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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-03-07 Daily Xml
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Bills

First Nations Voice Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. K.A. Hildyard (resumed on motion).

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) (15:39): It was preceded by the Hon. Kyam Maher's steadfast commitment, over his lifetime, to advance our community toward reconciliation with compassion and respect and through honest conversation about past and present injustices and about what it will take to forge a future in which Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people walk together in harmony and in unity. Thank you, Kyam, for your and Commissioner for First Nations Voice Dale Agius's tireless work to deeply consult on this bill that we contemplate today and for your leadership and strength as we bring to life this bill that will help us toward unity.

In moving the bill, Kyam, you spoke about how this was one of the most important actions you have taken in the parliament. I say to you, Kyam, that your doing so is one of the most important steps for our whole community. It is a bill that speaks to fairness, to compassion, to a willingness to listen and act, and to a desire to advance our state forward with dignity, respect and an abiding commitment for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people to walk together.

It is a bill that we now contemplate, six years since the adoption by the First Nations National Constitutional Convention of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, which rightly calls for Voice, Treaty, Truth and for structural reform that genuinely empowers Aboriginal people to speak to us as decision-makers and to have their voices heard and acted upon. The Uluru Statement from the Heart states:

When we have power over our destiny our children will flourish. They will walk in two worlds and their culture will be a gift to their country.

This bill is about wholeheartedly giving that power. It is about doing the right thing. It is about respectfully recognising that Aboriginal people are the best people to give voice to all that can make a difference on the issues Aboriginal people confront. It is about a huge and transformative step towards reconciliation and healing. It is about saying, and telling our children and grandchildren, that we, as parliamentarians and as a community, recognised the past and present injustices and hurt and decided to rightly and genuinely listen to Aboriginal people's voices and, as a demonstration of that commitment, that we enshrined that right for Aboriginal people to have a Voice to Parliament in our laws.

It is not, as some who have opposed it have said, about unfairly advantaging one group of people over another, nor is it about not addressing the issues that persist. It is about exactly the opposite. It is about finally progressing toward fairness for Aboriginal people through finally, genuinely, ensuring that Aboriginal people—whose voices have too often gone unheard and who have not had the power that that they should have over their destinies, their children's future and what matters in their lives—are heard and empowered.

Fundamentally, this bill is about demonstrating leadership. Excellent leadership is not about having power; it is about using your leadership to empower others to lead. I am so proud that, as a government, we are exercising leadership in this way. Our government was elected to lead with a firm commitment to enact the three core elements of the Uluru Statement at a state level: Voice, Treaty and Truth. Each element is equally important and crucial to implementing the Uluru Statement in full.

I am moved and proud that our government is progressing this bill that will deliver the first part of this commitment by establishing a fully elected First Nations Voice to this South Australian parliament and government. I am proud that, in progressing this bill, we lead the country as we contemplate, as a nation, a Voice to our federal parliament.

Through passing this legislation, we provide meaningful structures that have been informed by Aboriginal people through a deep consultation process to engage with issues that affect their lives and to express their views in relation to the way forward.

We know that First Nations people continue to experience significantly worse outcomes than the wider population in a range of areas: life expectancy, education, justice, health, safety and others. The statistics that we continue to reflect on through the Closing the Gap reports are unacceptable and they are a call to action to do more, to listen more and to empower Aboriginal people to speak with us.

During this week, as we approach International Women's Day, we are all also too well aware that the scourge of violence against women in our community persists. Shamefully, the rates of violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women remain significantly higher than the national average. First Nations women are 34 times more likely than non-Aboriginal women to be hospitalised because of violence and report three times as many incidents of sexual violence as non-Aboriginal women.

Those are facts from which none of us can look away. They are facts that we must look toward with courage until they change and they are facts that require a response that is shaped by Aboriginal people empowered to develop structures that respond to these experiences and drive change.

The establishment of the Voice is a key step to ensure that Aboriginal people are fulsomely involved in and truly leading the design and implementation of all policies that support their communities that tackle issues that they may confront.

In saying this, we must acknowledge that it is also not the sole responsibility of Aboriginal people to address this or other matters that impact them. 'Changing the picture: A national resource to support the prevention of violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and their children', developed by Our Watch, rightly states:

Violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women is not an 'Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander problem'. Nor should Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people bear sole responsibility for addressing it. This violence is an Australian problem, and it is perpetrated by men of all cultural backgrounds.

It is deeply concerning that the rate of Aboriginal children entering care is growing. We are steadfastly committed to doing what we can to help ensure this trend does not persist.

On the weekend, we announced our commitment to an additional $16.6 million to our child protection system with a focus on best practice approaches to keep children safe within their family unit and Aboriginal-led initiatives that will provide the foundations for transformational change. The investment will include targeted efforts to support Aboriginal children and their families to stay together through Aboriginal-led decision-making for Aboriginal children, young people, families and communities.

Across the forward estimates, $13.4 million will significantly expand the Family Group Conferencing program, where a child's extended family is brought together to find solutions to help keep children safely at home. This voluntary process is led by families and provides an opportunity for family and community members to come together with resources and support and make decisions that support the safety and best interests of the child or young person.

The state government is also leading the nation in committing $3.2 million to establish an independent Aboriginal community-controlled peak body designed to empower the Aboriginal community to ensure measures are in place to improve care and protection outcomes for Aboriginal children and young people. This additional funding is a crucial and nation-leading step forward in tackling the complex issues in child protection and the difficult and complex circumstances that children, young people and their families can face.

The way that the funding is being delivered is all about empowering Aboriginal families. It recognises and enables the strengths in extended families, creates opportunities to achieve better outcomes for children by involving more family and community members, and creates support mechanisms so that children have better opportunities to safely stay with their families.

Resourcing a peak body for Aboriginal children and young people is a step that Aboriginal leaders have wanted for some time. Our commitment to the establishment of a peak body will support Aboriginal-led solutions and build the capacity of the Aboriginal community-controlled sector to deliver services which we know will lead to better outcomes for Aboriginal children.

On the issues of violence against women and child protection and, indeed, on every issue, Aboriginal voices must be empowered to lead, be heard and acted upon. As a parliament, the structure we progress through this bill will enable the voices of Aboriginal people to absolutely be empowered to lead on these and on all issues. I know this because the process to get to this historic moment has been led by Aboriginal people. Passing this bill will give Aboriginal people more of a say in the decisions that affect their lives, and will ensure our parliament truly listens to Aboriginal voices.

The Voice will be made up of at least six Local First Nations Voices, formed of directly elected people from determined regions. The bill also includes a State First Nations Voice, comprising the two presiding members of each Local First Nations Voice.

The direct election of the Local First Nations Voices by First Nations people living within each region will ensure representation from a diversity of voices. The functions of these Local First Nations Voices include the consideration and discussion of matters of interest to First Nations people within the region of representation. Local First Nations Voices are encouraged to work together with public sector agencies, local government and other organisations on these matters of interest. Each Local Voice will elect two joint presiding members of different genders. Those two members will make up the State First Nations Voice.

The focus of the State First Nations Voice will be aimed at direct communication with our South Australian parliament and government. This function includes consultation with the Local First Nations Voices to ascertain views, and presentation of those views to the South Australian parliament and government. Those views will be presented to this parliament in a number of ways, including an annual address to parliament from its joint presiding members on the floor of the parliament in relation to any bill it considers relevant and through reports to parliament on issues affecting First Nations people, either on its own initiative or on request of either house of parliament.

In addition to this, the State First Nations Voice will meet at least twice a year with cabinet and with departmental chief executives and hold an annual engagement hearing with ministers and chief executives on initiatives and expenditure within their agencies impacting First Nations people. It is important to note that the structure of the Voice is not responsible for administering programs or issuing grants, but it will be a powerful structure that rightly amplifies the voice of Aboriginal people directly to our parliament and government.

I am so proud that our government deeply listened to the feedback of Aboriginal people throughout the drafting of this legislation, and reflected the strong desires for diversity in representation, the direct access for the Voice to decision-makers and for appropriate resourcing to be considered for the implementation of this structure.

Finally, I reflect on our southern community and how important the voice of Aboriginal people is in our community discourse and deliberations. I feel blessed to learn from leaders who generously share their wisdom, their culture and their kindness. Amongst them are leaders who work tirelessly to ensure the voice of Aboriginal people is heard and listened to, and that Aboriginal people are empowered to lead and to initiate steps toward healing and reconciliation, for that to happen in an honest, truthful way that genuinely recognises past and current hurt and injustices.

