He has come through and he has done it the hard way. He is a very proud person. The minister and the Premier asked him what he wants to be when he grows up, as we all do when we go to schools, and he wants to be the first Indigenous Prime Minister of Australia. I thought, 'Now, here is a young lad who wants to get ahead.' We encouraged him, if he has a vision and a goal, to go for it, and we said, 'Don't let anybody say you cannot achieve that, because if you want to do something you can achieve it if you set your mind on it.'

After I left as an area manager for the oil company, I took on my own roadhouse at Port Augusta and had 55 people working for me. A young lass from the Aboriginal community got a job with me (and I will not mention her name because I do not think we should do that), and she was my best worker. She was an absolutely fantastic worker: always the first to be there, always the last to leave, and, no matter if I was ever short of somebody, I could ring this young lass up, and I was only sorry that when I got out of the job she did not retain her employment there.

The other thing I want to pay tribute to is the local Aboriginal groups around my electorate in Port Pirie, in particular. I have quite a few different tribes and I have a great rapport with the Aboriginal community in my city at Port Pirie, and I only have to walk down the street and we stop and have a chat about things in general. I have young students from the primary schools there come to talk to me and also from the local groups who you see in the street. I think it is a beautiful thing and it is a bit of a shame that it takes so long to actually put this recognition and to change the constitution, but congratulations and I hope everybody in this house supports it.

The Hon. J.D. HILL (Kaurna) (16:36): I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land, the Kaurna people, and also say how pleased I am to represent an electorate which is also named Kaurna. It is a pleasure to be able to stand in this place—for me it is a particular pleasure at the moment—to speak in relation to this legislation.

This legislation is not about rights but it is about recognition. It is about recognition that the doctrine of terra nullius was a flawed doctrine and has now been considered to be flawed and invalidated by the very highest court in our land, in our federal parliaments. It is about recognising that this land that we occupy and this land that we live on and enjoy was owned by other people before us and it is recognising that their cultural connections to the land and their familial connections are still profound and are still ongoing.

Some might criticise this legislation and say that it is just symbolism, it is just about symbols. To them I would say that symbols are really important. In all cultures, symbols are very important. If you think about the important days of celebration and commemoration in our annual calendar—ANZAC Day, Easter, Christmas—all of those days are replete with symbols, whether it is the symbol of the cross, the symbol of the Easter egg, or the statue of a soldier who may have fallen, or the symbol of a soldier who may have fallen. Symbols are very important in a culture. It is a way that a culture does recognise and does unify itself. So I think this symbol, this way of recognising the traditional owners of the land, is very profound.

I know that the process by which these words were formed was a very extensive one, and I understand that there is a broad consensus that this is the right way to go. Other jurisdictions have developed similar kinds of language to put in their constitutional acts at other times, so I am very pleased that our state is joining with them.

As a former health minister, I know that the issues in relation to Aboriginal health in our state and in our nation are very significant ones, indeed, and that we need to go beyond just symbols and we do need to go beyond just recognition to deal with the very practical day-to-day issues that people in our society have. I am really not here today to talk about what is needed—lots of things are needed—but I just wanted to make it clear that I do understand that this does not address all these issues. It is something which is complementary to those issues, but it is a very important and significant act. I am very pleased to add my voice to those who are supporting this legislation.

Dr CLOSE (Port Adelaide) (16:39): I rise briefly to indicate my support for this bill and do so proudly as the member for Port Adelaide and, therefore, representing a relatively high number of Aboriginal people for a metropolitan electorate and a part of this country that has a long Aboriginal history and an ongoing cultural importance. I look forward to seeing some of that culture celebrated in Port Adelaide as the public spaces begin to be upgraded.

The South Australian constitution is our most fundamental document setting out the rules of governance for our state. The planned amendment to the constitution is a real and powerful demonstration of the parliament's commitment to healing and reconciliation.

