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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-06-03 Daily Xml
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National Reconciliation Week

The Hon. T.T. NGO (15:10): My question is for the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation. It was great to see many honourable members, including yourself, attend the launch of National Reconciliation Week at a breakfast held last week that about 1,100 people attended. I also noticed the presence of many school students. Can the minister tell the house about the commencement of Reconciliation Week and some of the issues raised as part of this year's program?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Minister for Automotive Transformation, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (15:11): I thank the honourable member for his question and his interest in this area and his involvement through the Aboriginal Lands Parliamentary Standing Committee that other honourable members of this chamber are involved in, and his presence at many events in the time he has been a member.

This has been my first Reconciliation Week as Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, and it has been a great honour and privilege to have attended a number of events recognising the importance of this week in our calendar. As members would be aware, National Reconciliation Week occurs every year from 27 May to 3 June, marking two significant events that have shaped our nation's reconciliation movement.

The day 27 May marks the date in 1967 which is probably the most historic and certainly most statistically successful referendum in Australian history, marking the proper inclusion of Aboriginal people into Australian society by being counted in the Australian census. The other significant date, 3 June 1992, was when the High Court of Australia delivered the landmark Mabo (No. 2) court decision. From 27 May to 3 June there are literally dozens of activities and events held right across South Australia and, indeed, the nation celebrating Reconciliation Week.

As the honourable member pointed out, the week kicked off on Wednesday last week with the annual Reconciliation Week breakfast organised by Reconciliation SA. It's a remarkable event that is held each year and attended by more than 1,000 guests including, as I said, many honourable members from this chamber and other members of parliament. I'm sure all attendees enjoyed the breakfast is much as I did.

I would particularly like to acknowledge and pay tribute to a group called Act Now, a socially conscious theatre performing group that performed their Responding to Racism program, which was an excellent demonstration of the work they do right across South Australia. The guest speaker for the breakfast was Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Mick Gooda, who unfortunately couldn't make the event in person due to a commonwealth government committee sitting but spoke to the audience via video.

In his speech, Commissioner Gooda reminded the more than 1,000-strong audience at the breakfast about the leading role the AFL has played in combating racism. Commissioner Gooda spoke about a defining image more than 20 years ago when one of the AFL's greatest Indigenous players, Nicky Winmar, took a powerful stand against the racism he was experiencing on and off the field. In one single moment, a proud and courageous young Aboriginal man who had been subjected to outrageous racial taunts ran to the middle of the field and lifted his shirt, pointing to his skin.

The Hon. R.I. Lucas: St Kilda jumper.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: It was, as the Hon. Rob Lucas very proudly points out, a St Kilda jumper. Although they're not travelling as well as the Hon. Rob Lucas might like this season, I think all of us at that moment were St Kilda fans for that afternoon—Nicky Winmar pulling up his jumper, pointing to his skin and telling others on the field and those in the crowd and proclaiming to the rest of the world, 'I'm Aboriginal, and I'm proud.' It was a defining moment: it transcended the game, the sport, and sharply brought the focus onto community attitudes about Aboriginal people. I well remember that moment in 1993; it changed the game, it changed attitudes and behaviours.

It was poignant that our Aboriginal Social Justice Commissioner, Mick Gooda, reminded us of that moment at the reconciliation breakfast last Wednesday. I am sure Commissioner Gooda could not have foreshadowed what was about to take place just a few days later, on Friday night, at the Sydney Cricket Ground. During the AFL's Indigenous round, all teams have commemorative guernseys recognising and celebrating Aboriginal and Torrens Strait Islander people and culture and the athletes who have contributed to shaping our national game. In fact, the AFL correctly points out that their Indigenous round is about bringing two cultures together.

So, when Adam Goodes, a proud Adnyamathanha and Narungga man, kicked a goal during the Swans-Carlton game and celebrated by showcasing his cultural identity with a dance, I thought, watching that game, good on him. What a great way to celebrate during the Indigenous round, particularly when afterwards he told the story of how he was taught that dance by a team of young Aboriginal players who, no doubt, would have been proud to see their mentor representing their shared culture to a national audience.

I celebrate Adam Goodes and what he has achieved on and off the football field. Adam is very active in his community, working with troubled Indigenous youth and having launched an Indigenous football academy, along with the Goodes O'Loughlin Foundation, which is aimed at empowering the next generation of Indigenous role models. His service to his community and to our nation culminated in Adam being named Australian of the Year in 2014. He has much to be proud of in his achievements, and clearly he is proud of who he is and what he does.

There is no doubt that over a long period of time the AFL has been a leading light in furthering the cause of reconciliation and combating racism in Australia. There are many concerning Closing the Gap statistics, but the AFL is one area where the over-representation of Indigenous people has been a positive force. Indigenous players make up around 10 per cent of the AFL list. If Adam Goodes, like Nicky Winmar and Michael Long before him, challenges attitudes and brings people to confront their own views, well that is a good thing.

Adam Goodes' celebration has resulted in some unfortunate comment over the last few days. Some of the comments come from people who probably have not had a need or opportunity to examine what reconciliation and associated issues mean to different people in modern Australia, while some other comments in the last few days have come from a much darker place, of resentment towards diversity and intolerant attitudes that are held by a very small number in our community.

With some of the ill-informed comments we have seen, there is a certain irony that the theme for this year's reconciliation breakfast was 'I'm not racist, but...' When Cathy Freeman carried the Aboriginal flag after winning her Commonwealth Games and Olympic races, she received misplaced condemnation and provoked controversy at the time. Despite the similarly misplaced condemnation that Adam Goodes' actions have caused, I am certain he will continue to be a symbol of Aboriginal achievement and reconciliation.

At the same time, I have been very pleased by some of the very positive public contributions I have seen. Pieces in the local media by the likes of David Washington and David Penberthy stood out for me as worth reading and very positive on this matter. I cannot think of a better time for us to reflect on the week that is Reconciliation Week and acknowledge that our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander countrymen and women have every right to celebrate their cultural and professional achievements in a way that reflects their history. Reconciliation Week continues, and I encourage everyone in our community to support this important event on our nation's calendar.

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