HANSARD
SITTING CALENDAR
SEARCH
LIVE BROADCAST
Hansard Dynamic Subject Index
House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-09-06 Daily Xml
Contents
Xml

Motions

Standing Order 39

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (11:03): I move:

That proposed alterations to standing order No 39 to add in the heading after the word 'Prayers' the words 'and Acknowledgement of Country and Traditional Owners', to insert after the words 'following prayers' the words 'and acknowledgement of country and traditional owners', to insert before the word 'Whilst' the words 'We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the traditional owners of this country throughout Australia, and their connection to land and community. We pay our respects to them and their culture and to Elders both past and present.' and to insert after the words 'Whilst prayers' the words 'and acknowledgement of country and traditional owners', be adopted.

The Acknowledgement of Country has become a practice that successive parliaments have had in place for some time. I acknowledge, Mr Speaker, that you have continued this tradition since you have occupied the chair. It is a tradition that I believe is utterly appropriate and enjoys wide community support.

During the course of NAIDOC Week, I foreshadowed that this change to standing orders should facilitate the permanent recognition of traditional owners at the commencement of parliament's proceedings in a way that is consistent not just with the best traditions of this parliament, not just with the best traditions of our state, but in the obviously held truth that the traditional owners of this land are worthy of recognition in the parliament's deliberations at the beginning.

The tragedy of gross inequity that we see across the nation in a range of material ways must be confronted. We know that the approximate disparity between life expectancy for Aboriginal men and women versus non-Aboriginal men and women is almost 10 years. We know that suicide rates are almost 80 per cent higher amongst Aboriginal people versus non-Aboriginal people. The breadth and the depth of over-representation of Aboriginal people in custody still waters the eyes of anyone who comes across those figures. These substantial inequities require substantial policy responses, and certainly I can affirm that this government is committed to investing effort, energy and resources into tackling those challenges in a material way.

Sometimes, I think it is unfortunate that we have a debate where acts of symbolism overshadow actions of policy reform to seek to address those inequities. I think we have to do both; I do not think it is an either-or proposition. We have to have the courage to both demonstrate that there is policy reform and acknowledge that symbolic change lays the groundwork and the political permission for those necessary reforms, particularly where they might be challenging or even controversial.

It is well known that I am an advocate of the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Our government has a policy to pursue that, both in terms of Voice and, of course, in terms of Treaty. This important symbol is one that the parliament has already adopted in practice but should now make permanent in recognition of what I think we all agree with, in this chamber in any event. I commend this amendment to the standing orders to the house; it is one that I hope enjoys bipartisan support.

Mr TEAGUE (Heysen) (11:08): I am pleased to indicate that the proposed amendment to standing order 39 will enjoy, I think, unanimous support. Certainly, I speak on behalf of those of us on this side of the house in indicating our support for the change. As I have reflected on now a number of times in the house, reconciliation certainly does involve a combination of substantive measures. It also involves the establishment of tradition, and sometimes that involves symbols and practices.

In relation to the Acknowledgement of Country, I emphasise both its substantive importance and the need for those of us non-Aboriginal South Australians to approach this topic with great humility and respect. I do not presume to bring the full knowledge, let alone the necessary standing, to speak on behalf of those elders of Aboriginal lands upon which we undertake our day-to-day lives, but I know that in the genuine expression of Acknowledgement of Country that we now see in all forms of public engagement, there is a step towards substantive and symbolic reconciliation.

It is important, and the formalisation through inclusion in the standing orders of what has been a longstanding practice is one that is welcomed by this side. In the course of my time in the chair, it was a particularly important aspect of the formalities of the role. I am glad to see that it has been continued informally, and now glad that it will find its way into expression in the standing orders.

We speak about both symbols and substance, and it is important at this time that we take the opportunity to reflect on some relatively latter-day symbols that have been added in terms of this chamber. On 3 December 2020, I was proud to preside over the first occasion at which the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags were flown in the chamber. I am glad to see that they continue, and I think they will remain. That was, as members will recall, a significant occasion of substance in that it was the first occasion on which the Commissioner for Aboriginal Engagement, Dr Roger Thomas, came to address the House of Assembly on progress to that time on his work on further engagement and representation.

I also at this time advert to the necessary substance and pay tribute to the former Premier, the member for Dunstan, as Minister for Aboriginal Affairs for his work, together largely with Dr Roger Thomas and Aboriginal communities throughout the state of South Australia, towards the presentation to this house late in the last parliament of the Aboriginal Representative Body Bill. It represented the culmination of that work over several years and presented a robust and substantial pathway towards better representation, engagement, and real Voice to the public institutions including government. I was proud, as shadow minister now for Aboriginal affairs, to reintroduce a substantially identical bill in recent weeks.

As the Premier has adverted, these are matters of important substance as we move forward. I just want to take the opportunity once again, because I have done this before in the context of NAIDOC Week and other occasions recently, to reflect on the words of Dr Lynn Arnold AO in his address at the cathedral in May this year when reflecting on what reconciliation means. He quoted the author Ursula Le Guin who said, and succinctly:

You can go home…so long as you understand that home is a place where you have never been.

So it is that we need to understand that a reconciling homecoming would bring us to a different place from that where we had departed. It is so important that, as we work towards a better engagement and a thorough reconciliation, we keep those words in mind. With that short contribution, I indicate once again our support on this side of the house.

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Deputy Premier, Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, Minister for Defence and Space Industries, Minister for Climate, Environment and Water) (11:14): I rise to of course speak in favour of this motion. I do so with a sense of optimism and pride in what is happening in Australia at the moment in our approach to recognition of our First Nations people, of Aboriginal people as we refer to in South Australia.

It is true that there are many challenges facing Aboriginal South Australians, and it is true that they are the legacy of the impact of the arrival of European culture, and there is much to be done to make things better and to make things fairer, but it is equally true that there is much cause to celebrate the existence and the longevity and the persistence of Aboriginal culture. We are very fortunate in South Australia and in Australia that we are able to lay claim to the oldest living culture being foundational to this land.

We have as a source of tremendous pride the strength of Aboriginal culture remaining despite the experience of colonisation, despite the terrible pain caused by the removal of children and despite the ongoing legacy of poverty, mortality rates and incarceration rates. What we have is a culture that has the tenacity to continue to shine despite the impacts of Western arrival, and that is something that very few other nations have.

Very few other nations are able to lay claim to even having First Nations people still active, and ours is the oldest living culture. That is an extraordinary point of pride for all Australians and South Australians. Therefore, rather than our narrative when talking about Aboriginal people always being one of recognising the sorrow and the pain, it ought equally be one of being grateful and celebrating.

We have the opportunity to do that when we acknowledge country at the beginning of events and still more when we have an Aboriginal person who is prepared to come and welcome us to country. That is a moment when the act of generosity of Aboriginal people is most evident—an act of saying, 'We didn't cede this land and we didn't really welcome the white people's arrival, but nonetheless we welcome your presence now and we welcome that we are sharing this land together.' The willingness of Aboriginal people to share culture, to share their experience and to share their pride is something that always impresses me and moves me when I am part of a Welcome to Country. It is what we do as a pale shadow when we acknowledge country at the beginning of events.

Simply acknowledging that we are on Kaurna land here, that we are on Aboriginal land wherever we set foot in South Australia, is not sufficient. It is important. It has meaning and weight, but it is not sufficient if we are truly to embrace reconciliation with Aboriginal people. We also need to fully incorporate the recognition of the distinct cultural importance of Aboriginal people in the history of South Australia through the act, as it has been known following the Uluru Statement, of Voice, Treaty, Truth.

We have as a nation an important moment coming up: the moment of the referendum. When I acknowledge country at the beginning of speeches, until relatively recently, if someone had already acknowledged country at the beginning of a meeting, I might make a small reference, but I did not choose to restate my own personal acknowledgement of country; I have changed that recently. I have changed that because it is important to me to be part of that celebration and acknowledgement but also because I want to use it as an opportunity to remind us all that the referendum that is coming is a moment for all of us. It will be difficult and there will be things that are said that will be hurtful.

There will be things that are said that will cause pain to individuals, and it is the responsibility of all of us to make this referendum as respectful as possible and a step towards true reconciliation. That means that there can be no bystanders, that this moment of the referendum is not about Aboriginal people defending their right to be heard. It is about all of our opportunity to stand shoulder to shoulder with our Aboriginal brothers and sisters to acknowledge the truth of their presence on this land for tens of thousands of years before Europeans arrived.

