Page 1517 - Week 05 - Friday, 10 May 2019
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
been managed by local tribes for well over 20,000 years. As we meet here today, we also acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded and that this always was and always will be Aboriginal land.
The ACT Greens acknowledge and recognise that to become a truly reconciled nation we must act to empower, listen to and support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their families. This week Ms Le Couteur and I officially launched our reconciliation action plan for our offices. We see this as an important part of our journey and a clear demonstration of our commitment to reconciliation and honouring Aboriginal traditional custodians. We know that reconciliation is hard work and will require determination and effort. This plan provides us with a clear framework and lays the foundations for an ongoing reconciliation journey alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples into the future. We are committed to reconciliation and treaties, and we look forward to the long journey that we all must take to learn and share as we walk on this path.
We are very excited to see the possum skin cloak that is being gifted to the Assembly today to commemorate this 30th anniversary. It is a significant gift. I understand that 16 strong Ngunnawal women, led by Elder Tina Brown, have been working very hard to create this cloak over a long time in preparation for today. Madam Speaker has already acknowledged them, and I personally thank the women who have worked to make the cloak, which I believe is made up of very many possum skins indeed—something some of Canberra’s keen gardeners may well welcome.
Madam Speaker has also acknowledged the many former MLAs who have joined us today on this special occasion. In particular I note the presence of Lucy Horodny, who, along with Kerrie Tucker, was the first Greens MLA elected in 1995.
The ACT Greens did not even exist in 1989, when self-government was introduced in the territory. I myself was still in high school. I watched with great interest as the debate rolled on about whether the ACT should have self-government. The debate of course finally landed as we saw it. I was then a little frustrated to still be just 17 and not quite able to vote when the first ACT election was held in 1989. However, I fear that at that age I might have been seduced by the Party! Party! Party! Party, the Surprise Party or the Sun-Ripened Warm Tomato Party.
The concept of self-government was once a very contentious thing in the ACT. In the referendum in 1978, 63 per cent of residents voted against it. Now there is a whole new generation of people who have grown up with the ACT having its own government and are simply not aware of the battles that were fought to get representation and self-determination for the people of the ACT over the majority of last century, right back to the foundations of this city.
Even at the very establishment of the territory, ACT residents were disenfranchised, with no representation in any parliament. Previously residents of New South Wales, they had lost their vote for the New South Wales government but had insufficient numbers to warrant a seat in the new federal parliament. Getting a representative from the ACT into the federal parliament did not happen until 1949, and even then with limited powers, only allowing the members to vote on issues that affected the territory.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video