In saying this I think of one particular woman who passed the year before last, whom I continue to miss. I am deeply grateful to her for what she taught me and for the wisdom that she so generously shared with me about culture, country and struggle.

I will forever continue to be inspired by her, by her honesty, her willingness to tirelessly fight, and have her strength and her voice and her willingness to fight in my heart and in my mind whenever I have the opportunity to speak up about what makes a difference, about what matters, and that absolutely includes this debate in this place.

Aboriginal communities must be enabled through this Voice to Parliament to progress change that makes a difference on the issues that affect their lives. This Voice will be one that is meaningful and strong and one that is developed, supported and led by the diversity of Aboriginal people who will rightly represent everyone in their particular communities. It is a Voice that will advance us toward reconciliation and that, through its empowering of a group of people who have too often gone unheard, will unite us. I commend this bill to the house.

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (15:55): I rise to speak to the First Nations Voice Bill. I note, as has been indicated earlier in the proceedings, we are opposing this bill, but we do not do that lightly at all. I certainly do not believe that this is the answer. We currently have 191 registered bodies working with Aboriginal South Australians right now, so what makes me wonder is what is going on that the myriad complex situations that affront our Aboriginal community, as the rest of our community—why is that not working?

I firmly believe we need to have our focus at the coalface, in the communities wherever they are, whether it is the Far West Coast, whether it is up north in the lands, whether it is in the Riverland or Murraylands, whether it is in the South-East, I believe that is where the rubber hits the road and that is where we need to make the commitment. I certainly do not believe that this bill will make it better for these communities right across the state, whether they be, as I said, in our distant communities on the Far West Coast, up north, throughout the rest of the state, through the Murraylands and Riverland, and certainly the community here in the city and the community on North Terrace.

I do not think this bill will give the support that it needs, and I say this as someone who has lived in a community, played sport in a community with lots of Aboriginal people and against them, and they are very good sportspeople. I certainly think we need to be doing more on the ground to make their lives better with their complex issues that affect their lives, just as with the complex issues that affect the general community.

I want to outline a letter to the editor by Margaret Van Ruth about outback support from The Advertiser on Tuesday 28 February, and I quote:

I write regarding 'Our Outback Shame (The Advertiser, Monday). I agree the situation is a shame, but it is not my shame. I was first motivated to work with Aboriginal people in 1964 when training as a teacher. My husband and I arrived at a remote community in the Northern Territory in 1966. While I enjoyed my experiences with the Indigenous children I taught, and had a great respect for the parents and leaders, other issues led us to return to Adelaide, where we were later involved with two other Indigenous communities.

It was heavy going, constantly made worse by officialdom. This seemed to be reactive to the policy of the 'quick fix'. Policies failed because they weren't underpinned by depth of understanding or commitment, and they lurched from left to right.

With each new broom came a new policy.

My heart breaks for ruined lives. People with broken hearts, stooped shoulders, and premature deaths.

And the self-righteous are a dime a dozen. Posing and posturing helps no-one. There are a lot of posers and posturers around at the moment. They don't get their hands dirty or get kicks in the teeth.

I certainly have no quick-fix answers. But the only thing that will help in the long term is sustained support for all those people working so hard to improve the lives of those who need a helping hand.

I certainly agree with those comments. I want to make another reference and this is in regard to the federal Voice debate that is happening concurrently. It is about a commentary by Indigenous leader Warren Mundine. The headline is 'Solution is school and jobs, not Voice'. This was published on 1 March in The Advertiser:

Indigenous leader Warren Mundine has said the new documentary series, Cry from the Heart, underlines the fact that economic participation and not a Voice to Parliament is the key to solving Indigenous disadvantage.

'The immediate cause of the problems in Alice Springs is the federal and territory governments' removal of cashless welfare and alcohol bans in remote Northern Territory Indigenous communities,' Mr Mundine said.

'The underlying cause is families in crisis, in a vicious intergenerational cycle of substance abuse, violence and sexual abuse, family breakdown, anti-social and criminal behaviour and long-term welfare dependency.

We often hear that poverty and history cause these problems—rubbish.

Poverty doesn't make you helpless, addicted, anti-social or a criminal.

My parents raised 11 children in poverty and met all their parental responsibilities.

I slept peacefully every night in a single bed with three brothers. But I was never afraid to go home.

The solution is economic participation—starting with adults in work and kids in school.

Case-managed intervention is required to achieve these objectives for troubled families, but jobs and education should be the single driving objectives.'

That is the end of the quote, but I will continue the article:

Mr Mundine also accused the Albanese government of 'winding back' 20 years of economic and social policies designed to empower Aboriginal Australians in favour of 'an ideologically driven agenda, centred on a grievance mindset, identity politics, increased bureaucratic control and centralised, government dependency'.

'The centrepiece of all this is the Voice. The government seemingly can't explain what the Voice is. But I know. It's the bureaucracy to end all bureaucracies and an enshrined talkfest in Canberra,' Mr Mundine said.

I want to make some comments in line with this debate around the many thousands of Aboriginal service men and women who have served and not just as the member for Hammond but as the shadow minister for veterans affairs. With all the inequality that has happened over time, I truly salute their service.

It was moving several years ago to be involved in the return of the remains of Private Miller Mack from the West Terrace Cemetery after 98 years of laying in what I believe was an unmarked grave to come home to Raukkan. I will read this report from the local newspaper of the day. It is titled 'Private Miller Mack returns home after 98 years' and was published in the Murray Valley Standard on 27 March 2017:

For a few moments, it was 1919 again at Raukkan.

The years rolled back and the body of a young serviceman, not long back from the western front, struck down by a disease he caught fighting for a country which did not count him as a citizen, was returned to Ngarrindjeri country, the land of his ancestors.

The bugler blew the Last Post and rifles cracked as Private Miller Mack's coffin was lowered into the earth.

He had originally been buried in an unmarked grave in Adelaide, an injustice his great nephew, Francis Lovegrove, spent years working to right.

On Friday, Mr Lovegrove stood before Private Mack's flag-draped coffin as it lay in the Raukkan church.

'Welcome home to your country,' he said.

Thank you for making us proud.

Now may your spirit rest in peace.'

Amazing Grace and the Slim Dusty song We've Done Us Proud were played to hundreds of members of the Ngarrindjeri nation and veterans' fraternity in the church and outside.

After a military procession, the coffin was placed in the ground between the graves of two of Private Mack's brothers in arms: Walter Gollan and Gordon Rigney.

David Prior, a chaplain with the 7th Royal Australian Regiment, said the gathering was about more than Miller Mack's body being moved from one place to another.

'It's about being heard, his story being told, being remembered, being honoured,' he said.

'He's never really been forgotten by you.

This is just a time for the rest of us to catch up, and do him honour in a way we haven't before.'

Miller Mack served with Australian Army at the Battle of Messines, in Belgium, where enormous mines were detonated beneath the German trenches—the subject of the film Beneath Hill 60.

I certainly was privileged to visit this area at the end of 2010. I certainly saw Hill 60 and the other mine sites, noting that, all these years on, there is a French barn there that still has at least 10 tonnes of explosives sitting under it, although they do believe it will not go off now because it has been saturated. The article continues:

He was affected by phosgene gas and evacuated to England in 1918, suffering pneumonia; it eventually led to the tuberculosis which claimed his life the next year.

Ninety-eight years later, mourners dropped poppies into his grave.

I certainly do, as I said before, salute Miller Mack's service. It was a very moving ceremony, done with the appropriate ceremony, and I was really privileged to be there on that day.

I want to talk about another Indigenous Australian, Peter Craigie, the 9th Light Horse, 32nd Infantry Battalion. Peter Craigie was born in 1894 to James Craigie, who was a station manager, and Bunny Roxborough, an Aboriginal woman of the Wankamadla/Wankajutuni tribe. One of eight children, he was born at Roxborough Downs Station, near Boulia in North Queensland. In December 1915, Craigie rode his horse more than 1,000 kilometres from Birdsville to Adelaide to volunteer for the first AIF.

Initially allotted to the 15th Reinforcements for the 9th Light Horse Regiment, Craigie trained at the newly designated Mitcham camp, south-east of Adelaide. He married Daisy Cusack just six days before he embarked on board the HMAT Anchises in March 1916, bound for Egypt.

Peter Craigie's grandfather, John Craigie, is my great-great-grandfather on another line. So the history and the connected history to my family is intriguing. I note the Craigie native title claim—obviously a Scottish family that came out here—and, as I said, John Craigie is my great-great-grandfather. I have this magnificent photo of my father and other family members of the Pederick and Roberts families with members of the Craigie family at a grave in Kingston on Murray, which is shared between the two lines of the family. I guess I just gave that as a little bit of a reasonably close family perspective of our own family's connection.

