” Djapiri said Bill and I are in the same canoe and on this issue we certainly are – but we are not alone, we are not alone in the canoe. We are in the same canoe with all of you as well and we need to steer it wisely to achieve our goal, to achieve that goal of Makarrata.
Beyond Constitutional Recognition, that work continues every day. I reflect on the Makarrata discussion of the late 70’s and 80’s. A list of demands was sent to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs in 1981. It called for rights to land and resources, compensation, the creation of Aboriginal schools, medical centres and an Aboriginal bank.
Despite a final agreement not being reached at the time, we have achieved some of the policies called for. The Commonwealth provided $433 million to 137 Aboriginal Medical Services across the country last financial year.
As Prime Minister I will continue to do all I can to ensure that being an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australian means to be successful, to achieve, to have big dreams and high hopes, and to draw strength from your identity as an Indigenous person in this great country.
That’s why, as we renegotiate the Closing the Gap targets with the various state and territory jurisdictions later this year, my Government has insisted on a strengths based approach.
Indigenous people are not a problem to be solved.
You are our fellow Australians. Your cultures are a gift to our nation.”
Selected extracts from the full Prime Minister Speech 5 August Garma see Part 2 Full Speech
Download full copy Garma 2017 PM full Speech
” Djapirri said, she told me of a dream of a canoe, paddled by the Prime Minister and myself.
That in itself is an arresting image. Two captains. But in all seriousness, we appreciated I think the power of that illusion, the power of that dream.
Here at Garma, on the lands of the Gumatj, we gather to talk about a Yolngu word. Makarrata.
It is not just now a Yolngu word – I put it to you it’s a national test.
Coming together, after a struggle.
And for the first Australians, it has been a very long struggle indeed.
– A struggle against dispossession and discrimination, exclusion and inequality.
– A struggle against violence and poverty, disease and diminished opportunity.
– A struggle for better health, for better housing, for safer communities, more jobs, for longer lives.
– A struggle against injustice and racism: from the sporting field to the courts of our land.
Above all, a struggle for a better future for their children: a struggle to be counted, to be heard, to be recognised.
At Uluru, you gave us the statement from the heart.
A call for:
– A voice enshrined in the Constitution
– A declaration to be passed by all parliaments, acknowledging the unique place of the first nations in Australian history, their culture, their connection.
– And a Makarrata Commission to oversee a process of agreement-making and truth-telling.
All three of these objectives speak to the long-held and legitimate aspirations of our First Australians:
– A proper acknowledgment of Aboriginal histories and the dispossession that followed upon the arrival of the Europeans
– A bigger say in the issues which affect you – no more ‘solutions’ imposed without consultation or consent
And a more lasting settlement, a new way forward, a new pathway including through treaties.
These ideas are not new – but the Uluru statement did articulate these with new clarity, a new passion, a new sense of truth and purpose “
Selected extracts The Hon Bill Shorten speech Garma 5 August 2017 see in full Part 3 Below
Download full speech Garma 2017 PM full Speech
Part 1 Media Coverage
When it comes to Aboriginal constitutional reform, picture Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten sitting in a canoe – and the opposition leader thinks he’s the only one paddling.
The Labor leader has backed a referendum question on an indigenous voice to parliament, while the prime minister has failed to commit bipartisan support.
The two politicians are moving together downstream, struggling to balance the boat to achieve reconciliation, Gumatj leader Djapirri Mununggirritj has told Garma Festival in northeast Arnhem Land.
Mr Shorten called it an “arresting image” but said he was disappointed Mr Turnbull dismissed his end of year referendum question deadline as “very ambitious”.
“We support a declaration by all parliaments, we support a truth telling commission, we are not confronted by the notion of treaties with our first Australians,” he said.
Mr Turnbull acknowledged many Aboriginal leaders were disappointed the government didn’t give “instant fulfilment” to the Referendum Council’s recommendations.
He described the Yolgnu elder’s canoe analogy as apt, saying his cabinet will give the matter careful consideration to keep the aspiration of Makarrata, or coming together after a struggle, from capsizing.
An “all or nothing approach” to constitutional change risks rocking the boat, resulting in a failed referendum, and Mr Turnbull called for time to develop a winnable question to put to Australian voters.