The referendum will be challenging, and I do not know if it will be successful. It will be more likely to be successful if both sides of parliament support it at the federal level, and I wait daily to hear what the federal Liberal Party's decision will be on that. It will be even more likely to succeed if everyone who has ever had a passing thought of how special it is to be part of Australia because Aboriginal people were here for tens of thousands of years, if every person who has that sentiment, every person who has a view that reconciliation is probably a good thing for a nation that has an original stain of taking land without settlement, decides that this is our opportunity to step forward, to truly acknowledge and recognise.

We will have a version of that in South Australia—different conditions, not a requirement for a referendum, but equal certainty that it is through Voice, Treaty, Truth that we will see progress for not just Aboriginal people but for all of us to truly reconcile to what it means to be South Australian.

When I have travelled overseas over the years, I have occasionally felt uncomfortable about the views that people have about what Australians are like—once in the form of a taxidriver in France thinking that our harsh border restrictions on people who arrive by boat were spot-on and he wished they could do more of that, but more frequently a view that somehow we, as Australians, are not the colonisers but the colonised, a sympathy from people who have been colonised by Britain that we Australians must feel the same way.

Yet it is far more complex than that because we have never fully resolved that relationship between the Europeans who arrived later and the Aboriginal people who came first. It is only through that reconciliation and the pathway that is offered by Voice, Treaty, Truth that we will be able to fully embrace pride in being Australian, in my opinion.

I recently had an opportunity to go to the Far West Coast and into a bit of the APY lands with the Attorney-General. It was a remarkable trip for me. I had been before to some but not all of the places we went to. I had been to Pipalyatjara before as education minister, and I was pleased to see people there who had been there a few years ago when I last visited. But to go with Kyam was an absolute honour, and it demonstrated to me the importance of demonstrating pride in Aboriginal culture and recognition of contribution, and celebration of having the first Aboriginal member of parliament, not only in our parliament, not only Attorney-General but, if you look at his business cards first, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs.

He will require our support as we go through the process of Voice, Treaty, Truth. There are many expectations on him and he will require all of us who believe that this is the pathway to true reconciliation to stand with him and support him in the arguments, the debates and the discussions that occur and, I hope, in the celebration of a significant step forward. Spending time with elders, in Pipalyatjara in particular, in the far west of the APY, being shown Tjukurpa, the Dreaming of the Warru (the wallabies), and active generosity by the elders to share those dreamings with those of us who are not Aboriginal, was a reminder of the strength of Aboriginal culture that traces its way back yet also looks forward.

When I listened to the elders talking about the circularity of life and the importance of caring for the environment around us, they could have been modern-day environmentalists. The language was slightly different, but the sentiment was the same. This is how Aboriginal people lived in this land for time immemorial. This is how they did not run it into the ground within a couple of hundred years of arrival. It was a recognition of the connection between people and place that I think we more recent arrivals are struggling to reach but earnestly want to, and Aboriginal people and Aboriginal culture offer us that pathway.

We in this place can do what we can through legislative change, as we will—and I look forward to the legislation that Kyam will be bringing forward on Voice, Treaty, Truth—but we also do it through our daily acknowledgement that the land we are meeting on is Kaurna land. We have done it for some time. I think Frances Bedford was the one who pushed that we should do that daily and not just at the beginning of the week. I think it is a significant moment that we are choosing now to say that this becomes part of our standing orders.

I do not have religion. I sit and listen to the prayers each day out of respect for the role that Christianity has played in the heritage of our Western culture and its importance to many people who sit in this parliament, but it does not mean anything personally to me. I think we can all agree that a recognition of Kaurna land is of meaning to every South Australian. For that reason, I very much support this motion.

The Hon. N.F. COOK (Hurtle Vale—Minister for Human Services) (11:26): Naa marni. Ngai nari Nat Kartanya Cook. Marni ngadlu tampinthi. Ngadlu Kaurna yartangka tikanthi.

I have personalised an acknowledgement out of respect for Kaurna people and show my respect for their custodianship of this land for well over 60,000 years. The acknowledgement of that custodianship and the journey forward, as demonstrated by both our Premier and the Prime Minister in their election speeches in that Aboriginal affairs were the first things spoken about, is really a huge step forward in terms of our community and our preparedness to have a conversation about the history and the future of Australia and how we want our community to be seen.

The motion now, as our Deputy Premier has described, builds on a journey of initially starting to acknowledge country on the first sitting day of the week, then moving, under the urgency of Frances Bedford, to the Acknowledgement of Country every sitting day. To now embed this as part of our standing orders moving forward is another huge step forward and a signal to the community that we, as a parliament, are prepared to have a conversation that embeds this into our community as normal, something that should be acknowledged frequently, often and sincerely.

My team, the senior team in my office and my department, gathered together only a few weeks ago and spent an afternoon with Jack Buckskin. It was an incredibly meaningful and informative experience for us, where we talked and learned about the deep history and tradition that is the Kaurna people. We talked about language as part of that, and I learned an incredible amount about how the First Nations peoples, our brothers and sisters, do appreciate the effort that people put into learning language and expressing an acknowledgement from the heart.

That acknowledgement I gave at the start of my contribution is one that I give from my heart, an acknowledgement of traditional owners' country. When I am attending an event, when I am speaking to a group of people, I do that acknowledgement and I also qualify my value set in regard to Kaurna land and how Kaurna land has been stolen: this land has not been ceded; we have not acknowledged that, and we need to in my view. The journey forward in terms of Truth, Treaty and Voice will be one of exposure regarding those values and how we should commit to traditional owners this respect and the acknowledgement of land and country.

I have watched countless times Her Excellency the Governor, the Hon. Frances Adamson, deliver her personalised, heartfelt Acknowledgement of Country in beautiful Kaurna language. I am slightly jealous of her ability to be able to eloquently say her acknowledgement but also use the Kaurna language so traditionally and beautifully. I will endeavour to improve my own enunciation over time, and perhaps even develop further skills in terms of the use of language, to deliver heartfelt messages to my First Nations brothers and sisters.

I think language is how we talk to ourselves, it is how we communicate to ourselves in our own heads. It is an important way to express ourselves to the world and to our community around us. Every word, and the way we combine our words, are an expression of our history, an expression of the history of the people who developed our language. It is a tragedy that so much of Australia's history is littered with the attempts to ban the use, suppress the use, and to destroy Aboriginal language and culture. I have heard this from many elders and Aboriginal brothers and sisters, that this has been such a traumatic experience over time, and for that I send my heartfelt apologies. Language is a beautiful thing and language should never be supressed like that.

There is great shame in our history, in what we have done to people. This parliament and all parliaments around Australia played roles in passing what were innately racist and cruel laws that caused deep harm to Aboriginal people and Aboriginal communities. The motion today is a small but very important step in a journey, a journey in ensuring that this simply does not happen again. No country can genuinely plan for its future without acknowledging the past, and I acknowledge our past and the journey here and those terrible things that have happened in the past to First Nations people. This is why our standing orders should be changed to properly reflect the importance of the Acknowledgement of Country.

I also acknowledge my dear friend Kyam Maher in the other place and his role in ensuring that we as a caucus and we as a parliament have a lens of Aboriginal people across the legislation and the discussions we have. I acknowledge all of our community groups and people who ensure that we do have the opportunity to contribute Aboriginal Voice. I look forward in anticipation to the embedding of Truth, Treaty, Voice in everything we do moving forward.

I look forward to a day when potentially, Mr Speaker—not to undermine or play down the fabulous role that you are playing in the chair—we will have an Aboriginal person sitting as Speaker in this place, sitting as that authority and the arbiter of the rules of the parliament of the people. I think that would be an incredible achievement. It is shameful that something like that has not happened yet. I think it is up to all of us as a community to work on that happening and to ensure that we encourage people from Aboriginal nations and, of course, all other communities—diverse communities—to participate in parliament at the highest level.

The acknowledgement that we are putting into standing orders is standard wording, just like the prayer is standard wording. I echo the thoughts of the Deputy Premier when she says those of us in this place who do not practice a religion of sorts do sit respectfully and acknowledge the role that Christianity and, indeed, many faiths have played in the evolution of our community. It is why we also must have an Acknowledgement of Country in there.

As I said before, the best acknowledgement comes from the heart. I encourage members, if you have not had the opportunity, to participate in a language session and discuss really what that acknowledgement means and can mean from your heart—to reach out to do so. There are many people now who are doing cultural classes. It is an excellent experience.

As the standard words are being read, I would also encourage members to think and give their own acknowledgement in their own voice, in their own language, inside themselves—to find words that express your Acknowledgement of Country and offer them up every time we gather in this place. I commend the motion to the house. Ngaityalya.