But I really do think, as has been expressed by others (and I have read some of those contributions that have been put in the papers recently) that we do need to help and assist and work with all of our community and make sure we get the right results. I certainly believe we need to do that by delivering support where it is needed most—in the community—and make it work and make it better for all of South Australia.

Mrs PEARCE (King) (16:10): I am proud to stand here today on Kaurna land to speak to the First Nations Voice Bill. I was raised on Nukunu land, a place that I often speak fondly about. Growing up, there were plenty of signs that the lands I lived on were cared for and lived on by people for generations before my family and me. My childhood home was in the foothills of the Flinders Ranges, also known as the foothills of Wapma Thura, surrounded by beautiful red gums, creeks and dams. A few of these red gums were hollowed out, completely burnt on the inside, and yet the trees continued to grow, thrive and provide shelter.

I would often play around these trees, as kids often do, and I would look up at them and wonder about how they came to be that way. What were their uses, and who had used them that way? Unfortunately, growing up it was not easy to find those answers and, to be honest, there is still so much more now that we need to learn. But I have wanted, and continue to want, to learn and better understand the culture of our land prior to settlement, to pay my respects to those who have cared so deeply for the land we live on and to do better in that space.

It saddens me to know that so much of the language and culture has been lost and needs to be rebuilt. I strongly believe that we have much to learn from our First Nations people. Their culture is the oldest living culture in the world, and it is so heavily ingrained and reflected in our lands. To do so, we must start by listening to the voice of First Nations people, which is why I am so proud that I can stand here today and speak in support of this historic bill.

It is a bill that will change the way we as a parliament and government engage with Aboriginal people here in South Australia from now and for generations to come; a bill that will help us achieve a fairer and more equitable future for all. I want to be a part of righting the wrongs of our country's history and moving forwards with First Nations people to achieve that. It is hard to overstate how momentous this bill is, a bill that has taken many years to make its way here to us today. It is a bill that will help to prevent the threat of atrocious laws and policies that have been introduced in the past by parliaments—ones that have caused profound grief, suffering and loss for our First Nations people.

Now is the time to take action and steer through positive change, because that is what real leadership is about. I sincerely thank Minister Maher for absolutely everything he has done to get us to where we are today, and our Premier for his unwavering support, because getting to where we are today has not been straightforward.

Looking back to 2015, there was bipartisan support on the federal level to establish the Referendum Council. Throughout 2016 and 2017, the Referendum Council undertook many regional dialogues across this country, starting in Hobart in December 2016 and visiting Adelaide in April 2017. As these regional dialogues occurred throughout Australia, they brought together First Nations people and asked for their feedback on what they wanted to see constitutional process look like, as well as a focus on those outcomes they wanted to see delivered.

Following the regional dialogues, the First Nations National Constitutional Convention was held in May 2017 in Uluru, where over four days 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander delegates gathered, drafted and adopted one of the most important documents this century here in Australia: the Statement from the Heart. The Uluru Statement from the Heart was an invitation, one which is very generous, inviting the nation to walk with First Nations people together for a better future.

I was deeply hurt, like many Australians, that the invitation was not taken up by the then federal government, a decision that has hung over our heads like a dark cloud trying to block our vision of what is possible, causing further hurt on the journey towards reconciliation. Fortunately, the federal Labor Party at the time did commit to enshrining the Voice in the constitution, but unfortunately it did not eventuate at the 2019 election.

We, however, could not let this moment slip. We could not let this proposal be abandoned. We had a real opportunity to work alongside First Nations people to create a pathway that will work hard to prevent the injustices of the past from ever happening again, a pathway that will also help to build a fairer and more equitable state for all. I am proud that we took this position early in our time as opposition because actions speak louder than words, and we are ready to act.

We cannot wait any longer to forge a way forward, acknowledging the pains of yesteryear with a steel determination to do much better moving forwards. We understood the gravity of the situation and committed to action, ensuring that this crucial initiative was kept front and centre where it belongs, and made sure that it would not fall off the radar. We committed to delivering a state-based version of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, and we have not shied away from that.

In fact, I recall how monumental this felt as I stood there with tears in my eyes watching the Premier take the stage on election night, reiterating our commitment as a government to deliver on our promise to deliver Voice, Treaty and Truth at a state level because this is about fairness. It is about recognising all the terrible injustices that have occurred over generations to our First Nations people and finally saying, 'Yes, you need to have a seat at the table so that we can do better moving forwards, so that we can heal and be united for once in this great country.'

This bill was not created overnight. A lot of hard work has gone into ensuring a state-based Voice to Parliament reflects the needs of Aboriginal communities across our state, which is why we consulted with Aboriginal communities across our state about what they wanted the Voice to be and what they thought it should look like. The consultation process was led by proud Kaurna, Narungga, Ngadjuri and Ngarrindjeri man Dale Agius, who was appointed by the government as South Australia's inaugural Commissioner for First Nations Voice.

Across August through October last year, Commissioner Agius undertook consultation all throughout South Australia, hosting more than 30 in-person engagement sessions here in metropolitan Adelaide and across our regions, spanning all the way into our remote regions as well. Having talked with over 450 people, the commissioner fielded a wide range of feedback on this important proposal. The initial round of consultation helped to produce the first engagement report, which highlighted the key insights from First Nations people about what they wanted to see in a First Nations Voice to Parliament.

Themes that emerged included self-determination over their lives and influence on the decisions that are made for them and their communities; grassroots representation, with the right to choose who represents them; representation that is reflective of the diversity within their community; a direct Voice to Parliament and access to government decision-makers, including cabinet and chief executives; a Voice underpinned by First Nations cultural frameworks appropriate for the cultural context; and ability for the Voice to evolve.

This then led to the release of the draft First Nations Voice Bill 2022, which was based on the feedback collected in the round of consultations. Having then been published on YourSAy, the bill was available for public feedback, and a second round of in-person consultation was undertaken. Following the insights gained from the second round of consultation, a stage 2 engagement note was produced that contained several recommendations to the government that are now reflected in the final version of the bill.

With this bill, we can seize the opportunity of a First Nations Voice to Parliament at a state level. For too long, First Nations people around this country have not only been denied a voice but they have been denied an active involvement in their own decision-making ability, which goes on to affect their day-to-day lives and their communities. Since the arrival of the first ships to the shores of this country, First Nations people have been subjugated, kept down and, in shameful acts of our history, actively denied engaging in their own cultural practices.

For too long, decisions have been made for First Nations people, not with First Nations people, and this has led to a disproportionate impact on many First Nations communities around this country. This here is our opportunity to ensure that our parliament will hear the calls from Aboriginal people and take steps to meaningfully engage with them on issues that affect them. It is also an opportunity for us to learn.

For over 60,000 years, First Nations people have lived on this continent. They have lived off this land and they have thrived. They cared for this land, and they understand it intricately. We would be naive to think that we have nothing to gain from listening to and engaging better with First Nations people. The sad reality is that, thanks to previous policies and laws, First Nations people continue to experience worse outcomes across many areas, including education, justice, health and life expectancy.

We acknowledge that the First Nations Voice to our parliament will not be a one-stop shop to fix all these disparities, but it will begin to fix the deep-rooted problem that has faced First Nations people for far too long, that they have not had a voice to communicate with the highest decision-making body in this state. They have not been understood nor taken into consideration as equals.

This bill provides an opportunity for our parliament to listen to Local First Nations Voices and an opportunity to walk together with First Nations people as we work towards policy decisions that benefit everybody in our state. It is an opportunity to build a better future together—I cannot stress how important this is. This is a once-in-a-generation change, something that will shape our state for the better. With that in mind, I commend this bill to the house.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (16:20): This is certainly one of the most important pieces of legislation that I have had the pleasure to be able to speak on and support during my time in parliament. I am glad that I am in a position to be able to support this legislation because I think it is a piece of legislation where people will look back and reflect upon our comments today and on the position we take in relation to establishing a Voice to Parliament in South Australia. I am very proud that this is a government and a parliament that will be taking this action to establish this Voice and to address what has been an absolute blight in the history of South Australia since colonial settlement, namely, the way that Aboriginal people have been treated in this state.