“We are not alone in the canoe, we are in the canoe with all of you and we need to steer it wisely to achieve that goal of Makarrata,” he said.
Mr Turnbull said there’s still many practical questions about what shape the advisory body would take, whether it would be elected or appointed and how it would affect Aboriginal people around the country.
Specifically, he questioned what impact the voice to parliament would have on issues like child protection and justice, which are largely the legislative domain of state and territory governments.
But Mr Shorten said debate over Aboriginal recognition in the nation’s founding document has dragged on for the past decade.
“I can lead Mr Turnbull and the Liberal party to water but I can’t make them drink,” he said.
Having led the failed 1999 republic referendum campaign, Mr Turnbull warned that Australians are “constitutionally conservative”, with just eight out of 44 successful since federation.
But Mr Shorten said “Aboriginal Australians do not need a balanda [white person] lecture about the difficulty of changing the constitution”.
Mr Shorten’s proposal of a joint parliamentary committee to finalise a referendum question has been met with cynicism by indigenous leaders.
Part 2 PRIME MINISTER Garma SPEECH :
Ngarra buku-wurrpan bukmak nah! Nhuma’lanah.
Ngarra Prime Minister numalagu djal Ngarra yurru wanganharra’wu nhumalangu bukmak’gu marrigithirri.
Ngarra ga nhungu dharok ga manikay’ ngali djaka wanga’wu yirralka.
I acknowledge and pay respect to your country, and your elders.
As Prime Minister, I’m here to talk to you and learn from you.
I acknowledge and respect your language, your song lines, your dances, your culture, your caring for country, and your estates.
I pay my respects to the Gumatj people and traditional owners past, present and future, on whose land we are gathered.
I also acknowledge other Yolngu people, First Peoples from across the country and balanda here today including Bill Shorten, Nigel Scullion and all other Parliamentary colleagues but above all I acknowledge our Parliamentary colleagues, Indigenous Parliamentary colleagues. Truly, voices of First Australians in the Parliament. Thank you for being here today and for the wisdom you give us, you together with my dear friend Ken, so much wisdom in the Parliament.
I offer my deep respect and gratitude to the Chairman of the Yothu Yindi Foundation, Dr Galarrwuy Yunupingu for hosting Lucy and me with your family. It was lovely to camp here last night and the last music was beautiful, serene and like a lullaby sending us all off to our dreams. Thank you. Emily was the last singer – beautiful. And of course we woke here to the beautiful sounds of Gulkala.
I again as I did yesterday extend our deep condolences to the family of Dr G Yunupingu at this very sad time. He brought the Yolngu language to the people of Australia and his music will be with us forever.
I’ve come here to North East Arnhem Land to learn, participate respectfully and can I thank everyone so far I’ve had the chance to talk with. I am filled with optimism about our future together as a reconciled Australia.
Last month scientists and researchers revealed new evidence that our First Australians have been here in this land for 65,000 years.
These findings show that Indigenous people were living at the Madjedbebe rock shelter in Mirarr Country, at Kakadu east of Darwin, 18,000 years earlier than previously thought.
Among the middens, rock paintings, remains, plants and ochre, was the world’s oldest-known ground-edge axe head.
These findings place Australia on centre stage in the story of human origin, including mankind’s first long-distance maritime voyage – from Southeast Asia to the Australian continent.
Our First Peoples are shown as artistically, as technologically advanced, and at the cutting edge of technology in every respect.
Importantly, they confirm what Aboriginal people have always known and we have known – that your connection, your intimate connection to the land and sea are deep, abiding, ancient, and yet modern.
This news is a point of great pride for our nation. We rejoice in it, as we celebrate your Indigenous cultures and heritage as our culture and heritage – uniquely Australian.
As Galarrwuy said yesterday as he spoke in Yolngu, he said: “I am speaking in Australian.” Sharing, what a generosity, what a love, what a bigness he showed there as he does throughout his life and his leadership.
I want to pay tribute to the work of so many of you here today, who are leading the healing in communities, building bridges between the old and new, and looking for ways to ensure families and communities are not just surviving, but thriving.