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL (Mawson) (11:36): I also rise to support this motion. There are many things that countries and nations are judged upon. As someone who lived in Europe in the mid-nineties and was overseas in the past month or so, the question that quite often comes up is about how we treat Indigenous Australians. I have to say in the 1990s it was a pretty embarrassing question to get. There were not a whole lot of positives we could put on it. Even in recent years, when you look at the incarceration rates, when you look at the quality of life, when you look at the longevity of people's lives, when you look at the health differentials between Australian people there is nothing really there to be proud of, despite lots and lots of work.

But having been overseas in the past few weeks, when I have been asked that question I have been able to point to things that are happening at the federal government level and also here at the state government level and for once am filled with pride that we are at least on a trajectory heading in the right direction to look after, to support, to recognise and to include Aboriginal Australians in things we do as a society. It is important that we set those examples right here in our parliament where laws are made that affect all members of our society.

I would also like to pay tribute to Kyam Maher, our Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and our Attorney-General, for the insight he has given to so many of his colleagues. When he went off to do business a few years ago, it was up to the upper house to grant him approval not to be at parliament—because if you are not here for a certain number of days you can actually lose your seat in this place—and it was done with the cooperation of the Liberal government at the time, the Labor opposition and the crossbench.

What I found extraordinary about that was how little I knew about the initiation process. I found myself being at functions with Pauly Vandenbergh or Uncle Moogy, and I would say, 'How's Kyam going?' and they would say, 'He'll be right, brother,' and they reassured me. It was through Kyam's experience—where I know he learnt a lot, and there is a lot he cannot talk about because of the traditions that are there—that we all learnt a lot, not directly, necessarily, because Kyam could not tell us what he went through, but we could see in him a profound change.

I think that the more enlightened we can become, the more understanding that we can provide, the better knowledge that we have, the better we are going to be as a society, and that has to be fundamental to everything that we do. I am really proud to be part of a government that has a state-based implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart: Voice, Treaty and Truth. For anyone who saw the process that Australians went through to come up with that statement, and then for it to be put on the backburner by the then federal government, it was a bit of a backward step (I could probably use some harsher words) for Indigenous Australians—to see, at the state and federal level, that we are prepared to do that.

There are lots of big things that we need to do; there are lots of important things that we need to do. As the Premier said, we need the symbolic as well as the major policy shifts. This Acknowledgement of Country that we do each day, enshrining that into the standing orders of this place, goes a long way to reminding us each and every day when we come in here just how important Aboriginal Australians are to our society and how much we need to do, as policymakers, as community leaders, in changing their life expectancy, changing their health outcomes, changing the way they are perceived in our society and how much stronger we can be as a state and as a nation by learning from the oldest continually surviving civilisation on this Earth. I commend this motion.

Ms HUTCHESSON (Waite) (11:41): I rise in support of this motion. Naa Maani, ngai nari Catherine Warooyoo Hutchesson Marni Napudni this house, Parliament House. Kaurna Miyu ngadlu Kaurna Yerta Tampruthi Ngaityalya. Are you all well? My name is Catherine Hutchesson and I am, in my family, the second born girl. I am glad you all came to Parliament House. We acknowledge the Kaurna people, we recognise this land is Kaurna land and I pay my respects.

I am proud to also be receiving language and cultural lessons from Uncle Tamaru, an elder who is local to my community. We talk often, and he rings me often and catches me out if I do not know what to say when he greets me. I appreciate all the work that he is doing with both myself and the member for Adelaide as we work towards reconciliation.

Acknowledging the past and paying respects to those whose land it is on which we walk is one way we continue to walk side by side towards reconciliation. At most events, meetings, school assemblies, no matter where you are, it is now unusual if you do not hear an Acknowledgement of Country, or, if you are fortunate enough, a Welcome to Country.

My electorate of Waite sits within the lands of the Kaurna people, but we share boundary and trading areas with the Peramangk people of the Adelaide Hills. I recently took a history tour of Belair National Park. Belair National Park was originally called Piradli. We were told that it was an important place for travel, trade, shelter and ceremony, both between the Kaurna people and the Peramangk people of the Adelaide Hills.

In particular, they used the area for a lot of its resources, such as resin and bark, and possums and bandicoots were also hunted for food and their skin. Some places in Belair still retain their Kaurna names. There are three ridges: Willa Willa, Yulti Wirra and Warri Parri. I currently live on Warri Parri Ridge. There are also many creeks that flow through Belair: Minno, Workanda, Tarnma, Kurru, Karka and Tapurroo. I spent many years of my childhood, with wellingtons up to my knees, walking through Minno Creek.

There are many in my community who are passionate about reconciliation. We even have our own reconciliation group. This group works to educate and share their understandings with our community. It began in 1994 as a Blackwood Library study group, and over time it has grown to be a strong group of advocates who meet regularly to talk about reconciliation.

In 1944, in my electorate, Colebrook Home was established. It had been operating previously in Quorn. The children placed at Colebrook included those who had been forcibly removed from their parents by government officials. Some were placed there by their traditional mothers or by their non-Indigenous fathers because they could not take care of them. Those who had been taken from their families by non-Indigenous people to work for them, and then rejected, were also placed there.

Once the children had been admitted to the home, it was almost impossible for them to be removed. By 1950, more than 50 children were in residence. Children were schooled in the house, but in 1953 they were allowed to attend Blackwood Primary School. I have heard stories about how these children used to walk through our Shepherds Hill reserve on their way to school. In 1972, the number of children had diminished and they were moved to a cottage across the road. I recently met the family who now lives in that house, and they have done their own research as to what went on there.

During its existence, Colebrook was home to over 350 children. One of the youngest brought there was one-week-old Avis Gale from Ceduna. She was taken away from her mother by the Aboriginal protection board. After the closure and demolition of the house, a number of former residents came together to form Colebrook Tji Tji Tjuta—my pronunciation may not be correct, so I apologise.

In conjunction with the Blackwood Reconciliation Group, this group secured funding to erect a memorial at the site. It serves as a monument to remember the children who went through the home. Colebrook Park is now a sacred space; it is where local people and children can visit and learn about what happened there, to be informed about stolen generations and to pay their respects.

Every year, the Blackwood Reconciliation Group holds the Blackwood Reconciliation Walk. This year, I was fortunate to attend it with the member for Hurtle Vale as well as the member for Boothby. It was a beautiful day and stories were shared and a documentary called Colebrook: A Place of Healing and Learning was screened.

I was fortunate to have seen the documentary a few weeks prior, and I would have to admit—and I have done so before in this house—that I had no idea, growing up in the electorate, of all that went on at Colebrook. I am not alone, though; many people do not know what went on in Colebrook, and many people across our country do not know what happened to Aboriginal people. It is really important that, as we walk towards reconciliation, we educate and talk about what happened.

Nowadays at Colebrook the former residents hold camp fire gatherings for adult groups and school and university students. They share their stories and achieve reconciliation through the creation of compassion and empathy. There is still a lot to do to educate our communities about the history of how Aboriginals were and still are treated. Acknowledging, when we meet in this place, that the land we meet on is and always will be Aboriginal land is a small but significant step in the right direction. It shows true leadership in the spirit of reconciliation.

There is much healing to be done for the Aboriginal community but also for everyone. At a recent Blackwood Reconciliation Group meeting I attended, there was another documentary shown. It was called Close to the Bone and addressed the legacies of frontier violence. One of our Blackwood Reconciliation Group members, Mike Brown, whom the documentary follows, along with the co-writer, director and producer of the documentary, Jared Thomas, presented the film and hosted a discussion afterwards.

The film was incredibly powerful. It tells the story of James Brown, a young shepherd who was murdered and mutilated in the Flinders Ranges, and how police and European settlers formed a reprisal party that killed many Aboriginal people in retaliation. In the film, Mike Brown reached out to the Aboriginal communities and descendants of those families after 170 years to find out what happened and to share memories, stories and forgiveness. Jared is a descendant of the Aboriginal people who were murdered.

The room, after the movie, was silent for some time. The film finished and everyone was processing what they had seen, not only the tragedy of the story but the tragedy that is the guilt that still survives within the generations now and how we still need to work together. I thank them for sharing this story with us. This morning, I presented the film as a gift to our Indigenous affairs minister, Kyam Maher, who is doing so much towards helping us reach reconciliation.

