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- 29 May 2007
Reconciliation Week
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Page: 313
The Hon. ROBYN PARKER [5.41 p.m.]: I first acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet, the Gadigal people of the Eora nation. This sitting week of Parliament coincides with Reconciliation Week. Importantly, this year is a time when we recognise other important dates, which I will briefly mention. The first is the fortieth anniversary of the 1967 referendum. The second is the fifteenth anniversary of the Mabo land rights decision. This year Reconciliation Week has the theme "Their spirit still shines", which the New South Wales Reconciliation Council aptly describes as reflecting the respect and honour we accord the indigenous and non-indigenous people who worked together to bring about the 1967 referendum. It affirms that Australians continue to be fired by their spirit and remain committed to building a just and equitable society.
The 1967 federal referendum was aimed at removing legislative clauses that discriminated against indigenous Australians. It gave the Commonwealth the power to make laws on behalf of the Aboriginal people. Only eight out of 44 attempts to amend the Constitution have been successful, and that referendum recorded the highest yes vote from Australia ever, with 90.7 per cent voting for change. It was change that was well overdue. Last week the Koori Mail published an interesting article which discussed the history of the referendum and the movement behind its inception. It stated:
Those responsible for the referendum hoped that the Federal government would implement wholeheartedly a program of special rights for Aboriginal people so that they could truly become Australian citizens. This was the spirit of promise of the referendum.
What is important about those words is that they highlight the determination by Aboriginal leaders at the time that the then and future governments would continue to make progress on issues affecting indigenous people—that the referendum will not just be a high water mark in the fight for Aboriginal rights but more of an ongoing campaign that would continue for many years to come. It is important to note that the referendum did not give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people the right to vote, as that was legislated for in 1962, but the overwhelming support by the Australian public was very significant.
Unfortunately I do not think the leaders at that time would have foreseen the poor progress that has plagued Aboriginal health. That was highlighted recently with the release of the Australian Medical Association's report card. It showed that the lifespan of indigenous people is 17 years shorter than the national average. Aboriginal men have a life expectancy of 59.4 compared with the national average of 77 for all Australian men. Aboriginal women have a life expectancy of 64.8 compared with the national average of 82.4. Furthermore, the life expectancy of indigenous Australians is 16 years less than the most disadvantaged 20 per cent of the overall population. The report highlighted that Aboriginal people are three times more likely to have a stroke or a heart attack than any other Australians and are more likely to die as a result of the attacks.
Recently the Medical Journal of Australia analysed records and found that diabetes rates in indigenous children are six times higher than in non-indigenous children. These are significant statistics, and unfortunately they do not reflect well on the State Government. Doctors, specialists and hospitals in rural areas are crying out for more resources that the New South Wales Labor Government has failed to deliver during 12 years in office. I am deeply concerned about the failure of this Government to fund a program to tackle child abuse in indigenous communities. The program was developed in response to the initial "Breaking the Silence" report, which found that child abuse in Aboriginal communities had reached epidemic proportions and that child sexual assault was up to four times higher than in the general population. The report also found that Aboriginal females are almost two and a half times more likely to be the victims of child sexual assault than are non-Aboriginal females.
It is Reconciliation Week. We have a bipartisan approach, but we need to make sure that funding goes where funding should go. It is a very sorry state of affairs in New South Wales that this State Government is failing its indigenous people. In contrast to that, the Federal Government has increased spending on indigenous-specific programs by 42 per cent since 1996, as reflected in $3.5 billion funding in the forthcoming financial year in a culture of shared responsibility. With the State Budget being presented next month, we will be looking very closely at whether the New South Wales Minister will fund programs to tackle child abuse and poor health outcomes in Aboriginal communities. The Coalition will be making sure that we can support in a bipartisan and generous manner the increased funding that we are expecting. In particular, we will be addressing child abuse outcomes in New South Wales. [ Time expired.]
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