Particularly the Indigenous leaders who every day wear many hats, walk in both worlds, and yet give tirelessly for their families and their communities. You often carry a very heavy load, and we thank you.
Where western astronomers look up at the sky and look for the light, Yolngu astronomers look also deep into the dark, using the black space to uncover further information, to unravel further mysteries.
So while we are both looking at the night sky, we are often looking at different parts. And yet through mutual respect, sharing of knowledge and an openness to learning, together we can see and appreciate the whole sky.
Those same principles are guiding us toward Constitutional Recognition.
The final Referendum Council report was delivered, as you know, on the 30th of June. Bill Shorten and I were briefed by the Referendum Council two weeks ago. The report was a long time coming and I know some would like an instant fulfillment of its recommendations.
Let me say, I respect deeply the work of the Referendum Council and all of those who contributed to it, and I respect it by considering it very carefully and the Government is doing so, in the first instance with my colleagues, including Ken Wyatt the first Indigenous Australian to be a Federal Minister, and together we consider it with our Cabinet. That is our way, that is our process, that is how we give respect to serious recommendations on serious matters.
And I do look forward to working closely and in a bipartisan way with the Opposition as we have done to date.
Djapiri said Bill and I are in the same canoe and on this issue we certainly are – but we are not alone, we are not alone in the canoe. We are in the same canoe with all of you as well and we need to steer it wisely to achieve our goal, to achieve that goal of Makarrata. Thank you again Galarrwuy for that word.
We share a sense of the significance of words. I love words and language. There is a great definition. What is the difference between poetry and prose? The best definition of poetry that I have ever found is that which cannot be translated, it can only be felt.
The Referendum Council’s report as Marcia reminded us is the fourth major report since that time and it adds immensely to the depth of knowledge. It gave us the Uluru Statement from the Heart, and I congratulate all those who attended on reaching an agreement. That was no small task.
It tells us that the priority for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is to resolve the powerlessness and lack of self-determination experienced – not by all, but certainly by too many.
I have been discussing it with leaders, the leaders of our First Australians and will continue to do so as we develop the next steps.
But there are still many questions:
What would the practical expression of the voice look like? What would the voice look like here for the Yolngu people? What would it look like for the people of Western Sydney, who are the largest population of Aboriginal peoples in Australia?
Is our highest aspiration to have Indigenous people outside the Parliament, providing advice to the Parliament? Or is it to have as many Indigenous voices, elected, within our Parliament?
What impact would the voice have on issues like child protection and justice, where the legislation and responsibility largely rest with state and territory governments?
These are important questions that require careful consideration. But the answers are not beyond us.
And I acknowledge that Indigenous Australians want deeper engagement with government and their fellow Australians, and to be much better consulted, and represented in the political, social and economic life of this nation.
We can’t be weighed down by the past, but we can learn from it.
Australians are constitutionally conservative. The bar is surmountable, you can get over it but it is a high bar. That’s why the Constitution has often been described as a frozen document.
Now many people talk about referendums, very few have experienced leading a campaign. The 1999 campaign for a Republic – believe me, now, one of the few subjects on which I have special knowledge – the 1999 campaign for a Republic has given me a very keen insight into what it will take to win, how hard it is to win, how much harder is the road for the advocate for change than that of those who resist change. I offer this experience today in the hope that together, we can achieve a different outcome to 1999. A successful referendum.
Compulsory voting has many benefits, but one negative aspect is that those who for one reason or another are not interested in an issue or familiar with it, are much more likely to vote no – it reinforces an already conservative constitutional context.
Another critical difference today is the rise of social media, which has changed the nature of media dramatically, in a decade or two we have a media environment which is no longer curated by editors and producers – but freewheeling, viral and unconstrained.
The question posed in a referendum must have minimal opposition and be clearly understood.
A vital ingredient of success is popular ownership. After all, the Constitution does not belong to the Government, or the Parliament, or the Judges. It belongs to the people.
It is Parliament’s duty to propose changes to the Constitution but the Constitution cannot be changed by Parliament. Only the Australian people can do that.
No political deal, no cross party compromise, no leaders’ handshake can deliver constitutional change.