Reconciliation is about moving forward together, acknowledging the wrongs of the past and committing to a better future for all. We all need to listen to each other, share the truth, tell stories and commit to work in partnership. Our government has an ambitious agenda in Aboriginal affairs. We are committed to a state-based implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart: Voice, Treaty, Truth, beginning with enshrining a First Nations voice into the South Australian parliament.

There is extensive consultation being led by the Commissioner for First Nations Voice, Dale Agius. Aboriginal people in our state will have direct input into the decisions made about them. This will be followed by restarting the Treaty process in our state and establishing a truth-telling process that recognises all aspects of the past.

We have also committed to funding more Aboriginal statues and monuments to help all our communities understand and recognise our history. Statues and monuments that recognise great South Australian leaders and heroes will help current and future generations understand the value and contribution of our Aboriginal community. Consultations are currently underway.

At Colebrook Reconciliation Park, we have several monuments that honour the children who were taken from their families and lands and placed in the home. The Fountain of Tears was created in 1998 by Silvio Apponyi and the Grieving Mother in 1999. These monuments continue to share stories of the past.

It was surprising to me on my first day in parliament to hear Her Excellency the Hon. Frances Adamson AC acknowledge country in Kaurna, and I agree with the member for Hurtle Vale that it was very impressive. She talks with heart, which I think really shows her commitment towards reconciliation as well.

Whilst my acknowledgement is definitely not as fluent or diverse as Her Excellency's, it is with heart and passion that we all speak and understand why this motion to acknowledge all Aboriginal people in our standing orders in parliament is so important. We should acknowledge the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the traditional owners of this country throughout Australia and their connection to land and community. We should also pay our respects to them and their culture and to elders past and present. We should pass this motion and I commend the motion to the house.

Mr BROWN (Florey) (11:50): I will be very brief. It is with great pleasure that I rise to support this motion. As we stand or sit in this chamber surrounded by heritage furnishings and portraits of people from parliaments long past, and as we give tours of this building and show people things from the 19th century and how long things have been here, it can very much give people the impression that this is a very staid institution stuck in the past, but parliament is a living institution whose rules need to change over time to keep it relevant to our current circumstance. It also needs to always be keeping an eye on the future to make sure that we do what we can to assist South Australia to grow as a state and to achieve those things that are, I believe, its destiny.

Also, it is important that we look to the past and make sure that we keep those things that we do with an eye on the traditions of our state. We do that in terms of, as the Deputy Premier said, the Christian traditions of this state through the prayer that we have at the start of each day. I believe it is right and just and appropriate that we do that, but it is also extremely important that we recognise the culture that was here before there was a Christian culture in South Australia—the culture of the traditional owners of our land—and so I think it is absolutely right that we do that.

It also is right and correct, I think, that that acknowledgement comes before the Christian prayers, because that is a recognition of the fact that that Indigenous culture existed here before there was a Christian culture in South Australia. Along with, I am sure, everyone else in this parliament, I am very much looking forward to being part of the Voice, Treaty and Truth process that the government has underway and doing many things here that will assist the reconciliation process and moving that forward.

I certainly agree that what we are doing here today in making a very small change to the standing orders is not going to be earth-shattering in terms of progressing that reconciliation agenda, but I absolutely think it is important that we do so, and I think it is a very good step for this parliament to take. I commend the motion to the house.

Ms HOOD (Adelaide) (11:53): I rise to speak in support of the motion. Naa marni. Marni naa pudni. Ngai nari Lucy kudnartu Hood. Kaurna miyurna ngadlu. Kaurna yarta tampinthi ngaityalya. Thank you for being here. My name is Lucy Hood and I am the third born in my family. I acknowledge that we are on the land of the Kaurna people and pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging.

Learning Kaurna language through lessons and culture with my dearest brother Tamaru, who is a Kaurna elder, is one way that I feel that I can contribute to the journey towards reconciliation. When I am out and about in my community, to be able to speak the Acknowledgement of Country in Kaurna is incredibly special. Whether it is in school classrooms, on parliament tours or at community events, I really do believe it is a symbol of respect and of the pride and appreciation that we have for our Aboriginal people and their culture, the oldest living culture on our planet.

When undertaking the Welcome to Country at citizenship ceremonies in Prospect in Payinthi, my dearest brother Tamaru calls up new Australian citizens to the stage. He tells us, 'We don't walk behind, we don't walk in front. We walk alongside each other.' From learning the Kaurna language from Kaurna elders, to an Acknowledgement of Country and having the traditional owners enshrined in the standing orders of this place, combined with a state-based implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart: Voice, Treaty, Truth—to a referendum that is coming, these are ways in which we can walk alongside each other and take steps towards true reconciliation.

Our government believes in Aboriginal self-determination to guide and protect the oldest living culture on our planet. We are committed to recognising and strengthening our community's relationship with our Aboriginal history. We have committed to enshrining a First Nations voice in the South Australian parliament, so direct input can be made by Aboriginal people about the issues that affect Aboriginal people. We are currently in the process of establishing an advisory commission into Aboriginal incarceration rates.

I know the environment is close to the heart of many in my community, so to take better care of our country we are employing an extra 15 Aboriginal rangers and establishing a First Nations advisory group to speak directly to the minister for the environment. While some may describe our agenda as ambitious, I believe these changes are worth every single effort in our journey to ensure Aboriginal self-determination.

To my dearest brother Tamaru, to the traditional owners of this land: ngaityalya, my respect. I commend the motion to the house.

Mr HUGHES (Giles) (11:56): I, too, rise in support of this motion. It is always gratifying to see the strong support in this parliament for an initiative like this. Clearly, we have acknowledged country for some time and I think it is important that it is formalised through sessional orders. I am incredibly fortunate to have an electorate that is made up of a whole range of language groups: from the Adnyamathanha in the Flinders Ranges to the APY lands to the Barngarla on Eyre Peninsula and many others as well.

To have acknowledgement of the people who walked this land for thousands of years before we turned up I think is something that is worthwhile. A number of members have mentioned the importance of symbolism and have called to task those people who often try to use symbolism to conflict with substance. As the Premier said, there is no conflict: it is both. Symbols are important. We live in a nation and a world awash with symbols, so symbols are important, but substance is also important. The member for Heysen also made that point in a very strong way.

When I look at my electorate and I look at the issues of substance, the story that I get is that we still have a long way to go in this state and in this nation. I look at the APY lands. We talk about closing the gap, but in many respects we are not talking about a gap when it comes to the APY lands. We are talking about a chasm where people's lives are cut short by 20 to 30 years compared with those of people who live in many of the suburbs in Adelaide and other parts of regional communities. That is not a gap, that is a chasm, and it is an incredibly sad reflection upon our nation and our state.

People often say, 'The past is the past,' but the past is still with us. A globally famous Australian anthropologist, who cut her teeth on Central American and South American cultures, was the late Inga Clendinnen. When she turned her gaze to Australia and to the state that she lived in in Victoria, she was just staggered by what had happened during the wave of dispossession that occurred in this country.

She focused in on a particular area, and within a few short years 90 per cent of the traditional owners in that area were no longer alive due to various killings, disease, and the whole pain of dispossession and suppression. The scale of what happened in Australia and the magnitude of it is deeply disturbing. As a nation, we still have not anywhere near fully come to terms with what happened and the way that has cascaded down through the generations.

I am of Irish heritage. The English ruling class cut their teeth on Ireland before they then spread out to the rest of the world. The same practices—the killings, the attempt to suppress language and the attempt to suppress culture—were there all those years ago and then replicated in the parts of the world that the English ruling class took over. In many respects, we are still living with those consequences today. Symbols are important, acknowledgment of land is important, but the practical things that we will be doing and are doing as a state are worthwhile.

I have been on the Aboriginal Lands Parliamentary Standing Committee since 2014. I think it is way past time that an Aboriginal voice should be speaking to the parliament, not this standing committee. That is no reflection on the committee, but the idea that a bunch of Europeans visit Aboriginal communities and then make recommendations to the parliament has had its day. An Aboriginal Voice to Parliament will be powerful and a more direct way of hearing from people who have far more at stake than those people who are on the committee historically and at the moment.

There are a number of other good initiatives. Last year, I had the pleasure of being with some of our shadow ministers and the now Premier up in the APY lands. One of the issues was the unfolding consequences of that tragic set of circumstances when Gayle Woodford was murdered. Gayle's Law is an important initiative.

