Page 3742 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 23 November 2022
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MS VASSAROTTI (Kurrajong) (5.22): I rise in support of the motion moved by Dr Paterson. I want to thank her for bringing this important motion to the Assembly and giving us the opportunity to reflect on this important discussion in our local and national community. I share with her some deep sadness that we cannot come together as an Assembly and speak as one parliament about our support for progressing the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
As Mr Pettersson noted, we make these statements on the beautiful land of the Ngunnawal people. We make these statements with the knowledge of how First Nations owners have looked after this land, and with thanks to elders past, present and emerging, as well as First Nations people who have made incalculable contributions to the life of the city and region.
As has been noted, the Uluru Statement from the Heart came from a series of regional dialogues held across the country, and at its heart was an invitation to Australia to work together on the key reforms that seek to deal with unfinished business, attempt to repair damage done by over 200 years of dispossession, colonisation and institutional racism, and attempt to forge a new path for First Nations people and non-Indigenous people alike, based on respect, recognition and shared values. It aims to guide us to a future where all Australians have the opportunity to live a good life connected to culture, to community and to country.
The national conversation is currently focused on the key element of this—the idea of voice and how it may be recognised in our foundational document, the Constitution. This is a key conversation for us to be having. It does sit within the bounds of whitefella law; and, as we know, constitutional reform is notoriously difficult in this nation. We have learned hard lessons over decades regarding the challenges of having a nuanced discussion within the bounds of constitutional reform. We do have a challenge in front of us because we are not homogenous. But I have optimism and positivity that this is a challenge that we can rise to.
In reflecting on what the concept of voice means for me, I have been reflecting in many fora about the importance of actually silencing my voice and instead listening deeply to the perspectives of First Nations people, both locally and more broadly. Listening means engaging with truth-telling, which is another key theme of the Statement from the Heart. Truth-telling is hard for everyone. It often means speaking about issues that are deeply traumatic and distressing. For those to whom truth-telling is directed, I recognise that it will take us to a space which will go beyond feeling uncomfortable to feeling rather devastated. This is, however, a place that we must go.
The statement itself does articulate some of these truths very starkly. Dr Paterson quoted a part of the statement that I think is worth repeating:
Proportionally, we are the most incarcerated people on the planet. We are not an innately criminal people. Our children are aliened from their families at unprecedented rates. This cannot be because we have no love for them. And our youth languish in detention in obscene numbers. They should be our hope for the future.
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