Since settlement by the first settlers in South Australia from Europe and the United Kingdom, we have seen the wholesale attempt at the destruction of Aboriginal culture in South Australia. This has left us in a situation where the impact on the lives of Aboriginal people in this state is far worse on every measure, not least, of course, in my portfolio of health. The health outcomes for Aboriginal South Australians are shamefully worse than for the rest of our population. The life expectancy outcomes for Aboriginal people are shamefully worse than for non-Aboriginal people in this state.

We must take action, and the first thing we can do to take action is to actually listen to the voices of Aboriginal people in this state. This, in terms of the Voice of the state and at the federal level, has itself come about in a process of listening to Aboriginal people. It was back in 2017 that the Uluru Statement from the Heart set forth Voice, Treaty and Truth as being what was required, what was called for, by Aboriginal people across this country.

Our now Premier, when he was leader of the Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition, committed to the Uluru Statement from the Heart when in opposition. Now, thankfully, we are in a position to be able to deliver. Establishing this Voice to our parliament, the first such move in this country—hopefully to be followed shortly afterwards by a national Voice, through a referendum to be held later this year—will shine a spotlight on outcomes in every measure for Aboriginal people in this state. It will give the opportunity for Aboriginal people to be heard.

If we do not hear from Aboriginal people directly on issues that affect them then we will not reverse those outcomes that have had the result, over almost 200 years in this state, of disrupting and destroying the traditional way of life for Aboriginal peoples across this state.

In my own portfolio, there is a lot of good work happening and there are a lot of people who devote a lot of time, energy and resources to addressing the disparities of Aboriginal health outcomes. But there are clearly a number of things that are still an issue. One, of course, is we know the health outcomes for Aboriginal people, or any people, are not just determined by the health system. They are determined by societal factors in general and those social determinants of health for Aboriginal people in terms of their income, their employment status, their housing, and their education are fundamentally worse on every measure. It is not just the health system alone that can fix those health outcomes. That is why the Voice in all those areas is so fundamentally important.

The other thing that is becoming clearer and clearer, and there is a significant amount of research pointing towards this, is that even if you account for all the social determinants of health and compare them to non-Aboriginal Australians facing equal levels of social determinants of health incomes, Aboriginal health outcomes are still worse, which has led to a greater understanding that there is a cultural element to this where the cultural determinants of health lead to a significant disparity being in place as well. What we have seen over the course of the past 200 years affecting Aboriginal culture actually has had an additional effect not just in terms of the measurable social determinants but of health outcomes as well.

Even accounting for all of that, there is more that we need to do as a health system to make sure that we can provide the care for Aboriginal people that they deserve right across this state. There are too many examples where those health services have not been up to scratch compared with what other people would expect. One example is the service provided in the Aboriginal-controlled health organisation Yadu Health in Ceduna, which has been operating out of a building that has basically been falling apart for the past few years. Without the funding to upgrade that building, they have had to close off areas, people have been electrocuted in it and rain comes into the building. All of this is shameful in terms of what that health service should be able to offer but just does not have the facilities to do so.

I am very proud that one of our election commitments, and certainly by no means one that generated headlines, was to contribute, along with the federal Labor government, to upgrading, replacing and rebuilding those health facilities for people in Ceduna. We know that there is a lot more to do right across the state and distance makes that difficult.

There are some very positive programs, there are some very positive signs and there are some incredibly hardworking clinicians and health workforce leaders right across the state who are devoting their lives to try to improve the situation for Aboriginal people.

Another one of those areas where we are now committing additional resources is into the APY lands. About 18 months ago, the now Premier, the now Minister for Education, the now Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and I visited the APY lands and we heard very clearly about how difficult it was for them to implement Gayle's Law because they had been knocking on the door of the state government for assistance and had not received any to help them implement that.

They had proposals, they had ways at Nganampa Health, where they wanted to implement that to protect the staff who were ultimately there to provide those very important services, and they were knocked back. On the spot, in the room, the now Premier committed that that would be something that we would deliver if we were to be elected, and now we are delivering that.

We are providing the funds to help Nganampa Health to make sure that they can get those services and put those additional security measures in place to make sure that nurses can keep doing the incredible work that they do. There is a lot more that we need to do not just in regional areas but in our metropolitan area as well. As well as having a Voice to Parliament, a Voice to the cabinet and the executive, we also need Aboriginal voices in our other decision-making bodies.

During the past term of government, when the health boards legislation was being debated, I was very glad that an amendment we moved as an opposition was successful against opposition from the then government, if I recall, to make sure that there would be Aboriginal health representation on our health boards as well. I believe we looked at New South Wales where that was in operation. While it has been difficult to fill those positions over the course of the past four years that those boards have been in operation, it is vitally important that all those boards recognise their role, and SA Health's role overall, in improving the health outcomes for Aboriginal South Australians.

In keeping with that, in the next few months we will be putting together a round table of healthcare leaders right across this state to focus on how we can improve Aboriginal health outcomes. We will bring together board chairs and CEOs, Aboriginal health experts on those boards and Aboriginal health leaders from across our networks, as well as Aboriginal-controlled health organisations to look at how we can work together to improve the outcomes for Aboriginal people in the healthcare system. We will be doing that before the Voice is elected and established.

Ultimately, the benefit of having the Voice is to keep constant pressure on us as a parliament, on us as ministers, on the bureaucrats, on the officials, on the clinicians and on everybody in the system, to make sure that we are listening, to make sure that we are focused and to make sure that these issues cannot be swept under the rug. You hear arguments that there are not going to be any tangible outcomes from this. There absolutely will be because this is putting in place a system where it will be very difficult to ignore these problems. If we do not have this, we will see what has happened in the past time and again: that there is not sufficient attention paid to these issues.

Of course, this is not an area where one magic fix is going to address all these problems. Right across government, right across our society, right across every agency and right across every area of policy, work needs to happen to improve those interconnected outcomes. That is why the Voice is so important. That is why it will make us in the parliament, us as ministers, us as members of parliament, us in terms of public officials right across the board, pay more attention and invest more time, resources and effort in addressing these problems, ultimately making sure that we can improve the situation we have inherited.

I do not think anyone is pretending that this is going to be instantly fixed overnight, but we have to give it our best crack in the time that we are lucky enough to enjoy these offices. The excellent thing about this legislation is that this will be there long into the future, long after all of us have finished our time in this parliament. Hopefully, it will still be there providing a voice, providing a spotlight for Aboriginal people in this state.

I would particularly like to thank the people who have been involved in the development and drafting of this legislation, notably Aboriginal people themselves across South Australia who have voiced their support for this model and being part of the discussions and debates on the model. Of course, with any model, I am sure not everybody is happy with every element, but I think that there is a broad consensus that this is a tremendous step forward and will take us a lot further in this state.

I would like to thank the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, the Hon. Kyam Maher, for his commitment and hard work on bringing this legislation to this point. Of course, I would like to thank the commissioner for the establishment of the Voice, Dale Agius, who has been tireless and has helped to bring together a coalition of people who are supportive of this model and the establishment of it. His work will be long remembered, I think, in terms of the establishment of this body that will provide long-lasting change in this state.

I remember in my first speech to the parliament I did note that, as the member for Kaurna, all of the Adelaide Plains are the traditional lands of the Kaurna people. But my electorate has a number of significant sites for the Kaurna people, hence the Electoral Commission has named this area for the past 30 years as the electorate of Kaurna. I hoped that in my time in parliament we would be able to make a number of advances and focus on Aboriginal affairs issues, and I am very delighted that now we really have a materialisation of a significant step forward that will advance the outcomes for Aboriginal people and will have a long-lasting impact in terms of policy development, implementation, and ultimately improving the lives of South Australians long into the future.

Ms THOMPSON (Davenport) (16:37): I begin by recognising the land we meet on today always was and always will be Kaurna land. I respect the Kaurna people's spiritual relationship with country and recognise their continuing connection to lands, waters and communities, and pay my respects to elders past and present.

I stand in support of the First Nations Voice Bill, a bill that will deliver the Malinauskas government's commitment to establishing a First Nations Voice to the South Australian parliament, a key component of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, an invitation to all Australians to walk together, an invitation that this government with the support of parliament intends to accept.

This is an important bill that poses some important questions. Do we want to ask the people who we make the decisions on behalf of about what is important to them? Do we want to ask the people who we make decisions on behalf of about how legislation will affect them and members of their community? Do we want to ask them about how we best implement policies to achieve the right outcomes? The answers to each of these questions is, of course, yes. We need to ensure that we are hearing from the right people, and the right people are those who have the support and respect of their communities.

