Page 303 - Week 01 - Thursday, 13 February 2020
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for Chinese people right around the world. Here in the ACT we have a wonderful Chinese community that is very well established and contributes so much to our wonderful city.
As we would all be aware, China is going through a very difficult time with management of the coronavirus. The virus is deadly and extremely infectious, and the Chinese government has gone to extraordinary lengths to try to manage the situation. The commonwealth government has also made some tough decisions in the national interest of Australia. These decisions do have a big impact on this city, particularly on our universities and numerous other sectors of our economy and the community at large. I very much feel for all the students of ANU and UC who have been unable to travel to Canberra because of the bans in place. I certainly hope that these bans are lifted as soon as possible.
We also know that there is a young Canberra girl, just 18 months old, who is in Hubei province right now. She is in the loving care of her grandparents, but her parents are here in the ACT. It is, of course, a very distressing time. After chatting with the foreign minister’s office today I know that it is a very complex situation. We have an amalgamation of the Australian travel rules, the strict quarantine rules that are in place in Hubei province and in China at large, and the fact that she is a minor. It makes for a very complex and difficult situation, but my thoughts are very much with Chloe and her family. I am appreciative of her family in China who, I understand, are giving her much loving care.
I want to reiterate my support for the Chinese community here. I hope that members are not stigmatised, and I hope that they are feeling loved by the Canberra population. We are blessed to have a wonderful multicultural city, and Chinese Australians are a significant part of the fabric of our city. In standing up tonight I again want to thank the Chinese community and to let them know that the Canberra Liberals are with them.
Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders—national apology
MR RATTENBURY (Kurrajong) (5.10): Today, in beginning my remarks, I would also like to acknowledge the land on which we meet and pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging, because today marks the twelfth anniversary of the national apology to the stolen generations.
This gives us cause to reflect on Australia’s dark history regarding first nations people. In Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s apology in 2008, he acknowledged that the forced removal of first nations children from their parents, their culture and their community was deliberate and calculated policy. This strategy was to deal with what was referred to as the problem of the Aboriginal population.
The national apology was a symbolic step in recognising one aspect of the traumas of colonisation and racism. The Greens and I acknowledged that many first nations communities across Australia, including here in the ACT, do experience and have experienced inter-generational trauma. The disadvantages faced today in first nations communities are results of both historic trauma and new instances of trauma, which lead to a vicious cycle.
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