We were meeting with Nganampa Health in the APY lands and one of the important things is that Gayle's Law was passed, but the resources to go with it were not made available. It meant that in order to provide escorts for our nurses in remote locations, Nganampa Health and other health services would then have to eat into the resources that they had to deliver clinical and health services in the lands. To his credit, the now Premier said to Nganampa Health, 'We will fix that when we get into government. We will provide the resources so that you do not have to eat into the resources that you need to deliver the services that are so vital.'

One of the other good initiatives is the employment of 15 Aboriginal rangers. That is something we should seriously look at expanding and doing in a number of different ways, not just rangers. There is a whole raft of things that needs to be done in remote, rural and regional South Australia when it comes to enhancing our natural heritage and at the same time assisting our farming and pastoral communities as well.

I met with some people in Port Augusta who said that for some of the Aboriginal communities getting out on to land, doing stuff around feral animals, noxious weeds and a whole range of things would be an incredibly important starting point. That is something that we should look to support, but we should also look to enhance what we are now doing when it comes to Aboriginal rangers. It is an important initiative.

There are a whole range of other practical things that we are doing. Obviously, one of the big issues is the level of incarceration or the level of interaction between young Aboriginals and the criminal justice system. This is complex and I probably have some views about the potential proposed changes in relation to the age of criminal intent. I accept all the underpinning arguments when it comes to the change but, unless we are incredibly serious about putting resources into early intervention, the changes are not going to work, and I can speak from the strong regional perspective of Port Augusta, Whyalla and elsewhere.

We have to be incredibly serious about early intervention to provide those wraparound services for families, to provide those services for young people and early intervention and, if early intervention does not work, decent diversion strategies that have a record elsewhere of showing that it can make a difference in people's lives because we have to break this cycle. It is a tragic cycle. These are practical things that we can do, but they have to be informed by well thought-through policy. I recommend this motion to the house. It is a good motion, and it is good to see it formalised.

Ms CLANCY (Elder) (12:06): I rise today in support of the Premier's motion and thank him for introducing such an important and long overdue adjustment to our standing orders. I would also like to thank the Hon. Kyam Maher, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, for his guidance, knowledge, experiences and leadership.

Last week, I visited Guardian's childcare and early learning centre in Daw Park and was given the opportunity to read a book to some very fun, funny and excited four year olds. The book was called Finding Our Heart and is a story about the Uluru Statement from the Heart but pitched at children. The children then sang a song to me in Kaurna language. I asked them if they do an Acknowledgement of Country at the start of each day. The answer was yes. The ECEC my daughter attended before starting school also had an Acknowledgment of Country in their program every morning, and now we are following in their little bitty footsteps and finally making it officially part of our program each sitting day.

Acknowledging country is a crucial step on the parliament's journey to reconciliation. To acknowledge country is to acknowledge the exclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people—centuries of exclusion from our history, exclusion from our curriculum and, for many years, exclusion from our democracy. To acknowledge country is to acknowledge the ongoing impact of colonisation and the disparities between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and other Australians. We must continue to not only acknowledge this exclusion and the continuing effects of colonisation but take meaningful and consultative steps to end it.

An Acknowledgement of Country also shows respect, reminding us of the connection the world's longest surviving culture has with the land and waters we call home. As a parliament, we must always acknowledge and respect Australia's Indigenous ownership and custodianship of Australia.

Our government has an ambitious agenda in Aboriginal affairs. We are committed to working in partnership with Aboriginal people and stand unwavering in our support for their self-determination. Our government will introduce a state-based implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart. By enshrining a First Nations voice into the South Australian parliament, Aboriginal people in our state will have direct input into decisions made about them.

Our government will also be restarting the Treaty process in our state and establishing a truth-telling process that recognises all aspects of our past. This is just the beginning. From the windy hills of Panorama to the jacarandas of Clarence Gardens, my electorate of Elder is Kaurna Yerta and I knowledge their elders past and present. Sovereignty was never ceded. This land always was and always will be Aboriginal land.

S.E. ANDREWS (Gibson) (12:10): It is an honour to rise to support this motion for the introduction of an Acknowledgement of Country and traditional owners in the standing orders. I pay my respects to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the traditional owners of country. I recognise their connection to land and waters, and pay my respects to their beliefs and culture and to elders past and present. This is Aboriginal land—always was, always will be.

The federal parliament has been formally acknowledging our First Nations people since 2010. Many local governments, state departments and—as the member for Elder acknowledged—kindergartens also conduct an Acknowledgement of Country before their meetings and events.

For many of us, as members of parliament, attending citizenship ceremonies is very powerful and one of the favourite parts of our roles. It is where we witness an Acknowledgement of Country and see it through the eyes of new citizens to Australia—our newest Australians listening, before a very significant milestone in their life, to an acknowledgement of the culture that has been part of this country for tens of thousands of years.

We are fortunate in South Australia to have an Aboriginal man as our Attorney-General and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. The Hon. Kyam Maher is a man of wisdom, heart and commitment to our First Nations people. This change to the standing orders is just a small part of the commitment to Aboriginal people by the Malinauskas Labor government, which I am proud to be a part of—a government that wants to walk alongside Aboriginal people, listen to them, support their ambitions for the future and deliver real outcomes that all South Australians can value.

This change to the standing orders will ensure that at the start of each sitting day the words, 'We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the traditional owners of this country throughout South Australia, and their connection to land and community. We pay our respects to them and their culture and to elders both past and present', will be heard in this house. We are lucky to live in a nation comprising hundreds of Aboriginal nations that have been protecting what we now call Australia for at least 60,000 years. I think many are too quick to forget the significance of this, especially compared to the mere 234 years that Europeans have lived on this land.

As a government, we believe in Aboriginal self-determination to guide and protect the oldest living culture on our planet. We are committed to a state-based implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart: Voice, Treaty, Truth. This process has started, with extensive consultations being led by the Commissioner for First Nations Voice, Dale Agius, currently underway with the South Australian Aboriginal community. Dale is another member of our community who we can be very proud of, and I know that these consultations will be honest, frank and meaningful.

That is the Labor way: listening, learning and acting. Whether it was the late Gough Whitlam in the Northern Territory in 1975, Paul Keating at Redfern in 1992, or Kevin Rudd in our nation's federal parliament in 2008, Labor prime ministers have shown our commitment to Aboriginal people. We now see the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags behind our current Prime Minister.

Our Labor government is committed to restarting the Treaty process in our state and establishing a truth-telling process that recognises all aspects of our past. It has been four years since the last Labor government first started discussions with three Aboriginal nations, with our aim of finalising a Treaty paused by the election of the Marshall government.

A key part of Truth is understanding and recognising our history. If you do not know your history, you cannot respect, acknowledge and protect it. As a government, we are committed to Aboriginal statues and monuments that recognise South Australian Aboriginal leaders and will help current and future generations to understand the value and contribution of our Aboriginal community.

It is crucial that young Aboriginal South Australians see statues and monuments of members of their community so that they feel their past leaders and heroes are respected by our community. You cannot be what you cannot see, and if you cannot see your leaders and heroes alongside those in the broader community that does send a strong message that your elders are not valued in our society.

Consultations are currently underway with Aboriginal community members, and are being led by the Commissioner for Aboriginal Engagement, Dr Roger Thomas. This is important, because decisions cannot be made on who should be immortalised without true consultations with our Aboriginal community leaders, and it is only appropriate that one of the changes is an Acknowledgement of Country each sitting day in this house so that all members have, at the front of their mind, protecting the Aboriginal culture and working to improve the future for our Aboriginal brothers and sisters as we conduct our business.

Aboriginal incarceration rates are a national shame, and it reflects on every member of our community that we imprison so many of our Aboriginal people across our nation. Our government is currently in the process of establishing an advisory commission into Aboriginal incarceration rates. This is an important step for our government, as we know that across the nation the rate of incarceration is way too high.

Additionally, our government is undertaking to legislate to enshrine the Nunga Court as part of our justice system, ensuring that Aboriginal elders have a voice in sentencing offenders and in the healing of victims. The Nunga Court at the Port Adelaide Magistrates Court was the first culturally appropriate court for Aboriginal defendants in Australia and is the inspiration for the Aboriginal community courts that sit once a month at Adelaide and Elizabeth.

Quality education is critical in everyone's life, whether it be school, TAFE, university or just throughout our daily living, and that is why I am pleased that the Malinauskas Labor government has committed to transferring Tauondi College at Port Adelaide to Aboriginal control and ownership to help secure its future. We can all be proud that Tauondi College was the first place in South Australia, and only the third nationally, to deliver Aboriginal-controlled education for Aboriginal people.