This is why I support a Voice to Parliament. It is the heart of good consultation and it is the right thing to do. Some have asked: why does South Australia need a Voice to Parliament? If the state government has committed to implementing a Voice to Parliament, having heard the want of Aboriginal people for a South Australian Voice, are those people not already being heard? I think it is reasonable to suggest that the answer to the question lies within the Uluru Statement itself—Voice, Treaty, Truth. We are well on our way to establishing a Voice that, if this bill is successful, will be the first of its kind in Australia.

It is a Voice that affords a fully elected body real and meaningful opportunities to communicate with state government on issues that matter to First Nation Australians. This is not a radical concept and there is an appetite for a Voice that will help us to achieve the Uluru Statement and other core elements of Treaty and Truth. What does treaty look like and what does truth look like if the people that it matters most to are cast aside while discussions take place?

I say there is an appetite not because I am guessing or not for reasons of ideologies but because this government has done the work. Consultations for the First Nations Voice Bill commenced in August 2022 and spanned regional, remote and metropolitan areas. A draft bill was published online, with South Australians of all persuasions encouraged to provide their feedback. A further in-person consultation period followed, and all this has culminated in the bill currently before parliament.

The state government committed to implementing the Uluru Statement from the Heart's three core elements and we want their voice to assist us in ensuring each of these components is delivered in a manner consistent with the wants of Aboriginal South Australians because that is what this extended and inclusive consultation period has told us. Again, this is not a radical or divisive concept. It is collaborative, it is considered, and it is well overdue.

This is a hopeful and positive moment for our state and, more broadly, a hopeful and positive moment for Australia. With a referendum to come later this year asking each of us whether we support a Voice to federal parliament, expect all eyes to be on South Australia in the coming months. We are making history and I hope it is being talked about around dinner tables all across the nation. For too long, decisions have been made about Aboriginal people without Aboriginal people and it is for this reason that I am proud to be part of a hardworking Labor team that is committed to taking effective nation-leading action.

In this day, I cannot think of anything more insulting or more inappropriate than taking a deliberately ineffectual tokenistic approach to Indigenous affairs. Unlike the efforts of those opposite, this government's Voice to Parliament was not the subject of just nine days' consultation that passed an entire state by. We committed in excess of six months' consultation alone and opened the floor to all South Australians, Aboriginal or not, because we mean it when we say that we govern for all.

South Australians are ready for this change. My community is ready for this change and when South Australians say they are ready for a First Nations Voice to Parliament we mean a Voice to Parliament, not a Voice to a parliamentary committee, but a Voice to the parliament itself. There is a distinct and very important difference between the two.

As a country, Australia has plenty to be proud of. The world can thank us for the electronic pacemaker, cochlear implants, wi-fi technology and the black box. Most of all, though, we should be immensely proud that Australian First Nations people have walked this land for more than 60,000 years and make up the oldest living cultures on our planet.

But we are also a country built on foundations rooted to stolen land, a country that will forever wear the shame of having taken the children away. We are not in a position to turn back the clock and we cannot erase these events from our nation's history, no matter how ugly it might be, but we can give the people directly impacted by these wrongs a direct Voice to Parliament that presides over our state today and we can take this opportunity to make policies with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, rather than for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Why would we not?

This government is committed to working alongside South Australia's Aboriginal community to improve outcomes in health, education, finance and justice for its people. Those opposite suggest that this Voice to Parliament will not deliver immediate improvement in these spaces and that for this reason it should not be supported.

No-one on this side of the house claims the Voice presents an immediate resolution to every challenge facing South Australia's Aboriginal population. We understand the Voice is no silver bullet, as do our federal counterparts, but the Voice, as a fully elected advisory body comprised of First Nations people, will play a significant role in delivering positive and long-lasting change and it will inform the state government of what meaningful solutions look like and how these solutions can best be implemented. This, to me, is a logical step and an important one.

Others opposed to the First Nations Voice Bill have suggested the Voice will be too powerful and that it will operate as an effective third chamber in our parliament. This is not true, and I suspect those promoting this view know that it is not true either. The Voice to Parliament will function purely as an advisory body. It will have no legislative capability, it cannot pass legislation and it cannot veto legislation.

What the Voice will provide, however, is the foundation for delivering improved outcomes where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are concerned. They understand the challenges facing their families and their communities better than anyone. They know who is best placed to speak on their behalf. In keeping with the Uluru Statement, this government is proposing to give Aboriginal South Australians additional deserved freedoms in this area. This is important to me. It should be important to all South Australians, and it is of significant importance to the people to whom we owe this Voice.

I would like to place on record my appreciation for the efforts of the Hon. Kyam Maher MLC, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, and his dedication to implementing the Uluru Statement from the Heart at a state level. I can think of no stronger advocate for South Australia's Aboriginal community and no person better placed to have introduced this bill to parliament last month. Thank you for your tireless work in this space and all you will dedicate to the Voice moving forward.

To all who participated in the multiple consultation periods, thank you for your valuable feedback. The bill before parliament at present takes the form it does only because of your involvement in this process. Finally, thank you to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who will form the first Voice to the South Australian Parliament once elected. Your communities will benefit from your drive, your wisdom and your courage to stand. I look forward to meeting with you in the near future and working alongside you as you blaze trails for your families, for your communities and for yourselves.

We have an opportunity here to forever improve the way in which parliament and government interact with South Australia's Aboriginal population, an opportunity to ensure South Australia's parliament represents the needs, wants and interests of all. This will have an impact not just now but on generations to come. Let us see that those who were here before us are included in the discussions that shape our state's future. I commend this important bill to the house.

Ms HUTCHESSON (Waite) (16:47): Naa marni, Mr Deputy Speaker. I seek your indulgence to introduce myself officially. Ngai nari Catherine Warrayoo Hutchesson. My name is Catherine Hutchesson, and in my family I am the second-born girl. Marni naa pudni. Kaurna myrna ngadlu. Kaurna yarta tampinthi. Ngaityalya.

We stand here today on the land of the Kaurna people—always was and always will be—and I acknowledge this and pay my respects to all Aboriginal people. I am fortunate to have tutelage from my yungandalya, my brother, Uncle Tamaru, in Kaurna language. My role as the member for Waite, as a representative in state parliament, provides for many opportunities and much learning, and none more important to me than the relationships I have and am forming with Aboriginal elders present and emerging. Learning culture, language and history continues to be a great honour, and I thank all who have contributed to my journey.

I rise in support of this bill and do so as a proud member of this government, a government that chooses to be on the right side of history as we walk towards reconciliation. In 2017, almost six years ago, the Uluru Statement was handed down following extensive consultation. The successful passage of this bill will deliver a historic change to the way parliament and government engage with Aboriginal people and will accept the invitation of the statement to establish the First Nations Voice.

In the lead-up to the 2022 state election, our leader made a commitment to Aboriginal people that we would deliver on the Uluru Statement, and after extensive consultation by Dale Agius, the legislation has been delivered by our Attorney-General, Kyam Maher. I take this opportunity to thank him, Dale, their teams and all the people who took part in the consultation process.

I am aware that not everyone supports this legislation, including Aboriginal people, but many believe it is a step in the right direction. In order to deliver my contribution to this debate today, I took time to speak with both Aboriginal people in my electorate as well as those who have spent many years fighting for Aboriginal rights, in order for me to understand what this bill means to them.

My yungandalya, a proud Kaurna man, Uncle Tamaru often welcomes our community to the lands of his mother. He takes the time to let us know that he hopes that we can walk together towards reconciliation. He implores the audience that he does not want to walk in front of non-Aboriginal people and he does not want to walk behind them, but he seeks that we walk side by side and asks that we listen and walk together, or kumangka.

Elizabeth Close, an Anangu woman and an incredible artist, let me know that she understands that some feel that Treaty should have come first but acknowledges that this legislation is a step in the right direction and, whilst it may not be perfect, that is okay. She supports the Voice and I thank her for her time in talking with me.

Kaurna woman Sherrell Dyer, an accomplished schoolteacher, acknowledges that Aboriginal communities are very diverse in terms of their locations but also their feeling toward this bill. Sherrell is passionate about working with her community and believes that the Voice will mean different things to our young people than it does to our more experienced. She works hard in her role as a teacher to ensure that young people get the right education, that they have access to the truth.

As a young person growing up in our electorate living so close to Colebrook House, I was not afforded that and I am glad that students are now given the opportunity to learn about our past and understand that although bad things happened, these are things that we can all learn from and move forward together. Ensuring our schools have the resources to have their own reconciliation plans will ensure all students, no matter their location, understand Aboriginal peoples' connection to the land and respect that they are the owners of the native title.