Bipartisanship is a necessary but far from a sufficient condition of successful constitutional reform.
To date, again as Marcia described much of the discussion has been about removing the racially discriminatory provisions in the Constitution and recognising our First Australians in our nation’s founding document.
However, the Referendum Council has told us that a voice to Parliament is the only option they advise us to put to the Australian people. We have heard this, and we will work with you to find a way forward.
Though not a new concept, the voice is relatively new to the national conversation about constitutional change.
To win, we must all work together to build a high level of interest and familiarity with the concept of a voice, and how this would be different, or the same, as iterations of the past like the National Aboriginal Conference or the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission.
We also need to look to the experience of other countries, as we seek to develop the best model for Australia.
The historic 1967 Referendum was the most successful in our history because of its simplicity and clarity. The injustices were clearly laid out – Indigenous people were not enjoying the rights and freedoms of other citizens. The question was clearly understood – that the Commonwealth needed to have powers to make laws for Indigenous Australians. And the answer seemed obvious – vote yes to ensure the Commonwealth gave Indigenous people equal rights.
To succeed this time around, we need to develop enough detail so that the problem, the solution and therefore the question at the ballot box are simple, easily understood and overwhelmingly embraced.
One of the toughest lessons I learnt from the Referendum campaign of ‘99 was that an ‘all or nothing’ approach sometimes results in nothing. During the campaign, those who disagreed with the model that was proposed urged a “no” vote, arguing that we could all vote for a different Republic model in a few years. I warned that a “no” vote meant no republic for a very long time.
Now, regrettably, my prediction 18 years ago was correct. We must avoid a rejection at a referendum if we want to avoid setting Makarrata reconciliation back.
We recognise that the Uluru statement is powerful because it comes from an Indigenous-designed and led process. And because it comes from the heart, we must accept that it is grounded in wisdom and truth.
It is both a lament and a yearning. It is poetry.
The challenge now is to turn this poetry that speaks so eloquently of your aspiration into prose that will enable its realisation and be embraced by all Australians.
This is hard and complex work. And we need to take care of each other as we continue on this journey. We need to take care of each other in the canoe, lest we tip out of it.
Yesterday afternoon was a powerful show of humanity. As we stood together holding hands – Indigenous and non-Indigenous people – we stood together as Australians. As equals.
And we will have the best chance of success by working together. This cannot be a take it or leave it proposal. We have to come to the table and negotiate in good faith, and I am committed to working with you to find a way forward.
Galarrwuy – you gave us your fire words yesterday, thank you again. We will draw on them as we look to light the path forward for our nation.
And when considering how to do that, we are inspired by the success of the Uluru process. The statement that emerged from Uluru was designed and led by Indigenous Australians and the next steps should be too.
To go to a referendum there must be an understanding between all parties that the proposal will meet the expectations of the very people it claims it will represent.
Now we have five Aboriginal members of our Parliament. They will be vital in shaping and shepherding any legislation through the Parliament. They too are bridge builders, walking in both worlds, and their contribution to the Parliament enriches us all.
The Australian Parliament and the nation’s people – Indigenous and non-Indigenous – must be engaged as we work together to find the maximum possible overlap between what Indigenous people are seeking, what the Australian community overall will embrace and what the Parliament will authorise.
I have been learning that the word Makarrata means the ‘coming together after a struggle’— Galarrwuy told us a beautiful story this morning about a Makarrata here in this country. And a Makarrata is seen as necessary, naturally, if we are to continue our path to reconciliation.
But just like the night sky, reconciliation means different things to different people. This complexity convinces me that our nation cannot be reconciled in one step, in one great leap. We will only be reconciled when we take a number of actions, both practical and symbolic.
Beyond Constitutional Recognition, that work continues every day. I reflect on the Makarrata discussion of the late 70’s and 80’s. A list of demands was sent to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs in 1981. It called for rights to land and resources, compensation, the creation of Aboriginal schools, medical centres and an Aboriginal bank.
Despite a final agreement not being reached at the time, we have achieved some of the policies called for. The Commonwealth provided $433 million to 137 Aboriginal Medical Services across the country last financial year. Indigenous Business Australia provides low interest loans to help Indigenous Australians secure economic opportunities including home ownership with 544 new housing loans made last year. The Aboriginal Benefits Account supports Northern Territory Land Councils and provides grants for the benefit of Aboriginal people living in the Territory.