I understand that the advisory panel consulted widely on the wording, particularly among the Aboriginal community, and I commend the Aboriginal leadership for their generosity of spirit in working on something that is so very long overdue. At the heart of this bill is how to recognise Aboriginal people as the first Australians and their unique contribution to our state's identity and culture.

Recognition is important to us all. It makes us feel included and improves our self-esteem, and self-esteem is important when we consider our self-identity. The history of Australia has been one that has constantly challenged Aboriginal Australians' identity, families and culture, and yet they have survived, and because they have survived, we are all richer for their strength.

Adding a statement of recognition of Aboriginal peoples to the constitution is a mark of respect. It furthers the process of reconciliation and it is important for present and future generations of Aboriginal people. Why should our Aboriginal citizens continue to be invisible in our founding document? It is the next step in reconciling our past, and it is the right thing to do.

Ms CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (16:40): I indicate that I am not the lead speaker on this and will be proud and very attentive to listen to my leader as lead speaker on behalf of the opposition on this matter. I would like to say that I am pleased to support this bill and thank the Premier for bringing it to the parliament. This is a bill to amend our South Australian constitution to recognise Aboriginal peoples in our most fundamental document.

It is a bill to provide for a new section in part 1 of the Constitution Act 1934, entitled 'Recognition of Aboriginal Peoples'. This new section begins with two statements of historical fact: first, the establishment of the Province of South Australia by the 1836 Letters Patent, and that there has been no proper and effective recognition, consultation or authorisation of Aboriginal peoples either then or when the present Constitution Act 1934 was passed almost 100 years later.

As is evident from other speakers, our constitution developed over a number of years after the establishment of the South Australian colony as a British province back in 1834, and that was followed by the 1836 Letters Patent, which of course formally established South Australia, and the Proclamation of Government, which has been recognised today, in December 1836. I am pleased to say that a motion that was passed in this house, following a successful motion in the Legislative Council recognising the first white settlement in South Australia commencing on 25 July 1836 on Kangaroo Island, included as the first point the recognition of the Aboriginal people as the first occupiers of South Australia.

Although they had come to and left Kangaroo Island several thousand years before white settlement, they were still very important and appropriate to be recognised as the first people of South Australia. That has been followed in many other ways—not followed, I shouldn't say. I don't give myself that privilege, but that has been in recognition of a number of others that preceded that, including acknowledgement in an apology by former premier Brown in this very chamber as the first of the Australian chambers of parliament to apologise to the Aboriginal peoples and to give them proper recognition.

Just in the last week or so, the passage of the federal recognition bill has been applauded and was eloquently contributed to by the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition of the federal parliament. I noted that in media coverage—indeed in Victoria—Ms Shirley Peisley, who had been a member of the Premier's panel established to look into how the recognition should apply in South Australia, is quoted as saying:

This is what we have worked for all our lives, to see us as being part of the country. The biggest fabrication was creating a constitution that said nobody was here, that the land was barren and empty. We definitely were here. It's the biggest lie ever told in this country and we've got to change that. It's about setting the record straight.

No truer words could be said in relation to the failure to recognise at the Australian national level. Here in South Australia, as other speakers have pointed out, the Letters Patent set out an admirable aspiration to properly recognise and ensure that the first people—that is, Aboriginal people—were to be respected and a commitment by the then king to ensure that they would be protected.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Some have described what has happened as a failure to prevent abuse to Aboriginal people in South Australia. I would call it acts of brutality and barbaric behaviour toward fellow men. One only has to read the history of the conquest of the Ngarrindjeri in the Coorong region to understand the disgraceful conduct that some of our forebears perpetrated on our Aboriginal counterparts.

I also note, particularly in this region—in the Adelaide Hills and on the plains of areas that I now represent—the thousands of people in the Aboriginal community who died as a result of the introduction of disease by white colonists. The significance of smallpox and other contagious diseases, which all but wiped out Aboriginal people living on the Adelaide Plains, should not be underestimated. That is an aspect, inadvertent as it was, that should be acknowledged.

