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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 12 Hansard (19 November) . . Page.. 3813 ..

MS HORODNY (continuing):

If we look at Aboriginal deaths in custody, infant mortality and the lifespan of Aboriginal people, it is true that the Aboriginal situation in Australia is a very sad one. It is an issue that at times makes me feel quite ashamed to be an Australian. It is an area that has been neglected for such a long time. We see Aboriginal communities living in Third World conditions in a country that has built much of our wealth on mining, logging, farming and urbanising the very lands which are absolutely integral to the culture and the lifeblood of Aboriginal communities.

The fact is that reconciliation cannot happen in the absence of vast amounts of resources. Indeed, it is the lack of resources that have been allocated to Aboriginal reconciliation that is one of the chief causes of the continued problem. Like Mr Whitecross, I went to the very good leaflet that has been put together by the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation. They point out eight of the key issues in this debate that are so critical to Aboriginal reconciliation. On the issue of improving relationships the leaflet says this:

With few exceptions, relations between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the wider community have been poor. Indigenous Australians have long suffered from violence, dispossession, racism and the failure of government policies.

It was standard practice ... Children were taken from their families and homes ... Whole communities were shifted from their homes to another part of the country. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander life has been regulated and supervised at almost every turn ...

This isn't just history. Indigenous Australians still suffer intense scrutiny wherever they go and whatever they do. They still remember.

Reconciliation means healing the ruptured relationships. But what can be done?

Many Australians have never met an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person. Some assume knowledge through what they hear from others or see in the media, much of which fuels hurtful stereotypes.

I would suggest that some of the debate that has gone on in the last six months is exactly that. There has been a lot of hurtful stereotyping and a lot of assumed knowledge, sadly, by individuals who do not understand the full extent of the difficulties. The leaflet continues:

Learning about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the impact of institutions on them is the first step to better relations.

Australia does have many cultures. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures are special. They are particularly special because their values are those of Australia's first people. All Australians can learn from this unique heritage. But culture does not stand still and, after two centuries of interference and dominance, indigenous cultures have survived and have developed. Despite losing traditional homelands on many occasions,

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