Tauondi is a Kaurna word meaning 'to penetrate' or 'break through'. Tauondi Aboriginal College has been breaking through to deliver vocational education and training since 1973. Tauondi Aboriginal College provides education and training for the whole person, upholding Aboriginal cultures and identities in ways that respect Aboriginal law and custom and the diversity of students' experiences and ambitions. Tauondi also provides a diverse and wide range of services to meet the ever-changing needs of Aboriginal communities in South Australia. We should be proud of Tauondi, its staff and students, and the work it does in the Deputy Premier's electorate for Aboriginal people across South Australia.

The government's agenda for Aboriginal affairs is extensive, and the next area in which this government is listening to Aboriginal people is in relation to the environment, one I certainly value, whether it be our stunning coastline or the Warriparinga and Oaklands wetlands, all of which I enjoy visiting with my family and dog. The Warriparinga wetlands offers natural beauty, including native plants and animals, and is a respected place for cultural and environmental education as well as being home to the Living Kaurna Cultural Centre, which interprets Kaurna culture and heritage. This site has one of the few remaining scar trees on the Adelaide Plains, and was a gathering place for Kaurna people.

While the local Kaurna people and the City of Marion ensure that Aboriginal heritage and this area is protected, this is not always the case across South Australia. That is why protecting Aboriginal heritage is a priority for this government. In consultation with local communities, Labor is undertaking to increase financial penalties for serious breaches of Aboriginal heritage laws so that penalties for destroying the past are not seen just as the cost of doing business.

Alongside the protection of Aboriginal heritage is the care for our country. Aboriginal people have cared for our country for tens of thousands of years. Through fire, flood, and drought management they have significant knowledge about the land and protecting our environment. That is why a Malinauskas Labor government is establishing a First Nations advisory group to speak directly to the Minister for the Environment, the member for Port Adelaide, and employing 15 extra Aboriginal rangers to better care for our country.

This initiative will not only see the crucial knowledge and understanding of our natural environment brought forward but it will allow Aboriginal people to work on their own country with local community groups, have their Voice heard, and bring positive change. Additionally, it will support culture, storytelling, and language, while ensuring the protection of the country for future generations. The government is further ensuring that Aboriginal voices are heard on the future of our River Murray. As we all know, the river is a lifeblood for our state, and holds significance for our Aboriginal communities.

As we all know, health is our most important asset, and sadly the health outcomes for Aboriginal people are far worse than for the rest of the population. This is not something that we should accept. We are working to improve the health of our Aboriginal people. Together with federal Labor, we are providing more than $15 million to give Yadu Health in Ceduna a new home, and additionally we are providing the required funding to Nganampa Health to implement Gayle's Law to help keep nurses and patients safe in remote communities.

I am proud to be a member of a government that has an ambitious agenda for Aboriginal Affairs covering many important areas, and finally listening to First Nations people. I commend the Premier's motion to the house.

Ms THOMPSON (Davenport) (12:21): It is my honour to rise to contribute to the debate regarding the introduction of an Acknowledgement of Country and traditional owners in the standing orders. I would like to start by paying my respects to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in my electorate of Davenport, and across our state of South Australia.

We have not always got it right, but building respect is an important step towards reconciliation. We still have a long way to go in our country, and in our state, with respect to how we celebrate and acknowledge Aboriginal culture and our country's true history. I have been very fortunate in my career to have been able to engage deeply with some of our key elders in my community, and in the southern parts of Adelaide and across our state. In particular, I would like to acknowledge senior Kaurna Meyunna woman Georgina Williams—Woman of Water—whom we very sadly lost last year.

Aunty was the first to take my hand and guide me to embrace our First Nations culture. She taught me the importance of upholding the cultural values of the traditional owners, to be open to truth telling, and she had begun teaching me some of the stories of the south. Aunty dedicated her life to activism, to fighting for land rights and for social justice, for her family, for her people and her culture, and the reawakening of the sacred Tjilbruke Dreaming story, so that her people could come home to country.

Her resolve was second to none. She maintained her path with unwavering strength and wisdom, and she always stayed true to her convictions with future generations in mind. She taught me and many others to listen in a deeper way, which has opened a new way of understanding this story for myself and many others. She also introduced me to her son, the senior Kaurna man Karl Telfer. I am grateful to Karl for spending time with me and walking with me on country and teaching me about the land and about his ancestors. We need to encourage our community to embrace opportunities to engage with First Nations people, to learn more about country to protect the oldest living culture on our planet.

I am so proud to be part of a government that has an ambitious agenda for Aboriginal affairs. We are committed to working in partnership with Aboriginal people, to support their ambitions for the future, and deliver real outcomes right across our state, and a commitment to a state-based implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart: Voice, Treaty, Truth. The first step is enshrining a First Nations Voice into South Australian parliament. This will allow Aboriginal people in our state to have direct input into decisions made about them. I am proud to have led a similar approach in my former position as Mayor of the City of Onkaparinga, where we established a Voice to Council. It is pleasing to see that this is happening now across all levels of government.

The Voice to Parliament will be followed by restarting the Treaty process in our state and establishing a truth-telling process that recognises all aspects of the past. This will not be an easy process, but it is indeed an important one and so necessary. When I am speaking to my community of Davenport about this, I am hearing that there is an absolute hunger and thirst for knowledge and information about our country's Indigenous culture, particularly about the local stories. That is fantastic to hear and very reassuring.

Another commitment of this government that I am proud of is establishing a First Nations advisory group to speak directly to the Minister for Environment and employing 15 extra Aboriginal rangers. This is an extremely important step in taking care of our country.

A key part of Truth is understanding and recognising our history. Our government has committed to Aboriginal statues and monuments—statues and monuments that recognise great South Australian Aboriginal leaders and heroes that will help current and future generations to understand the value and contribution of our Aboriginal community.

I highly encourage people to learn about the Tjilbruke dreaming story by walking the Tjilbruke Dreaming Track, which is a significant ancestral journey along Adelaide's coastline. There are 10 cultural markers along this track which recognise the tiers of Tjilbruke that formed the natural springs, an integral part of the Dreaming story.

The Kaurna cultural centre at Marion is a fantastic place to learn more about Kaurna culture, and there is a great wall there that tells the Tjilbruke Dreaming story. I encourage everybody to get along and have a look at that. I am sure that if Aunty Georgina were still with us, she would be pleased to see the positive steps that our government is making, but she would be fiercely fighting for us to be even more ambitious in our progress. This is just one small step, but it is a step in the right direction. I commend the Premier's motion to the house.

The Hon. J.K. SZAKACS (Cheltenham—Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services) (12:26): I rise in support of this important motion. In doing so, I also acknowledge that we gather today on the traditional lands of the Kaurna people. I pay my respects to elders past and present. In a simple way I commend this motion in the sense that it creates a permanent statement and reminder of the importance of the work that we must do as a parliament and as a community to fully embrace reconciliation and move from a set of words to a set of meaningful actions. I am proud to be part of a government that is putting those actions in place and not just speaking about reconciliation but truly delivering it.

We are a government that in opposition fully committed to the implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart—that is, Voice, Treaty and Truth. I think most people in this chamber have at one time or another reflected on the profound nature of the work and consultation and consensus that was built through the Uluru Statement from the Heart, yet the truth is we are still as a country far from implementation of that consensus position that was reached. We now know that our new federal government, the Albanese Labor government, is committed to an Aboriginal Voice to Parliament.

I have to say it is truly disheartening to see a really deliberate and quick reaction in response to reject that from some pockets of our political leaders and from civil society. It should not fill us with any pride in this place that we have such lack of consensus from a political perspective nationally, when First Nations people were able to find that consensus to deliver to us, to policymakers, a very strong view around Voice, Treaty and Truth.

The first step in that on behalf of the Malinauskas government is enshrining a Voice to Parliament. That is currently being led through consultation by Dale Agius, a man known to many people in this place. He is an exceptional community leader and exceptional Aboriginal leader. I trust and am entirely confident that the work that Dale is undertaking will better inform the position contemplated by this place and the way that we truly enshrine Voice as part of our package of delivering Voice, Treaty and Truth.

I am also very proud to be part of a government that is starting to reinvigorate the Treaty process. We have lost four years. I hope we have not lost ground through the actions taken by the former government, particularly by the then Premier, the member for Dunstan, to abandon the Treaty process. I hope that the goodwill started by the then Labor government prior to 2018 is still there, and I trust that with the leadership of the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs in the other place that process will conclude in earnest.