I also wish to thank the Premier for appointing a distinguished advisory panel. Each of those has been recognised in the Hansard; I will not repeat them. Each of them has had a very important role to play in Aboriginal recognition in this state, independent of that which is about to be in our constitution. Some comment and criticism have been made about the establishment of a hand-picked panel. I want to say, with no reflection on those who have been appointed because I have great admiration for all of them, that, yes, there are a number of other people in the Aboriginal community who ought to be recognised.

I would hope that, in the nearly 50-odd written submissions that were received, there was an opportunity for others in the Aboriginal community to present their proposals and that that has been incorporated in the ultimate legislation which we currently have under consideration. So, I do not pursue that criticism. I think that it was appropriate that the Premier appoint such an eminent council and to follow that through.

Can I also say that, whilst the recognition in the constitution is long overdue and we should be recognising the importance of the Aboriginal history as part of our state and, as more recently in the federal parliament, as part of our country, I come from a slightly different background with my early association with Aboriginal people in our community. I did not, in the first part of my life, meet with Aboriginal people who were in, as we often repeat in this house, a parlous and desperate circumstance.

There is no question that the life expectancy of many Aboriginal people and the health, welfare and education challenges that exist cannot be diminished and I do not attempt to do that, but frequently in this parliament we fail to celebrate the high achievements of Aboriginal people in our community and recognise that, whether it is in the arts world or the elite sports world, whether it is in political life or other areas of endeavour or enterprise, Aboriginal people are very successful. My first encounter with Aboriginal people in my life, both on Kangaroo Island and in Alice Springs, was actually with some of the most famous people in our community, who were Aboriginal people, so I came from a different position.

The first person I met was the late Garnett Wilson AO, who was the first Aboriginal qualified wool classer in Australia. When he first arrived on Kangaroo Island, he was like God. If anyone understands the pecking order, a wool classer in the shed is at the top of the pack. You have the shearing contractor, the wool classer, the shearers, the shedhands, and the rouseabouts, all the way down. The wool classer is top of the pack.

When I first encountered Mr Wilson, not only was he a wool classer but he was to be respected. I called him Mr Wilson. Everybody called him Mr Wilson. He looked a little bit darker than me and my brothers and sisters but, as far as we were concerned, he was the top of the pack. I went to visit my grandmother in the Northern Territory, who had established an Aboriginal art gallery in the 1950s in recognition of and at the request of people at Hermannsburg who were developing the then fairly embryonic market for Aboriginal art, in particular for Albert Namatjira.

When his sons (five of them) from time to time came into the gallery they were all recognised as Mr Namatjira. These were very important people. These were people to be respected. They had achieved, they were very successful. A number of those sons went on to follow their father and, in fact, a number of the descendants, girls as well, have been very successful in the art world. So, the people I met, the people I associated with, were not those who were facing some major welfare issue; in fact, they were people of very high achievement.

There was one person I did see who had significant notoriety. He was a bit like the Ned Kelly of the Aboriginal people, and that was Maxwell Stuart. Obviously having some history in the law it is hard to not go past legal history without understanding the extraordinary royal commission and a privy council hearing on the Maxwell Stuart murder case. I also had the privilege of meeting Mr Stuart at the launch of a film called Black and White, which was about the legal history of the case in respect of the murder of a young girl for which Mr Stuart had been found guilty.

As for the rest, everyone knows the history, of course. He was subsequently, after a royal commission, released from prison and provided with a pardon to be facilitated. In the world that I was living in, in the legal world, he was someone of extraordinary note and quite a hero in respect of the exposé in that instance of what was seen to be—if I can put it as kindly as possible—the unfair police treatment in respect of the interrogation and the confession obtained during the course of the conduct of the investigation for that trial.

