First Nations Voice Bill – Second Reading speech

Wednesday 8 March 2023 

S.E. ANDREWS (Gibson) (15:56): I rise to speak on the First Nations Voice Bill. I am so proud to speak on this bill and be a part of this historic change that will provide Aboriginal people in South Australia with a Voice about what matters to them. I stood for this parliament because I wanted to make a positive change in South Australia and this is such a significant opportunity that reaffirms my decision to run for office. 

It was fabulous to watch in our last sitting week Aboriginal Attorney-General the Hon. Kyam Maher MLC introduce this bill into parliament and speak with such passion. I would like to acknowledge that I stand here on the lands of the Kaurna people and pay my respects to elders past and present. Always was, always will be Aboriginal land. 

On Friday night I went to see Spinifex Gum open the Adelaide Festival—I saw them once before at WOMAD—and what an inspirational group of young Aboriginal women they are, young Aboriginal women singing the story of Ms Dhu, a 22-year-old woman who died in police custody in Western Australia in 2014. She was in jail for unpaid fines of $3,622. Whilst in police custody, she became incredibly unwell; however, police officers did not take her cries for help seriously and with their racist lens assumed she was suffering a withdrawal from drugs. In fact, she had an infection in her broken ribs and died suffering from deep pain from sepsis. This is why we need a Voice to Parliament. 

In the song Yurala, Spinifex Gum contemplate the impact mining has had on their country, on their community, on the environment, without any opportunity to be heard; when an elder, Long Mack, spoke up for his country but the white people in the city and in the parliament did not listen. This is why we need a Voice to Parliament. 

In the song Locked Up, Spinifex Gum rightly ask: 

Why're the kids locked up 

Take this silence and blow it up 

Why they go so young 

Falling sisters and burning sons 

They put our kids in the system 

Findings, reports, and royal commissions 

Numbers, statistics when they're making decisions 

Assess the risks and build another prison 

I find those lyrics really difficult to listen to—and I should—and that is without having any lived experience. We should be challenged on these issues. That is why we must have a Voice to Parliament. Spinifex Gum sing wonderful songs of joy and hope too, my favourites being Marliya and Sisters; to know that these young First Nations women will fight for a better future than is currently mapped out for them. This is why we need a Voice to Parliament. 

I hope that this historic change in South Australia that is unfortunately not being supported by those opposite will be followed later this year by a Voice to the federal parliament. This bill, introduced by our Attorney-General in the other place, marks historic change to the way parliament and government engage with Aboriginal people. It provides direct access to this parliament, to ministers and chief executives, and it delivers another key election commitment of the Malinauskas Labor government, a government that is governing for all South Australians. 

I am proud to be a part of a government that back in 2019 committed at a state level to implementing the three core elements of the Uluru Statement from the Heart: Voice, Treaty, Truth. Back in 2015, the federal Referendum Council was established to start the process to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the constitution. It undertook consultations through 2016 and 2017 before the First Nations National Constitutional Convention was held at Uluru in May 2017. 

This convention gathered 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people over four days. The convention drafted and overwhelmingly adopted the Uluru Statement from the Heart—a generous invitation from First Nations people to the nation to walk together for a better future. The Uluru Statement called for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the constitution (Voice); a process of agreement-making between governments and First Nations (Treaty); and truth-telling about First Nations history (Truth). Now in South Australia, we are taking the first step, which is to deliver to Aboriginal people in South Australia a Voice. This is not easy, and nor should it be, but it is essential that we walk together into the future. We used to be a state of firsts, and this government is bringing progress back to South Australia. 

Commissioner Agius, as the state's inaugural Commissioner for First Nations Voice, undertook two rounds of consultation before this bill we are debating today entered parliament. From August to October 2022, the commissioner spoke with around 450 people at 30 in-person engagement sessions both in metropolitan Adelaide and regional South Australia. Following this, Commissioner Agius delivered the first engagement report, and then the government released the draft First Nations Voice Bill 2022, based on the feedback from these consultations. This bill was published on YourSAy for public feedback, and Commissioner Agius commenced a second round of in-person consultations. 

We should be clear: this is not rushed; it is considered. It is not a surprise; it is following extensive consultation. It is not the panacea to all challenges facing Aboriginal people, but it is part of a process started eight years ago at the federal level and six years ago in South Australia. It is clear from the first round of consultation that First Nations people want to see a direct Voice to the South Australian parliament; the Voice to represent the diversity of the South Australian First Nations people, including nation group diversity, gender, youth and LGBTQI+ people; and direct access to government decision-makers, including cabinet and chief executives. 

As a unionist, I am proud to say that the union movement are allies in calling for a Voice to Parliament. In fact, I first learnt of the Uluru Statement from the Heart from Thomas Mayer, a Torres Strait Islander man and an MUA union official. Thomas is a tireless campaigner for Voice, Treaty and Truth, and I thank him for the education he has provided the union movement on the value of having a Voice to Parliament. 

As we know, First Nations people have inhabited this continent for at least 60,000 years and comprise the oldest living culture on our planet. A culture that has existed for so long is one to celebrate and nourish. However, First Nations people continue to experience significantly worse outcomes than the wider population in a range of areas, including life expectancy, education, justice, health and more. 

Is the Voice a silver bullet to cure all of these? The answer is clearly no. However, what is also clear is that current programs, policies, frameworks and systems have not worked to reduce the disadvantage that so many First Nations people experience. Therefore, listening to Aboriginal people and giving them the Voice they called for with the Uluru Statement from the Heart is a way to address the issues they experience. What is true is that policies to support First Nations people are more effective when First Nations people are involved in their design. The Voice will give Aboriginal people more of a say in the decisions that affect their lives, a long overdue voice on the matters that affect them. 

An opportunity such as this should not have party politics disrupt the passage of recognition. The health, education and incarceration outcomes for First Nations people can be addressed with a mechanism like the Voice to break down systemic barriers. With the hopeful passage of this important legislation, I have hope. Giving First Nations people a seat at the table, I look forward to truly listening. I am so proud to be part of the Malinauskas Labor government to deliver this important reform. I commend this bill to the house.