The unfinished business that Australia has when it comes to reconciliation is profound. I rise to note, as the Minister for Police, Correctional Services and Emergency Services, the significant work that must be undertaken in my portfolios, as was raised by other speakers. In particular, I was in the chamber to hear the remarks of the member for Gibson that Aboriginal people still find themselves incarcerated at a dramatically higher level and higher rate than the rest of the community. That has to change. I will give the former minister, the member for Hartley, credit as well that there has been an approach of deliberate attempts to reduce Aboriginal incarceration, but more has to be done.

We also see in road trauma, whether it be deaths or significant trauma, again an over-representation of Aboriginal people in deaths on our roads. In our emergency services, more work needs to be done to have our emergency services, be it career staff or volunteer staff, better reflect our community, which means that our emergency services need to improve the way in which they market themselves or present themselves to First Nations people to, in turn, attract more Aboriginal people to join and serve in those services so that they may better reflect the community they serve.

All of this, of course, is through the great privilege that I have to share and sit around the cabinet table with the first Aboriginal man serving as Aboriginal affairs minister, that is, the Hon. Kyam Maher in the other place—a good man and a friend of mine. The privilege I have is to share in some of his immense knowledge, his deep cultural connection with Aboriginal people and at times his extremely infinite understanding, it seems to me, of the nuance. That is something I do not take for granted, and I know that my cabinet colleagues do not take for granted.

We are standing here today both in support of this motion and, as a government, delivering on a policy agenda that will firmly implement Voice, Treaty, Truth, standing shoulder to shoulder with an Aboriginal man who is an extraordinary role model to his community. In closing, I know this is a matter that is close to the heart of all in this chamber, and I commend the motion brought by the Premier.

The Hon. K.A. HILDYARD (Reynell—Minister for Child Protection, Minister for Women and the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (12:33): I am also really pleased and honoured to rise to speak in wholehearted support of this motion and, in doing so, I acknowledge that the land I live on, that we spend time with our community on and that we meet on today is Kaurna land. I pay my deep respect to Kaurna elders past and present, to Kaurna future leaders and to elders and people of other Aboriginal nations with us in our community.

In acknowledging the land we meet on today, I acknowledge that this land always was and always will be Aboriginal land. I also acknowledge that there is still a long road ahead to genuine reconciliation, and I am really proud to be a member of a government that has already made commitments to progress genuine engagement with Aboriginal people in our community. I am also so proud that, as the previous speaker said, our brilliant Attorney-General and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, lovely friend and leader, the Hon. Kyam Maher, is leading those efforts.

One of these important steps towards reconciliation, towards ensuring the voices of Aboriginal people are absolutely heard and acted upon, is to completely endorse what is set out in the Uluru Statement from the Heart. The first step in that is enshrining a First Nations Voice into the South Australian parliament. This will allow Aboriginal people in our state to have direct input into decisions made. Extensive consultations being led by the Commissioner for First Nations Voice, Dale Agius, are currently underway with the South Australian Aboriginal community.

The Uluru Statement from the Heart also calls on reforms to empower Aboriginal people to take their rightful place in their country, to have self-determination and to create change. The Uluru Statement from the Heart states:

Makarrata is the culmination of our agenda: the coming together after a struggle. It captures our aspirations for a fair and truthful relationship with the people of Australia and a better future for our children based on justice and self-determination.

Each of the three elements of the statement—Voice, Treaty and Truth—are equally important and all are vital interwoven parts of the necessary journey to implementing what is contained within the Uluru Statement. The Voice to state parliament will be followed by restarting the Treaty process in our state and establishing a truth-telling process that recognises all aspects of our past.

We have also committed to Aboriginal statues and monuments. A key part of Truth is understanding, recognising and honouring our history. Statues and monuments that recognise great Aboriginal leaders and heroes will help current and future generations to understand the value and contribution of our Aboriginal community. Consultations are currently underway with Aboriginal community members, and these efforts are being led by the Commissioner for Aboriginal Engagement, Dr Roger Thomas.

As Minister for Women and the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, I am passionate about the prevention and eradication of domestic violence. The domestic violence statistics that we continue to confront are appalling and they are a persistent, relentless call to action. Most recent statistics from the SAPOL annual report note that the number of domestic violence related assaults shockingly rose again this last year by almost 10 per cent.

What we also know about all the shocking domestic violence statistics is that they are significantly worse if you are Aboriginal and that there is a deeply disproportionate impact of domestic violence on Aboriginal women. We also know that Aboriginal women can be less likely to trust the legal and other systems. On every issue, Aboriginal voices must be heard and acted upon, including on the most pressing, devastating issue of domestic violence.

Our government is aware of the impacts of colonisation and past welfare policies on Aboriginal people. In speaking about that particular set of issues, I pay tribute to the strength, courage and resilience of Aboriginal people who were removed by past governments from their families. I am sorry for and acknowledge that these terrible injustices and hurt continue to impact many Aboriginal people and their communities.

Our government is resolutely committed to the Closing the Gap targets. For me as Minister for Child Protection, addressing the over-representation of Aboriginal children and young people in care is pressing. We will tackle this over-representation by having a dedicated plan with Aboriginal people, a plan that includes working with the Aboriginal children's commissioner to create an Aboriginal-led group to ensure that Aboriginal voices are heard and acted upon within the system, a plan that includes active efforts to ensure Aboriginal governance is embedded in everything we do and that Aboriginal led decision-making is a requirement for all decisions relating to Aboriginal children and young people.

We will ensure an expansion of the service footprint of Aboriginal community-controlled organisations working in this space. Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People, Ms April Lawrie, has launched an inquiry pursuant to section 20M of the Children and Young People (Oversight and Advocacy Bodies) Act 2016 into the implementation of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle in both policy, legislation and practice.

This inquiry is examining how the principle is applied in the removal and placement of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care. This is an area deeply important to this government, as we acknowledge the over-representation of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care and recognise that cultural safety and connection to community is fundamental to the wellbeing of Aboriginal children and young people. Commissioner Lawrie is an incredibly important and wise advocate and provides robust advice on the systemic issues that must be tackled to begin to reduce that over-representation of Aboriginal children and young people in care.

We are committed to working in partnership with the community and empowering the commissioner to create mechanisms for Aboriginal voices to be heard within and about the system. The inquiry is one such way that Aboriginal people will have a say and provide crucial insight and feedback that we need to improve the safety and wellbeing of children and young people.

I am deeply committed to ensuring children are at the centre of our decision-making and actions. I greatly value Commissioner Lawrie's advice and advocacy, and believe that the best outcomes for Aboriginal children and young people will be achieved if solutions are led and designed by Aboriginal children, families, leaders and communities. This inquiry into the child placement principle will be a powerful way of doing just that. We welcome it and the way in which the commissioner has indicated she intends to conduct it.

To achieve real change we must shift public discourse and grow community understanding about the deeply interconnected issues that impact families and the ongoing need to balance doing all we can to strengthen families so that they have the best chance of succeeding and keeping children and young people safe. Again, I commend this motion to the house and I am proud to rise in support of it.

Ms WORTLEY (Torrens) (12:42): I am proud to rise in support of our government's commitment to South Australia's First Nations people and the way in which we acknowledge them as the custodians of the land. In doing so, I acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the traditional owners of this country throughout Australia and their connection to land and community. I acknowledge also that today this parliament meets on the traditional land of the Kaurna people, and I pay my respect to their elders past, present and emerging, as together we walk along the path of reconciliation. I also make special mention of the First Nations people in my electorate of Torrens and the leaders who work so hard to bring community together.

I am proud to say that we as a parliament are enshrining the need for this acknowledgement before us at the opening of our assembly every time we sit. This is an important milestone in our history. This measure speaks to the very meaning that the Uluru Statement of the Heart talks about: Voice, Treaty and Truth. It is also Labor's commitment to deliver on this, as we believe in Aboriginal determination to guide and protect the oldest living culture on our planet.

The changes to the standing order we hope to enshrine this week go some way to helping preserve that voice and make us accountable to the people as a role model to everyone. The first step we are making as a government is to have a First Nations voice into the South Australian parliament, which is an exciting development. It will allow First Nations people in our state to have direct input into decisions made about them.

Commissioner for First Nations Voice, Dale Agius, is an immensely qualified public servant and Kaurna, Narungga, Ngadjuri and Ngarrindjeri person with connection to communities and countries across South Australia. His experience and ability to connect with Aboriginal nation groups, mainstream service providers and government agencies will be valuable for working collaboratively in bringing together a Voice model.

These consultations have already begun. Labor has committed to restarting the Treaty process in our state and establishing truth telling that recognises all aspects of our past, for without understanding our history, how can we go forward? A key part of truth is recognising and owning our past.