It does not come as a surprise to me, of course, to know that many Indigenous people are in a place of disadvantage in our community, because obviously in legal practice, and in a number of cases I did for the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement, one cannot help but become exposed to that. But, let me give you the hope, I think, of what I see for the future of other successful Aboriginal people. When I visit a program such as the Wiltja program, which provides accommodation and support for Aboriginal children, largely to come from the APY lands to Adelaide to attend school and have school opportunities, with the consent and support of their parents, I see this as remarkably successful, after 20 years of operation, in giving young people the opportunity for education, access to play sport and to be able to achieve in other fields of endeavour. I commend successive governments in continuing to support that program.

My brother has worked in the program over a number of years and has continued to participate in it. It is an absolute joy to see young people, through that program, have an opportunity, especially if they complete their year 12, to have higher educational training. It makes me feel very proud that we can stand today and support the passage of legislation that will truly recognise not only the original occupation but that Aboriginal people in South Australia will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with us and enjoy the rewards and fruits of the state's endeavours.

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (16:53): Today I am heartened to see and support this bill as it comes before the house. I have been asked to make some remarks. I am glad to say I believe in and hope the proposed amendment to our state's constitution will mark a significant step forward in the reconciliation process for all Australians.

Words are powerful. Last year, the South Australian government made a commitment to give formal recognition to Aboriginal people as the first peoples of this state. Following the formation, work and deliberation of an advisory panel of eminent people, the government has taken on the recommendations of the panel to change our constitution to fulfil this commitment. The bill, and I quote:

...acknowledges and respects Aboriginal peoples as the State's first peoples and nations...

The majority of the written responses and participants at the consultations throughout this process strongly supported these words. 'First peoples' and 'nations' are expressions now used internationally. The bill also states, and I quote again:

...[it] recognises Aboriginal peoples as the traditional owners and occupants of land and waters in South Australia...

The amendment to our constitution will represent a significant moment of recognition as we formally acknowledge the Aboriginal peoples as traditional owners and occupants of this state. This is made even more significant when considering the meaning of land for Aboriginal peoples across South Australia.

The bill acknowledges 'spiritual, social, cultural and economic practices come from their traditional lands and waters'. The wording of this clause is specifically important because the Aboriginal participants in consultations explained that to say their cultural, spiritual, social and economic practices are related to or are connected with their land is to understate the relationship between Aboriginal law and the land. Expressions such as 'related to' and 'connected with' fail to convey that Aboriginal law governing practices comes from the land and that their beliefs are inseparable from the land.

I do not want to put all of my personal stories on file today. I would like to keep it brief so that we actually see it all pass today. Suffice to say that the Florey Reconciliation Taskforce was founded with the help of Aunty Shirley Peisley and the late Aunty Vi Deuschle and has always known that Aboriginal people are connected to and come from the land. We meet continually, and have for many years, and stand ready to work with local Aboriginal people on their initiatives.

The bill is an indicator of how far South Australia has come in reconciliation and addresses the need to recognise the true history of our state, as we all embrace and honour this recognition and acknowledge the dignity and respect it enshrines in our shared future. As an earlier speaker said, it is not a hand-out. Rather, it is restorative and extends a hand up. It is another step on the journey, and I commend the bill.

The Hon. L.R. BREUER (Giles) (16:56): I am honoured today to speak in support of the bill. I would particularly like to recognise the work of the advisory panel established by the government last year. The advisory panel was asked to advise the government of South Australia, through the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, on the preferred form and content of a statement of Aboriginal recognition, prepare options for cabinet's consideration regarding the statement of recognition for inclusion in the Constitution Act 1934 and to seek the views of South Australians on the alternatives of constitutional amendment to recognise Aboriginal peoples through the insertion of a preamble in the act or a statement in the body of the act.