We now spend $4.9 billion on the Indigenous Advancement Strategy.
And we are empowering communities through our Indigenous Procurement policy.
I am pleased to announce today the Commonwealth has officially surpassed half a billion dollars in spending with Indigenous businesses all over Australia. I am looking forward to sharing the full two-year results in October. This is a spectacular increase from just $6.2 million being won by Indigenous businesses only a few years ago under former policies.
Since 2008 the Commonwealth has been helping improve remote housing and bring down rates of overcrowding, with $5.4 billion to build thousands of better homes over ten years.
And the land is returning to its traditional owners.
More than 2.5 million square kilometres of land, or about 34 per cent of Australia’s land mass is today recognised under Native Title. Another 24 per cent is covered by registered claims and by 2025, our ambition is to finalise all current Native Title claims.
So we are standing here on Aboriginal land – land that has been rightfully acknowledged as yours and returned to you. And we are standing here near the birthplace of the land rights movement. A movement of which the Yolngu people were at the forefront.
As a nation we’ve come a long way.
In the Northern Territory, more than 50 per cent of the land is now Aboriginal land, recognised as Aboriginal land.
Just like the land at Kenbi which, on behalf of our nation, I returned to the traditional owners, the Larrakia people last year.
Earlier this year I appointed June Oscar AO, who has been acknowledged earlier, as the first female Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, who has agreed to report on the issues affecting Indigenous women and girls’ success and safety.
And all of that work contributes to a better future for our First Australians.
But there is much more to be done in not just what we do, but how we do it – as we work with our First Australians. We are doing things with our First Australians, not to them.
Now Galarrwuy – I have read and read again your essay Rom Watungu. It too is a story from the heart, of your father, of his life and when his time came, how he handed his authority to you, the embodiment of continuity, the bearer of a name that means “the rock that stands against time”
But rocks that stand against time, ancient cultures and lore, these are the strong foundations on which new achievements are built, from which new horizons can be seen – the tallest towers are built on the oldest rocks.
You, Galarrwuy, ask Australians to let Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders breathe and be free, be who you are and ask that we see your songs and languages, the land and the ceremonies as a gift.
As Prime Minister I will continue to do all I can to ensure that being an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australian means to be successful, to achieve, to have big dreams and high hopes, and to draw strength from your identity as an Indigenous person in this great country.
That’s why, as we renegotiate the Closing the Gap targets with the various state and territory jurisdictions later this year, my Government has insisted on a strengths based approach. Indigenous people are not a problem to be solved. You are our fellow Australians. Your cultures are a gift to our nation.
There’s so much more work to be done.
But in doing so, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and all Australians, continue to connect with pride and optimism – with mabu liyan, in Pat’s language from the Yawuru people – the wellbeing that comes with a reconciled harmony with you, our First Australians, our shared history truthfully told and a deeper understanding of the most ancient human cultures on earth, and the First Australians to whom we have so much to thank for sharing them with us.
Thank you so much.
Part 3 Opposition Leader’s Garma Speech
Good morning everybody.
I’d like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land upon which we meet, I pay my respects to elders both past and present.
I recognise that I stand on what is, was and always will be Aboriginal land.
I acknowledge the Prime Minister and his wife Lucy.
I wish to thank Gallarwuy and the Gumatj for hosting us – and on behalf of my Labor team who are here, Senator Pat Dodson, Senator Malarndirri McCarthy, the Hon Linda Burney, the Hon Kyam Maher, supported also by local Members of Parliament the Hon Warren Snowden and Luke Gosling, and Territory Minister Eva Lawler.
We are very grateful to be part of this gathering.
Also Clementine my daughter asked me to thank you for letting her join in the bunggul yesterday afternoon, she loved it.
At the opening yesterday, we were privileged, all of us, to be at a powerful ceremony, where we remembered Dr G Yunupingu, a man who was born blind – but helped Australians see.
From his island, his words and his music touched the world.
But I also understand that the words of our host were about setting us a test, reminding all of us privileged to be here that there is serious business to be done.
