Mr BAYLEY – Honourable Speaker, I thank the Leader of the Greens for bringing on this matter of public importance, because with Aboriginal people camped on the lawns, it is clearly a significant issue. I spent some time with the folks on the lawn yesterday. I pay my respects to them and their ancestors here in this Chamber and acknowledge that the very land we stand on was never, ever ceded. What was very obvious out there yesterday at both their rally and at the conversations afterwards was the palpable frustration and anger at the lack of action.
I want to raise what I am hearing. The change in language of the Premier today is a fundamental double standard. There is an expectation that we heard today from the Premier that every Aboriginal person has to be united and have a collective position going forward, and I heard him say the broader non-Aboriginal community also has to be united behind that position.
Why do we have that expectation for the Aboriginal community and Aboriginal issues when we do not hold that expectation for anything else? Does the government expect there to be unanimity and absolute consensus, whether it is in this House or across the community, on the coastal policy, for example, or on UTAS? Clearly not. Yet they are quite prepared to push through their legislation for better or worse on each of those issues despite those divisions.
The Leader of the Greens was reading in Theresa Sainty’s letter, and I would like to pick up where she ran out of time, because this is a critically important letter. When Theresa says ‘you suggested’ she means the minister, Roger Jaensch, as this is a letter about Theresa’s resignation from the Aboriginal Advisory Group on Truth-telling and Treaty. She writes:
“That you suggested we need to explain truth-telling and get support across Parliament is indeed eye-opening. Truth-telling is integral to the next step of treaty and it is a task for colonial-settler descendants. I would ask you what you think it means. Regarding support, surely it is your responsibility as Minister for Aboriginal Affairs to gain support for truth-telling and treaty across the Parliament. I understand that the wider community of lutruwita are concerned about the rising cost of living, housing or lack thereof, and the dreadful state of health services and chaos within the hospital system and so on. I do not, however, accept your excuses regarding a lack of parliamentary support. Your party are hell-bent on pushing through the building of an AFL stadium despite the outcry from the public. It is clear that your commitment to your portfolio of Aboriginal Affairs is lacking significantly.”
She goes on. She points out that double standard evident now in the government’s language. The frustrations and failures are really clear. A couple of years ago we saw the government completely overlook the opportunity of new land returns and new Aboriginal tenure for an Aboriginal-owned national park at kooparoona niara.
When it comes to Aboriginal heritage, the very thing that Aboriginal people hold dear because it is a tangible link to their ancestors and ancestral heritage. Three years ago, in July 2021, minister Jaensch tabled a report in this parliament, a government review, that acknowledged that the Aboriginal Heritage Act did not provide an effective mechanism for Aboriginal heritage. What that means is the act does not work. No matter what is assessed, no matter what is proposed, no matter how diligent an assessment is made, it does not work. That was three years ago.
Since then, we have had massive developments on highly significant Aboriginal cultural landscapes such as Robbins Island progress and approved irrespective. It is a massive development on incredibly significant landscape. We have had a kunanyi cable car; admittedly it was rejected, but not on the basis of Aboriginal heritage. In fact, the report that was compiled for Aboriginal heritage did not even meet the government’s own guidelines. It was completely lacking.
We have the statutory body, the Aboriginal Land Council, massively underfunded, underfunded so much that it does not even have a chief financial officer. It gets short-term funding. Minister, will you give it a little bit of funding this year?
Mr Jaensch – It has been funded.
Mr BAYLEY – Yes, but will it be next year? Maybe you can ask that. It has been short‑term funding for those sort of things, not long term. How can an organisation sustain that kind of funding?
When Will Hodgman won the premiership he took on the portfolio of Aboriginal Affairs because he said it was significant for the Leader to take it. That is why Dr Woodruff has the Aboriginal Affairs portfolio and it is absolutely time that the Premier took it on on behalf of his government.
Time expired.