As a result of the work of the advisory panel, we are now able to make changes to the constitution that will formally recognise Aboriginal peoples as the first people of this state—about time. Reconciliation is a fundamental issue for all Australians, and it is an ongoing process. The bill acknowledges and builds on the apology given on 28 May 1997 in the parliament on behalf of the people of South Australia—I think that should be 2007. Acknowledgement of the apology reflects the wish of people who identified themselves as Aboriginal during the consultations. They expressed in various ways how Aboriginal people in South Australia have suffered as a result of dispossession from lands. At the same time, it was said that Aboriginal people did not want to pass on their grief and loss to future generations. It is important to recognise in the amendment that the apology is a vital part of reconciliation and that it helps provide the opportunity for future generations to move forward.

The bill also 'acknowledges that the Aboriginal people have endured past injustice and dispossession of their traditional lands and waters'. In stating this, we are able to see how past injustices continue to have an impact on Aboriginal peoples today, but in highlighting this it creates a platform for forgiveness and change. Last week, the country celebrated five years since the national apology was given by the federal government. And now, the passing of this bill will see South Australia join New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland as states that have changed their constitution in order to acknowledge the Aboriginal peoples as the traditional owners and occupants of this land.

I would like to particularly acknowledge the members of the advisory panel, one or two of whom I see here today. First, Professor Peter Buckskin, who is well known in South Australia. He is a Narungga man from the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia. He is currently the inaugural Dean of Indigenous Scholarship, Engagement and Research at the University of South Australia. He has been involved in education and has been a professional bureaucrat for more than 30 years. Shirley Peisley AM, a Ngarrindjeri elder, has worked in government and community for more than 50 years. She is very well known. She was an active participant in the 'Vote Yes For Aborigines' campaign way back in the 1967 referendum and has always been a strong advocate for Aboriginal rights and Aboriginal women.

The Hon. Robyn Layton, who is presently an adjunct professor at the University of South Australia School of Law, was a judge of the Supreme Court of South Australia. Her legal career spanned more than 40 years, and she has had very strong connections with Aboriginal issues. Khatija Thomas, who is in the gallery today, is the Commissioner for Aboriginal Employment. She was born in Port Augusta, a suburb of Whyalla, and is a proud Kokatha woman. She has been a solicitor with the South Australian Native Title Services and worked for the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement.

She is focused on delivery of legal representation and advocacy for Aboriginal women. She comes from a very important Aboriginal family in my part of the state—the Thomases, whom I have known for many years—and certainly is doing an incredible job now as Commissioner for Aboriginal Employment. We also had the Hon. John von Doussa, formerly president of the Australian Human Rights Commission and Chancellor of the University of Adelaide at one stage. He was a trial judge in the Hindmarsh Island Bridge case and participated in early appeals to the Full Court of the Federal Court in native title cases.

I particularly wanted to mention those people because we do have a panel of people there who actually knew what they were talking about, who actually knew the issues and were able to go out there and work with them. I am pleased to serve on the board of Reconciliation SA with three of those panel members, Professor Buckskin, Ms Khatija Thomas and Robyn Layton. Reconciliation SA, of course, works towards an improved quality of life for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in this state, particularly in areas such as health, education and employment, and in order to achieve equality for all South Australians. It is good to see Mark Waters here today, also listening. He does an incredible job keeping the board on tap and keeping them working.

What I really want to say today is that, despite this bill, despite the work of organisations such as Rec SA and other organisations who are working so hard throughout South Australia to try to better the lives of our Indigenous South Australians, we still have such a long way to go. I am sick of hearing all the bullshit about this. (I am not sure if that is a parliamentary word, but I am sick of it.) I regularly visit communities and I have a huge network of Aboriginal contacts. I hear their stories constantly and I see their needs.

I am not an academic, but I am a bush woman and I have my feet on the ground. I am sick to death of hearing platitudes, of bleeding hearts crying into their cups of peppermint tea, and of reading newspaper reports about what is being done, which really amounts to not very much at all. I am sick of token Indigenous people being put on committees and being given no support to stay there, to help them relate to what they are doing and contribute to the committees that they are on.