Here at Garma, on the lands of the Gumatj, we gather to talk about a Yolngu word. Makarrata.
It is not just now a Yolngu word – I put it to you it’s a national test.
Coming together, after a struggle.
And for the first Australians, it has been a very long struggle indeed.
– A struggle against dispossession and discrimination, exclusion and inequality.
– A struggle against violence and poverty, disease and diminished opportunity.
– A struggle for better health, for better housing, for safer communities, more jobs, for longer lives.
– A struggle against injustice and racism: from the sporting field to the courts of our land.
Above all, a struggle for a better future for their children: a struggle to be counted, to be heard, to be recognised.
In 2015, the Referendum Council was created with a very clear mission.
To consult on what form Constitutional Recognition should take – how it should work.
To listen to Aboriginal people and to be guided by their aspirations.
And to finally give them a say in a document from which too long they been excluded.
Since then, thousands of the first Australians have explained to the rest us what
Recognition means – for all of us, for our children and indeed for all of our futures.
We asked for your views, we sought your counsel – and, in large numbers, it was answered.
At Uluru, you gave us the statement from the heart.
A call for:
– A voice enshrined in the Constitution
– A declaration to be passed by all parliaments, acknowledging the unique place of the first nations in Australian history, their culture, their connection.
– And a Makarrata Commission to oversee a process of agreement-making and truth-telling.
All three of these objectives speak to the long-held and legitimate aspirations of our
First Australians:
– A proper acknowledgment of Aboriginal histories and the dispossession that
followed upon the arrival of the Europeans
– A bigger say in the issues which affect you – no more ‘solutions’ imposed without consultation or consent
– And a more lasting settlement, a new way forward, a new pathway including through treaties.
These ideas are not new – but the Uluru statement did articulate these with new clarity, a new passion, a new sense of truth and purpose.
And let me speak truthfully on behalf of Labor, the Opposition.
I cannot be any more clear than this: Labor supports a voice for Aboriginal people in our Constitution, we support a declaration by all parliaments, we support a truth-telling commission.
We are not confronted by the notion of treaties with our first Australians.
For us the question is not whether we do these things, the question is not if we should do these things but when and how.
The Parliament needs to be engaged.
The Parliament needs to be engaged now.
The Parliament needs to start the process of engaging with the people of Australia now.
It does not come as a surprise to me, that following upon a report of the
Referendum Council, the Parliament’s next step must be to consider this report.
And in doing so, we must carry its message from the heart of Australia into our hearts as parliamentarians. With optimism, with understanding, not with a desire to find what is wrong, but to find the desire to make these concepts work in the interests of all.
If we were all gathered here now, back in 1891 and 1894 and 1897 to write the Constitution, we would never dream of excluding Aboriginal people from the Census.
But in 1901, they did.
If we were starting the Constitution from scratch, we would not diminish the independence of Aboriginal people – with racist powers.
But in 1901, they did.
And if we were starting on an empty piece of paper, we would, without question, recognise the First Australians’ right to a genuine, empowered voice in the decisions that govern their lives.
Now as you know, we cannot unmake history. We do not get the change to start all over again – but it doesn’t mean that we are forever chained to the prejudices of the past.
The Prime Minister’s observations though are correct about the difficulties of constitutional change. But I ask also that we cannot let the failure of 1999 govern our future on this question.
Voting for a constitutional voice is our chance to bring our Constitution home, to make it better, more equal and more Australian.
A document that doesn’t just pay respect to the weight of a foreign crown, but also recognises the power and value of the world’s oldest living culture, recognises that
Aboriginal people were here first.
And of course, let us reject those who say that symbolic change is irrelevant because dealing with these questions does not mean walking away from the real problems of inequality and disadvantage.
– Talking about enshrining a voice does not reduce our determination to eradicate family violence
– It doesn’t stop us creating good local jobs, training apprentices, treating trachoma or supporting rangers on country.
– It doesn’t distract us from the crisis in out-of-home care, youth suicide or the shocking, growing number of Aboriginal people incarcerated for not much better reason than the colour of their skin.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples don’t have to choose between historical justice and real justice, you don’t have to choose between equality in society and equality in the Constitution – you have an equal right to both.