This legislation and the federal referendum to come will bring out the worst in some people, and I am saddened by that. In my community I know we are not all united; however, it is my role to listen, understand and educate. I am fortunate to have community members willing to help, willing to stick their neck out and speak to others in conversations that will not always be met with positive responses.

I have spoken about the work of Blackwood Reconciliation Group here before. Last week, on attending their meeting, I asked for their thoughts on this legislation, on what a Voice to Parliament means to them as non-Aboriginal people who have advocated on behalf of, and worked within and for, Aboriginal communities in the past and present. Speaking on the Voice, both state and federal, my community provided the following reflections.

Carol Morrison Logan, a long-term member of the group and actually my neighbour, was very quick to let me know that as an American she remembers seeing Gough Whitlam placing land into the hands of Vincent Lingiari, saying, 'I put into your hands part of the earth itself as a sign that this land will be the possession of you and your children forever.' It changed her mind to choose Australia as her home. She has waited a long time since then, and as a teacher she is now deliriously delighted that children she has taught will now have a voice.

Anne Barkaway, the Secretary of Blackwood Reconciliation Group, gave the following contribution about the federal Voice:

Last week I was with some 8-9 year old friends of my grand daughter—I was wearing my "YES" badge and they asked me why. I thought quickly about how to explain it—I said 'later this year there is going to be an important vote in Australia and the question people are being asked is: Do we agree that Aboriginal people were here first, that they have been here a long time and that we should listen to what they think.' I said I want people to vote 'yes' so I am wearing this badge. In unison the 5 children all said, 'Of course they were here first—of course we should vote Yes!' This week I saw one of the little people again—he said, 'I went home and told my Nan and Pop what you said—and they said "Yes" too.' My heart was full of joy!

While she was speaking about the federal vote, it is clear that these children would not differentiate between the federal and state and would understand, unlike others.

Yvonne Caddy, the Treasurer of Blackwood Reconciliation Group, also provided her thoughts:

It was the educational documentary Blackwood Reconciliation Group film 'Colebrook Reconciliation Park—A place of Learning and Healing' launched in 2022 that really brought it home to me how important a voice is, and few opportunities have been available to First Nation people to express (voice) their needs and requirements. Colebrook Reconciliation Park was the site of a home for children of the Stolen Generation and operated at Eden Hills up until the early 1970s. During the film—

about which I have spoken before—

which is freely available to download from the Blackwood Reconciliation Group Website, several former Colebrook residents or children of Colebrook residents speak about the Stolen Children and its effect on their lives following the removal from their home and culture, and then on the children that follow—down the generations. Listening to them, I thought this film provided a real opportunity to get the message out there. At last, many of them have had an opportunity to speak out and tell it as it is, not available to them previously. The First Nations Voice Bill 2023 is a very significant step forward to the exchange of relevant dialogue and hopefully improving the lives of our First Nations people.

Dianne Grigg, who spends a significant amount of time helping to maintain the Colebrook site as well as taking many schoolchildren and interested adults on tours of the memorial, contributed the following:

I am 76 years young and although I am statistically amongst the group polls say will be No voters in the Referendum for First Nations Recognition and Voice I can say without a doubt I will be voting a resounding YES!

In truth I have been waiting for this day since I voted in the 1967 referendum and as a teacher and now a retired volunteer for the Blackwood Reconciliation Group I have been advocating for Aboriginal Voice since that time.

I am so delighted at the South Australian Government's resourcefulness to lead the country in this initiative to establish a Voice to Parliament. South Australia has been a leading light in this field since the inspirational days of Don Dunstan and his leadership on Aboriginal rights. And since those days I have been an active participant and community leader in the Reconciliation movement. Since its inception I have sought to strive for a just, equitable and reconciled Australia by promoting respect, trust and positive relationships between Aboriginal and Torres St Islander peoples and the wider community.

Dianne went on to say:

The take away lesson for me in all my working was that you can't have an agreement without a partnership and you can't have a partnership without a relationship and you certainly can't have a relationship without a conversation…a Voice.

And so I totally agree and support the Uluru Statement from the Heart—Voice Treaty Truth and applaud the position the SA Parliament has taken.

For me it certainly is time and I will work hard to share across my community the importance of the Uluru Statement, rebutting the myths and the crucial importance of the referendum.

Often people ask me 'What will you do if the referendum fails?' and I have said 'It won't fail! I don't want to wake up in an Australia whose citizens vote this down!'

Let the healing begin!!!

I stand here as the elected representative of the people of Waite, and I am proud to do so. I am proud to represent intelligent, active, committed and compassionate people, and I know, given time, all will see that this has been the right decision. First Nations people have inhabited this continent for over 60,000 years and comprise the oldest living cultures on the planet. The kids get it, and I hope their parents and grandparents take the time also to understand that what has gone before does not have to govern what lies ahead.

We know that policies to support First Nations people are more effective when First Nations people are involved in their design. The model has been extensively discussed by those who have already spoken to this bill today, but I will take a quick opportunity to keep my summary simple. The Voice will give Aboriginal people more of a say on the decisions that affect their lives, and that is a good thing. The First Nations Voice Bill 2023 proposes at least six Local First Nations Voices, elected by local regions. These Local Voices will consider and discuss matters of interest to First Nations people in their regions and look to collaborate and engage with public sector agencies, local government and other organisations on those matters.

Each Local Voice will elect two joint presiding members. Those joint presiding members will then make up the State First Nations Voice, and the State First Nations Voice will communicate directly with the South Australian parliament and the government, including an annual address. The Local and State Voices are advisory bodies only. The Voice is not a third chamber of parliament, and it is not responsible for administering programs or issuing grants. However, it will be a powerful voice directly to the parliament and government on issues affecting First Nations people.

Just for those who are unsure, the Voice will be directly elected by First Nations people within each region and will have gender balance. To vote, a person must be enrolled on the electoral roll, the same as used in state and federal elections, and complete a declaration that they are an eligible First Nations voter. The bill is considered and meaningful, and I look forward to being part of the first government in Australia to have a Voice to Parliament for Aboriginal people so that they may have a say on matters that affect them.

In closing, I would like to reflect on an event that I attended on the weekend. On the Saturday night just gone by, my community was treated to an incredible experience when the Fringe came to town. The Belair National Park was co-host to Beyond the Trees; Exploring Connection Through Music, Words and Colour. Over 200 people, many of them locals, came to experience something truly magical, all in the spirit of connecting with each other and nature.

The artists, all wearing 'Yes' T-shirts to show their support for the Voice federally, provided the most incredible experience. We were serenaded by the folk tunes of Magic Tortoise, and we had the pleasure of viewing soulful art by local artist Theresa Bassett, who, along with one of the vocalists from the band, Matt Cattanach, works in our local primary school in Upper Sturt.

We were also allowed to think deeply about the poetic words of Jason Tyndall. Jason wrote the following poem, and I think it sums up the significance of this legislation, sums up the message from my community members whom I have spoken about and sums up how I feel. It is called Side by Side, and I will say it now.

We can never feel what they felt

We can never see what they saw

We can never lose what they lost

But we can listen

And we can learn

And we can try

We can walk, side by side

As we journey together into a better world

A more united world

We shall never forget the wrongs of the past

Nor sit in their shadows, together we will find a new light.

I know these words really hit home to all in attendance at the event, and I know that Jason wrote them to show his respect to all Aboriginal people and especially to his and my friend, Uncle Tamaru, who really brought home to the crowd the meaning of welcoming them to country. This bill means a lot to many and I am glad to commend it to the house.

Ms SAVVAS (Newland) (17:01): I would like to acknowledge that today I am supporting this bill on Kaurna land that was never ceded. I would also like to acknowledge, in very broken language: marni naa pudni, Kaurna Miyurna ngadlu, Kaurna yarta tampinthi. I acknowledge that we are here this evening on Kaurna country, and I show my respect to the lands of the Kaurna people as well as to Aboriginal authorities past and present. I am already walking side-by-side with my Nyuck Un Talya, my dearest brother and teacher Uncle Tamaru, who is teaching me and some of my colleagues Kaurna language.

I look forward—through actions, not just words—to walking side-by-side with all Aboriginal people moving forward. It has been a goal of mine to pass on those teachings from my dearest Uncle, as a small action, to groups and schools in my electorate, and I am always incredibly proud to do so. I extend my deepest respect: ngaityalya to my Uncle and all those Aboriginal people who have fought for outcomes like this one.