I am sad in my heart that we still have such a high infant mortality rate in Indigenous communities. I weep when I visit the Port Augusta gaol and I see the number of Indigenous prisoners who are there. I am sick of watching TV reports of the latest crimes involving young Indigenous men and women, and I weep when I talk to mothers, grandmothers and grandfathers whose hearts are breaking because they have children taken from their families by welfare because of neglect or abuse, or for some other reason.

What is wrong with what we are doing? Why is it not working? Why are all the good news stories that are out there, like the achievements in education, successful business people, and other achievements, not reported as day-to-day events? Why are they seen as novelties still in 2013? This bill is necessary and it is good, but we have to stop this common mentality out there that our Indigenous people are a problem and if we ignore it might go away, or that if we pump enough money into it we will fix it.

Money is not the answer any more. We have to make it work. We have to work together and stop making decisions as a government about them based on what we think is right. We need to be working with them, we need to be consulting with them, we need to talk to their leaders and we should not think that we know it all. We have to make it happen. We cannot hold our heads up high if we do not do this. We cannot pat ourselves on the back about the changes to the constitution if we do not do this. We have to stop patronising, we have to stop pontificating, we have to stop bleating about how good it is. We are not the experts: they are. We need to get on and do it, and perhaps this could be the first step.

I listened to the comments today from my colleagues on both sides of the fence. I know that you are sincere and I know that you mean well, and it is good to hear what you are saying, but I am not a bleeding heart: I am a realist. I would like to know how many have actually been into Aboriginal homes and sat and eaten with people, have sat in the dirt with people, have cried with them when they tell their stories as I have cried when I have heard stories, particularly from the stolen generation or from grandparents who have lost their grandchildren. How many people have really done that in this place?

I am proud that the Kungkas in my electorate chose to give me an Aboriginal name and let me go through the business with them. With that, I feel that there is an obligation to get on and get things done, and certainly I will do what I can. Aboriginal people are not different: they are not a strange race, they are people. They are fellow Australians and yet we treat them often as unique specimens—but they are just people.

I am pleased to see the progress we have made with reconciliation across the nation, and it is an honour to be part of this significant moment in South Australia's history. I hope it does contribute to alleviating some of the issues I have talked about today. We just have to get on with it and do it properly.

Mr MARSHALL (Norwood—Leader of the Opposition) (17:05): I rise to indicate that I will be the opposition's lead speaker on the Constitution (Recognition of Aboriginal Peoples) Amendment Bill 2012. It is a great privilege for me to be the lead speaker on behalf of the opposition in this parliament. On being elected to parliament in 2010, I was very fortunate in my party room to be elected onto the Aboriginal Lands Parliamentary Standing Committee. I served on this committee for approximately two years. This was a very important step for me in understanding many of the issues which face Aboriginal people in South Australia. To be quite honest, it was a rude awakening for me.

I attended a school in South Australia that had long had boarders who came down from Hermannsburg and Finke River (or, as the Germans say, 'Finkie' River) Mission. In fact, I was surrounded by people from an Aboriginal background at school, but nothing really prepared me for what I would see when the Aboriginal Lands Parliamentary Standing Committee visited some of the Aboriginal lands in South Australia. We made many trips as a group, and I think we worked very well together as a committee. We visited the APY lands, of course, and also Yalata, Point Pearce, Raukkan, Koonibba and many other areas. It was a real eye-opener for me.

I also made a trip under my own steam last year, when I spent a couple of nights in Fregon. I was very fortunate to attend the Lightning Football Carnival which was held in Pukatja at the same time, where I saw the great joy that many people derived from the football. Of course, many of them played without football boots, but you could really see their joy from the footie up there. However, we also saw the very desperate conditions many of them lived in and the desperate circumstances that they had to endure.

I have also been very privileged to be the Liberal Party's representative on the Reconciliation SA board. I have enjoyed all those meetings and, again, I have learnt much. I am not sure how much I have contributed to those meetings; I feel it is more of an education for me. I feel very proud to have been our representative, and I indicate that I will continue to serve on that board now that I am the state Liberal leader.