The Uluru Statement has given us a map of the way forward – and today I finally want to talk about how we follow it, how we take the next step.
Not the obstacles ahead, not the problems, real as they are.
Aboriginal Australians don’t need a balanda lecture about the difficulty of changing the Constitution, our inspiration friends, should not be the 1999 referendum, it should be the 1967 referendum.
You have lived that struggle, every day.
Let me be very clear. In my study of our history, in my experience, nothing has ever been given to Aboriginal people – everything that is obtained has been fought for, has been argued for, has been won and built by Aboriginal people.
Think of the Freedom Riders
Think of the Bark Petition, which Gallarwuy was witness to
Think of the Gurindji at Wave Hill
Eddie Mabo and his fight for justice
Nothing was ever sorted by simply waiting until someone came along said let me do it for you. It is not the way the world is organised.
Every bit of progress has been driven by pride, by persistence by that stubborn refusal to not take no for an answer when it comes to the pursuit of equality.
Now making the case for change and encouraging Australians to vote yes for a recognition, reconciliation, and truth – this is not easy.
But before we can do that we surely must agree on the referendum question that has to be the long overdue next step.
I have written to our Prime Minister, we’ve proposed a joint parliamentary committee – which they’re taking on board, having a look at – to be made up of Government, the Opposition and crossbench MPs – to work with Aboriginal leaders right across Australia.
This committee will have two key responsibilities.
One – advising the Parliament on how to set-up a Makarrata Commission and create a framework for truth-telling and agreement making, including treaties.
Two – what would a voice look like. Whilst there are many questions, none of these are insurmountable.
And three, as a matter of overdue recognition – to endeavour to finalise a referendum question in a timely fashion. There’s no reason why that couldn’t be done by the end of this year.
The issues have been traversed for a decade.
Now friends this is not a committee for the sake of a committee, it’s not another mechanism for delay. It is the necessary process of engagement of the Parliament.
But we have had ten years plus of good intentions, but it is time now perhaps, for more action.
The Parliament does have a key role to play here, in setting the question.
The Parliament could agree on the question this year if we all work together so that the people could vote not long after that.
Voting to enshrine a voice in a standalone Referendum – free from the shadow of an election, or the politics of other questions.
It may seem very hard to imagine, it may seem very hard to contemplate.
But it is possible to imagine a great day, a unifying day, a famous victory, a Makaratta for all.
As I said yesterday, we’ve heard plenty of speeches, there are many fine words… but perhaps people have a right to be impatient after ten years – indeed after 117 years.
So the test I set isn’t what we say here, in this beautiful place.
It’s what we do when we leave.
It’s the honesty of admitting that after the event, what is it that we do.
The test I set for myself is can I come here at future Garmas and look you in the eye and say I have done everything I can, because if I cannot say to you that I have done everything I that I can, then I can’t be truthful with my heart.
Yesterday Gallarwuy spoke with a tongue of fire, he told a powerful truth.
He said that for more than two centuries we had been two peoples – living side-by-side, but not united.
I think that is the challenge for politics too.
Djapirri who just spoke up before me, she’s talked about hope. There is the hope that you refer to, you have the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. We are here side-by-side, and now we need to be united, not to kick the can down the road, but united on a process that says this parliament will respect what we have heard from Aboriginal people.
Not just at Uluru, but for decades.
In 1967, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders were counted. In 2017, you are being heard.
There is no reason why we can’t enshrine a voice for Aboriginal people in our Constitution.
Djapirri said, she told me of a dream of a canoe, paddled by the Prime Minister and myself. That in itself is an arresting image. Two captains. But in all seriousness, we appreciated I think the power of that illusion, the power of that dream.
My party is ready.
I think Australia is ready.
The fine words that we heard at the opening yesterday, they remind me of the fire dreaming symbol, which is in the front of the Parliament of Australia.
Fire.
That fire dreaming symbol is from central Australia but it is connected isn’t it, by the word of Djapirri yesterday.
Again, that spirit of fire it is a gift from Indigenous people to all Australians and I sincerely will endeavor to make sure that spirit of fire infuses our Parliament.