Statues and monuments that recognise great South Australian Aboriginal leaders and heroes are testament to that and will help current and future generations to understand the value and contribution of our Indigenous communities. Talks are underway with Aboriginal elders, being led by Dr Roger Thomas, the Commissioner for Aboriginal Engagement.

It is not lost on this government, either, the disproportionate rates of incarceration of our First Nations people. We need to understand why this is happening, and our government has committed to establishing an advisory commission for this very purpose.

Part of the self-determination pathways for our Indigenous population is a secure focus on Aboriginal-controlled education. We have committed to deliver Aboriginal-controlled education to Aboriginal people at Tauondi Aboriginal College and to secure future ownership. It will be operated and owned by our First Nations people.

To better care for our country, we are establishing a First Nations advisory group to speak directly to the Minister for the Environment and employ 15 extra Aboriginal rangers. We are ensuring that Aboriginal voices are heard on how we curate the land for future generations. And there will be serious financial penalties for breaches of Aboriginal heritage laws for destroying any semblance of the past which is deemed significant. We are looking to establish mechanisms to make sure a company or business does not benefit from the destruction of significant history in the name of change or progress.

Together with federal Labor we are providing more than $15 million to give Yadu Health in Ceduna a new home. We are undertaking to legislate to enshrine the Nunga Court as part of our justice system, ensuring that Aboriginal elders will have a voice in sentencing offenders and the healing of victims.

The Malinauskas Labor government is doing rather than just speaking about real change for our First Nations people. It is something worth noting in this house that, while we may have a road ahead of us, we have a destination in sight, and we will get there together. Today we are making a small step in the right direction. We know that from little things big things grow. I commend the house on enshrining the alterations to standing order 39.

The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light) (12:47): I rise in support of this motion of the Premier to amend our standing orders to reflect the Acknowledgement of Country. Changes like this are by their very nature symbolic, but having said that I think sometimes symbolism is very important, because it does speak to our values. We have a lot of symbols in our society which by themselves mean nothing, but when they are put into context and talk about our culture, what we believe in and what we hold dear, it is very important. So this is a symbolic change but a very important change, because it does speak to those values, as I said.

It is important that we understand our values, because they inform our actions. It is very important that we have the right framework, the right values, to ensure that the actions we take in this area of policy are the appropriate ones. I would also add, though, the acknowledgement is very important, as I said, as a symbolic gesture, but it is not sufficient. We need to make sure we do a lot more to put into practice those things we hold dear to us. Certainly, this government is doing that.

This government has what I believe to be a bold agenda when it comes to Aboriginal Affairs. It has an agenda which will hopefully not only catch up on ground lost in the past four years but also move ahead and set the agenda for future governments in this area. I think one of the most important things that must be said is that this government is very clear about the way it will do business with Aboriginal people. It is important that we, as a society, work alongside Aboriginal people and enable them to realise their aspirations. Sadly, if we are honest with ourselves, we do have a very bleak history when we have dealt with Aboriginal affairs.

If you were to categorise some of the phases of our relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people, it would be that initially we did it to them—we moved them off their land, we killed them, we did a whole range of things in the early days of colonisation of this country. Then we went through the early welfare era where we actually did it for them, and we made Aboriginal people very dependent on non-Aboriginal society. That was, in some ways, quite damaging because it did not enable Aboriginal culture to evolve over time as all cultures evolve over time. We stopped Aboriginal people from evolving their culture into the modern era.

Hopefully, this latest era of our relationship with Aboriginal people is about working alongside them. It is important that we work alongside them, that we take off our European (in most cases) lens and try to understand Aboriginal people's aspirations through their eyes. I will speak a bit more about that in a few moments. I think it is important to know that because sometimes I am still guilty of looking at issues which impact Aboriginal people through European eyes. We can only honestly address those issues when we see the issue through their eyes.

I have had the benefit of both Aboriginal men and women in my community pulling me aside and chatting with me about things, and they did it in a very positive way. They did it to educate me, which is really important, and I did learn a lot. Often, when we have a Welcome to Country, the Aboriginal person who actually welcomes to country explains some things to us.

That is very important because we need to understand what is behind those words. We need to understand what those words mean to Aboriginal people because there is a danger, if we just do the Acknowledgement of Country at every event and we do not understand the meaning, that it would not mean much and would be tokenistic. I think it is important, as non-Aboriginal people, to go beyond being tokenistic in our relationship with Aboriginal people and try to understand why these words are important. We also need to try to understand the issues that we confront, but through their eyes.

As I said, as a government we do have a very bold agenda for Aboriginal affairs, which is good. Underlining that broad agenda is our acknowledgement and recognition of the right to self-determination for Aboriginal people as quite a discrete cultural group. That is a right which is actually enjoyed by all cultures right across the world. In fact, the right to self-determination is one of the very first articles in the United Nations articles which actually formed the United Nations. It does not matter whether you are, like me, of Italian background or of Greek background or whatever your background or culture, you have a right to self-determination.

That does not mean that you live apart from other people; it means that you are acknowledged for the culture you were born in and that your culture is integrated with a broader culture. Certainly, we have other cultures right around the world, in addition to our own local Indigenous people, that do not actually enjoy self-determination. Hopefully, we can address that and, as a nation and as a state, we should lobby for those sorts of things to happen whenever we can.

Underpinning this self-determination, again, is listening to the voices of the Aboriginal people themselves and what is important to them. They have actually invited us to join them in a conversation about the relationship between Aboriginal people and non-Aboriginal people through the Uluru Statement. One of the most important things about the Uluru Statement is that it is an invitation. It makes it very clear that, as Aboriginal people, they are inviting us to walk alongside them, to have conversations with them and to understand who they are and their experience. That is what the Uluru Statement is about.

It is sad the way the Uluru Statement has been talked about in some political circles as something that would actually undermine our democracy or Australian sovereignty. There could be nothing further from the truth. The Uluru Statement talks about three important things: Voice, Treaty and Truth. It is ensuring that Aboriginal people in our society have a voice to parliament, where laws are passed and policy is made, which is important.

Treaty is about reaching an understanding of our respective roles in this society and community we call Australia. How do we learn to coexist in a peaceful way that actually benefits both Aboriginal people and non-Aboriginal people? We need to come to an understanding of how we also acknowledge the past through some sort of Treaty process. Treaty, in essence, if you want to put it in a spiritual sense, is about people coming to peace with each other. It is actually finding a way to coexist in a peaceful way.

The other thing that the Uluru Statement talks about is truth. It is true, I think, that no nation can advance itself unless it is truthful and honest about its past. We saw that in South Africa, where they had a truth commission. We have also seen it in other countries. We have also seen it in some countries where they do not want to acknowledge the truth and so they have internal conflict, time and time again.

One just has to look at the United States of America, where, when you look at it deeply, and it has been put to me recently, they have been at war ever since white Europeans settled there. They have been at war either with other nations or with themselves: the War of Independence, the civil war, the riots in the sixties and seventies for rights for black people in America. It is a nation that has actually been continuously at war with others or with itself. There is always some strife in America, and it continues today. In part, that is because I do not think that America as a nation has actually come to terms with its past or acknowledged its past. Hopefully, we do not make the same mistake as that nation.

One of the first steps we have undertaken as a government is to enshrine a First Nations voice into the South Australian parliament. This will allow Aboriginal people in our state to have direct input into the decisions made about them. Extensive consultations are being led by Commissioner for First Nations Voice, Dale Agius, and are currently underway within the South Australian Aboriginal community. This will be followed by restarting the Treaty process in our state and establishing a truth-telling process that recognises all aspects of our past.

This brings us to the next point, namely, that our symbols and statues and monuments talk about our non-Aboriginal past. It is time that we also acknowledge our Aboriginal past through statues, etc. They are important. The absence of statues and monuments of Aboriginal people reinforces the terra nullius concept—that they did not exist here and that the land was a blank canvas. Well, it was not: there were Aboriginal people living here for 60,000 years. With those few comments, I certainly support this motion and ask the chamber to support it.

Motion carried.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON (Ramsay—Minister for Tourism, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (12:58): I move:

That the alteration to standing order 39 as adopted by this house be laid before the Governor by the Speaker for approval, pursuant to section 55 of the Constitution Act 1934.

Motion carried.

Sitting suspended from 12:59 to 14:00.

PARLIAMENTARY BUSINESS
MEMBERS
GET INVOLVED
ABOUT PARLIAMENT
VISIT
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY
CONTACT