As the state Liberal leader, you get to choose your own portfolio. One of the first things I decided was that I would remain shadow minister for this important area of Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation because I personally believe that there is much work to be done in this area. I am absolutely delighted that I have this opportunity to continue my efforts in that key role.

On 29 November last year, the Premier introduced this bill to the House of Assembly. Earlier in the year, he had announced that he would move to give formal recognition to Aboriginal peoples as the first peoples of South Australia. The government commissioned a consultation through the advisory panel which reported to the government on 29 November 2012.

I know that other people have spoken about the specific details of the people who were on the board, but I do want to acknowledge the efforts of the people who were appointed: Professor Peter Buckskin, Ms Khatija Thomas, Ms Shirley Peisley, the Hon. John von Doussa and the Hon. Robyn Layton. Their consultation was extensive right throughout the state, both with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. Their report, which was called Time for Respect report takes into account, I believe, the views expressed by members of the public throughout this extensive consultation and also the written submissions that were made to that board.

Importantly, the report identifies that there are deep concerns in the community that formal recognition may not advance the work needed to address the levels of social and economic disadvantage faced by Aboriginal people. The report indicates that there is hope that formal recognition, whilst not giving rise to legal rights, will, like the Aboriginal flag, have positive social consequences due to its overwhelming cultural symbolism.

I am delighted that the Liberal Party here in South Australia is strongly supporting this bill in this house, and we commend the government for bringing it to this place. There is much that needs to be done. Both major parties in this parliament have made contributions to this area over an extended period of time, and there are many things that both parties can identify that have been good, where we have advanced the cause, and there are also some areas where, obviously, we have both been found wanting.

From my own party's perspective, I am very proud that it was a Liberal minister who was the first minister for Aboriginal affairs in the entire country to acknowledge the stolen generation and to apologise formally to them. This is something that was brought up only last week, when Kevin Rudd made a speech here in South Australia on the fifth anniversary of the federal parliament's apology to the stolen generation. But we did it first here in South Australia. We did it 11 years before the federal government got around to doing it, and that is something we can all be proud of here in this place.

I am also very proud of former Liberal premier Dr David Tonkin's involvement with the APY lands. This is an area that was very important to him. I highlight this because we do have a heritage in the Liberal Party of trying to advance this cause. Sometimes we are not good at putting this forward, but I feel very proud of our heritage. There is much to be done. There has been neglect, no doubt, but we have had some highlights in the past. I am very buoyed by the fact that my friend Ken Wyatt, who is the member for Hasluck in Western Australia, is the first Indigenous member of the House of Representatives in Canberra, and I hope that there are many more to come.

This bill is not a panacea. It will not completely solve the unacceptable gap which exists currently between Indigenous and non-Indigenous South Australians, but I do believe that it is an important step in the ongoing reconciliation process. It is long overdue. I am very pleased that all indications to date are that this bill will be passed by this house unanimously.

Despite the success of this bill, and the goodwill that is in this house at the moment, there still remains much to be done. I echo the comments made earlier in the house by the member for Giles and her frustrations that we still have so much work to be done. As I have said, despite the goodwill at the moment, I will not change my resolve to work as hard as I can to advance the cause and to improve the opportunities for Indigenous South Australians whilst I am in this place.

The government has indicated that it will also be bringing forward legislation to this place regarding the Aboriginal Heritage Act and the Aboriginal Lands Trust Act before the next election, and we look forward to receiving that legislation in plenty of time so that it can be considered. Updating these acts is well overdue, and this is something we should be able to work towards.

My commitment to Aboriginal South Australians is simple: I will work diligently in my portfolio area to advance the cause of Aboriginal South Australians. I know that other members of parliament, on both sides, share this objective, and I believe that it is by working together we can achieve much more, and this is my commitment to Aboriginal people the entire time I am in this parliament.

Debate adjourned on motion of Mr Sibbons.

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