It is a privilege to stand here today in support of this historic bill—and it is historic, a change that will significantly inform policy relating to First Nations people here in South Australia for generations. We know that we cannot change the past. What we can do is listen to First Nations people with respect to decisions affecting their lives and, in turn, make legislative changes to ensure better outcomes for those people. This was a key election commitment of the then Malinauskas Labor opposition, and I am proud to say that it was also one of the first commitments that we made.

It is a centrepiece of not just who we are as a party but of who we intend to be as a government, and I am incredibly proud to be part of that. I am also incredibly proud to be led in our team by the Hon. Kyam Maher from the other place, who has spent not just his time as Minister for Aboriginal Affairs or his time as a member of parliament but his entire life advocating for Aboriginal people.

On 9 February, the minister introduced this bill into the other place to a full gallery and to the proudest, most honoured bunch of parliamentary colleagues you could ask for. We are all so proud of his long-term commitment to better outcomes for Aboriginal people across this state and his ability to promote Aboriginal voices in decision-making where it counts. On a personal note, he has taught me so much in such a short period of time, and I feel so privileged to be part of his team supporting this vital work.

Our government was elected with a commitment to implement, at a state level, the three core elements of the Uluru Statement from the Heart: Voice, Treaty and Truth. We are here today, following through on our commitment, with the passage of the bill to elect a First Nations Voice to the South Australian parliament.

This bill has been a long time coming. It comes almost six years after the Uluru Statement was handed down in 2017 and follows six months of extensive consultation by the government, led by the Commissioner for First Nations Voice, Dale Agius. I would like to acknowledge his tireless work today.

The Uluru Statement was the start of the process to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the constitution. I note that at that time at least it was a bipartisan approach, as should be Aboriginal affairs more generally. The Referendum Council led First Nations dialogues in regions across the country for First Nations people to provide direct feedback on how this constitutional process should occur, as well as to highlight the desired outcomes.

Following that process, the First Nations National Constitutional Convention was held at Uluru, where 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander delegates drafted and overwhelmingly adopted the Uluru Statement from the Heart, which invited all Australians to walk forward together, side by side, as mentioned very eloquently by the member for Waite moments ago.

That statement contained three main elements: the establishment of a First Nations Voice in the constitution, which was committed to by the then federal Labor opposition in 2019 as an election commitment but later stalled by the Morrison government. It also contained a process of agreement-making between governments and First Nations Treaty and we have seen that process very much going ahead in Victoria, and also truth-telling about our history, the Truth component.

After the 2019 federal election, the then Labor opposition here in South Australia made a commitment that we would do our part to adopt Voice, Treaty, Truth in South Australia. We were elected with the mandate to do just that. Federally, our party was also elected with a mandate to deliver outcomes for First Nations people. Now we have a chance to deliver a Voice at both levels of government.

The bill is a historic opportunity for parliament to hear the call from Aboriginal people and to commit to meaningfully engaging with Aboriginal people on issues that affect their lives. By passing this bill, South Australia can indeed lead the nation and show how the Voice can work ahead of the upcoming referendum on the Voice to the federal parliament.

There are questions and people wondering: why is it that we need a Voice? The reasons that we need this Voice are critical. First Nations people have inhabited this continent for over 60,000 years and exist as the oldest continuous culture on the planet.

We know and we acknowledge with great sadness the reality that First Nations people continue to experience significantly worse outcomes than the wider population in a range of areas, including life expectancy, education, justice, health and more. They are also disproportionately affected by domestic and family violence and over-represented in both the corrections system and child protection.

Government must play a role in shaping those outcomes and it is clear that the current programs and frameworks have not worked to reduce the disadvantage that many First Nations people experience.

In September 2022, our government signed a formal partnership with the South Australian Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation Network. This partnership agreement will ensure the government and the organisation work together on achieving the targets in both the national agreement and the South Australian implementation plan.

There are a number of meaningful actions within that plan but also a number of actions being taken in addition to it, those being Voice, Treaty, Truth; another establishing an advisory committee into the incarceration rates of Aboriginal people in South Australia; and another, which I was proud to speak on some weeks ago, enshrining the Nunga Courts into legislation.

The Voice is a key component of addressing those outcomes at a governmental level. It was called for by First Nations people at Uluru as one of the ways to address the issues that they experience—directly, and from the heart.

We are not suggesting that the Voice is a bandaid solution to a series of incredibly complex issues but we do know that policies to support First Nations people are more effective when First Nations people are involved firsthand in their design.

The Voice will give Aboriginal people in South Australia more of a say in the decisions that affect their lives, and that can only be a good thing. The First Nations Voice model proposes a number of Local First Nations Voices, elected by local regions, and a State First Nations Voice, which will comprise two presiding members of each Local First Nations Voice. Those Voices will be directly elected by First Nations people living within the region the Voice is to represent.

The function of the Local Voices is to communicate directly with the South Australian parliament and government, to liaise with the Voice to ascertain the views on matters of interest to First Nations people and present those views to the South Australian parliament, to provide an annual address to parliament on issues affecting First Nations people, and to speak through the joint presiding members on the floor of parliament in relation to bills it considers relevant. The Local and State Voices are advisory bodies. The Voice is not a third chamber and it is not responsible for administering programs or issuing grants. However, it will be a powerful voice directly to parliament and government on the issues affecting First Nations people in South Australia.

The bill proposes the Voice directly to the South Australian parliament, as that is what we were told First Nations people wanted, and that is what we committed to do at the election. It also, quite importantly, wraps up the role of parliamentary committees relating to Aboriginal matters. I have thoroughly enjoyed my own role on the Aboriginal Lands Parliamentary Standing Committee and would like to acknowledge the role that First Nations Voices have had in shaping the reports and work of that committee over many years.

Personally, I have had significant learnings from the witnesses and evidence provided to the committee in my short time as a member. It has, however, affirmed for me how inappropriate it is for me to be sitting at the committee table as a non-Aboriginal person when the depth of knowledge, cultural understanding and the like is so readily available in the voices of Aboriginal people across so many Aboriginal nations, here in South Australia.

There is a key reason that we are here in this place fighting for this. First Nations people told us they wanted a Voice directly to government decision-makers, and this bill delivers it. This is very much a brilliant step forward for First Nations people around our country, but it is but one body of work in what could be a seismic opportunity nationally. As we know, the Albanese federal government is currently planning for a referendum, for a nationwide constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament. The South Australian government supports this, and we have been keeping the federal government updated with our work on the Voice.

South Australia, as a state that has often been ahead of the game in terms of the advancement of Aboriginal affairs, is playing its part in this process. I would also like to thank the Commissioner for First Nations Voice, Dale Agius, for his role in the commonwealth's First Nations Referendum Working Group, being co-chaired by Minister Linda Burney and Senator Pat Dodson.

While the final model of the federal government's Voice is yet to be determined, we expect that our work here in South Australia will assist in that process, and I am so proud of that. We also hope that our First Nations Voice will show the nation how important and effective a Voice to Parliament can be, and why the referendum should be supported. I commend the bill and look forward to seeing the results, should it pass.

Ms CLANCY (Elder) (17:13): I rise in very strong, excited support for the First Nations Voice Bill. I acknowledge that I stand on the land of the Kaurna people, on stolen land, I acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded, and I pay my respects to elders past and present, as well as future leaders.

I feel an incredible weight on me today as I stand in this place to speak on this historic bill. I feel the weight of responsibility—heavier than that of every other day, and that one is still pretty heavy—the responsibility to contribute to this incredibly important debate in a meaningful way, and the responsibility to be part of a government that makes meaningful change for our First Nations people. It is a great responsibility and it is also a great privilege.

A few weeks ago I stood in the other place and watched my friend the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, the Hon. Kyam Maher, introduce this bill into parliament for the first time. I stood tucked away by a wall down the President's end of the other place, and I kept getting told I needed to move further back because the joint was packed. I am glad I was back there because it meant that the Public Gallery and what I presume is called the President's Gallery were filled with members of the Aboriginal community.

I cried with joy and of pride as I watched my bloody excellent friend make history—my friend who is so deeply committed to improving the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, my friend who is committed to ensuring Aboriginal people succeed, and my friend who is committed to Closing the Gap. As I walked out of there, I said to the members for Gibson and King through very happy tears, 'This is what we got elected for.'

I truly believe that through establishing a Voice to our parliament, we are helping to facilitate real and meaningful change, positive change that will be felt by generations. Almost six years ago in May 2017, 1,200 people gathered at Uluru to set the way forward for Aboriginal people. There the Referendum Council handed down its final report that endorsed the Uluru Statement from the Heart and its call for Voice, Treaty, Truth.

In 2019, our now Premier, Peter Malinauskas, alongside our now Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Kyam Maher, made the commitment to deliver a state-based Voice to Parliament—our first election commitment. Since our election, the government has been consulting with Aboriginal communities about what they wanted to see from the Voice, what it should look like and how it should work.

In July 2017, the government appointed Kaurna Narungga Ngadjuri and Ngarrindjeri man Dale Agius, an excellent bloke, as the state's inaugural Commissioner for First Nations Voice. From August to October last year, the commissioner undertook extensive consultations across our beautiful state. This included more than 30 in-person engagement sessions in metropolitan Adelaide and across regional and remote South Australia. The commissioner spoke with around 450 people across these sessions and received a wide range of feedback.

This first engagement round led to the publication of the first Engagement Report. What the commissioner heard from First Nations people was that they wanted a direct Voice to the South Australian parliament, the Voice to represent the diversity of the South Australian First Nations communities, including nation group diversity, gender, youth, LGBTQIA+ people, and direct access to government decision-makers including cabinet and chief executives.

Following the publication of this report and based on the feedback from these consultations, the government released the draft First Nations Voice Bill 2022. The bill was published on the YourSAy website for public feedback and the commissioner commenced a second round of in-person consultations. Following the second round of consultations, the Stage 2 Engagement Note was developed. The note made several recommendations to government, all of which are reflected in the final version of the bill that is before us today.

This bill is the work of many, and I thank Commissioner Agius, the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, department staff and every single First Nations person who took the time to contribute to this consultation process. 'Thanks' does not feel sufficient for the monumental contribution you have made to our community, our state and our country.

The Voice will be directly elected by First Nations people within each region. What those regions look like is yet to be determined (the final regions) but once established an interim election will be held. The inaugural First Nations Voice members will hold office until the 2026 state election and from then on the Voice elections will be held at the same time as our state elections. The Voice is designed to have gender balance. It is expected that each Voice will have an odd number of members to be prescribed by regulation, which will include at least half rounded down to be men, at least half rounded down to be women and the remainder to be a person of any gender.

To be eligible to vote in a First Nations Voice election, a person must be an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person. This test is set out at clause 4 of the bill, which reflects the tripartite definition outlined by Justice Brennan in the Mabo decision of the High Court. The three elements are to be a descendant from pre-European settlement, self-identify as Aboriginal and be accepted by the Aboriginal community. This definition has been subsequently used by governments across the country, including the South Australian government, in a range of policies and legislation.

To vote, a person must be enrolled on the electoral roll, the same roll that is used in state and federal elections, and complete a declaration that they are an eligible First Nations voter. A First Nations person can then nominate for a Voice either in the region in which they are enrolled to vote or in the region in which they are a traditional owner, even if they are enrolled elsewhere to vote, but a person can only vote in the region in which they are enrolled to vote.

There are some people who have questions about why it is First Nations people who need a Voice to Parliament more than any other group. I think the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs answered that question beautifully when he said on 891 recently:

…there's no other group who has inhabited the land that we all live on today for tens of thousands of years, has had that land taken without their permission…and the consequences that we see some generations on now from that are very present and I think that's a huge distinguishing factor that means this is not an unreasonable proposition or view to take.

We cannot ignore the immeasurable trauma that colonisation has had on our First Nations people. Our First Nations people cared for and lived on this land for tens of thousands of years. When their home was invaded they faced violence, massacres, sexual assaults, displacement from traditional lands, relocations to missions and reserves, introduced diseases and the removal of their children and, conversely, the removal from their families and the injustice and horror just seems to continue.

Today, the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians' life expectancy is around nine years for males and eight for females. The death rate for endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases for Indigenous Australians is around 3½ times higher than for non-Indigenous Australians. The death rate for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is around three times higher than for non-Indigenous Australians. The rate of deaths among Indigenous children aged zero to four is around twice as high as the death rate of non-Indigenous children.

The death rate for Indigenous infants is around twice as high than for non-Indigenous infants. Around 60 per cent of deaths of Indigenous people aged zero to 74 are from avoidable causes. Indigenous Australians die from avoidable causes at around three times the rate of non-Indigenous Australians. Indigenous Australians are around four times more likely to have utilised the access to allied psychological services program than non-Indigenous Australians.

In 2018-19, 31 per cent of Indigenous adults lived in households that were owned or being purchased by a household member, 34 per cent rented through social housing and 33 per cent rented privately. For non-Indigenous adults, 68 per cent were homeowners, 42 per cent rented privately and only three per cent rented through social housing. Indigenous Australians are around 3½ times as likely to be living in overcrowded housing than non-Indigenous Australians. The 2016 census found that Indigenous Australians accounted for one-fifth of the homeless population.

Between 2009 and 2017, the rate of Indigenous children across Australia who were the subject of a substantiated child protection notification increased from 28 per 1,000 children to 42 per 1,000 children. The rate for non-Indigenous children also increased during this period, but from 5.3 per 1,000 to 6.8 per 1,000 children. In South Australia, 29 per 1,000 Indigenous children were subject to a substantiated child protection notification, while the rate for non-Indigenous children was three per 1,000 children.

As of 2017, in South Australia the rate of Indigenous children on care and protection orders was 71 per 1,000 while the rate for non-Indigenous children was seven per 1,000. As of 2017, in South Australia the rate of Indigenous children in out-of-home care was 69 per 1,000 while the rate of non-Indigenous children was seven per 1,000.

In 2021 the rate of imprisonment amongst Indigenous adults was around 14 times the rate of non-Indigenous adults, and Indigenous young people represented about 46 per cent of all young people under youth justice supervision. Devastatingly, I could just keep going on and on. The gap we speak about could better be described as a gaping chasm.

The Voice is about looking for solutions to overcome some of these deeply entrenched problems and inequities, and for government to develop effective solutions Aboriginal people need to be at the table, because for programs or services to truly benefit Aboriginal people Aboriginal people need to be involved in the development of them, and in the decision-making process.

This bill gives the opportunity for our First Nations people to provide advice to the highest levels of government. The State First Nations Voice is required to elect joint presiding members who will be the primary conduit for the Voice to Parliament. The Voice must provide a written annual report to parliament and address the parliament annually through one of its joint presiding members on this report.

The Voice will also have the right to speak in either the House of Assembly or the other place on any bill, through one of its joint presiding members. To achieve this, the Clerk of each house must notify the Voice of every bill that is introduced. The Voice may also provide a report to parliament on any matter in the interests of First Nations people. Similarly, either house of parliament may request such a report from the Voice, although the Voice is not required to provide one if asked.

As I have just outlined, the Voice will be able to provide advice directly to parliament, but it will also be able to provide direct advice to the cabinet and chief executives of government departments. At least twice a year cabinet must meet with members of the State First Nations Voice and at least twice a year the Premier must bring about a meeting between the State First Nations Voice and the departmental chief executives they would like to meet with.

Every year an engagement hearing will be held where the joint presiding members of the State Voice will be able to ask questions of ministers and chief executives on their operations, expenditure, budget and priorities as they relate to First Nations people.

This bill today is a very important step, and I am proud to play a teeny, tiny part in this historic moment. Bring on Treaty and Truth next. I commend the bill to the house.

Ms HOOD (Adelaide) (17:27): I rise in support of this bill. Ngai nari Lucy Kudnarto Hood. Kaurna miyurna ngadlu. Kaurna yarta tampinthi. Ngaityalya. In the traditional language of the Kaurna people I introduced myself as Lucy Hood and Kudnarto, which means the third born in my family, and I acknowledge that we meet on the lands of the Kaurna people and pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging.

It is because of the Kaurna people, and Aboriginal people right across our state and nation, that I rise in support of this bill. The bill is about elevating the voice of Aboriginal people so that they are finally heard, so to begin with I do not want to use just my voice to explain the importance of this bill but the voice of my Yungandalya Tamaru, my dearest brother Tamaru, who teaches me the traditional language of his people, the Kaurna people.

As an emerging Kaurna elder it is his voice, the voice of his people, that deserves to be heard in this place. I quote him:

A Voice to me is final recognition of our culture. People listen to our perspective. It is about finally listening to our Voice. To me it is a crucial part of the journey towards reconciliation. We have waited 200 years for this. It should not take so long. And we understand it is going to be a long journey—but we are making tracks.

We just want to be acknowledged. We have got our language being spoken in parliament. We have got an acknowledgement in parliament. It makes me so proud and it makes me humble. It is about working together. Side-by-side.

I seek leave to continue my remarks.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.

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