Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to talk today about two important days. One, the National Close the Gap Day, is today and relates to my role as shadow minister for Indigenous affairs, and the second is National Harmony Day, which is tomorrow. Events will take place here in Canberra in Parliament House but also around the country.

Harmony Day is on 21 March, which is also the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. It provides an opportunity to celebrate and recognise the benefits that cultural diversity brings to our country. Since World War II, 7.2 million people have migrated to Australia. We identify about 300 ancestries, and about 45 per cent of Australians were born overseas or have a parent who was born overseas. We speak about 300 languages. Within 10 years of people coming to Australia, it is likely that 85 per cent of them will become Australian citizens.

Since 1999, more than 55,000 Harmony Day events have been staged around the country. Last Saturday, I attended one in my electorate. I congratulate Shan-Ju Lin, the President of the World Harmony Society, for putting on the event in Springfield, in Ipswich, where I was joined by Bernie Ripoll, the member for Oxley; the Mayor of Ipswich, Paul Pisasale; and Senator Claire Moore. It is a wonderful occasion each year and I run a mobile office each time it takes place. There were Japanese sword performances. We saw Maori-Anglican Church guitar performances and kung-fu performances. We saw the Middle Eastern dance and drum group from the Ipswich Multicultural Projects, Polynesian dance by St Augustine's College and a whole host of other events. One of the most moving aspects was the national anthem being sung in an Indigenous language by the Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts. I congratulate the World Harmony Society on their efforts.

Ipswich is changing. It is becoming more multicultural. Gone are the days when it was represented by Pauline Hanson, the former member for Oxley, when there was division and disharmony. These days, Ipswich is a vibrant centre for multicultural growth, and I warmly welcome people from all over the world coming to our wonderful city.

I wish to also speak in relation to National Close the Gap Day, which is taking place today. There will be about 1,200 events around the country and about 150,000 people will publicly demonstrate their commitment to closing the gap, to end Indigenous disadvantage in their workplaces, schools and communities. Here in Canberra, Indigenous Allied Health Australia will reaffirm the commitment to closing the gap in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing. Only two per cent of the total workforce involved in allied health services are from an Indigenous background. That is quite a tragic situation in the context of what we see. We have about 120,000 practising allied health professionals in this country, delivering an estimated 200 million allied health services around the country annually—and only two per cent of those services are delivered by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. So we need to do more.

Recently, I attended Kambu Medical Centre in Ipswich. It is one of the biggest community controlled centres in the country and it is located in my electorate, in the heart of the Ipswich CBD. I recently saw the benefit of a wraparound service provided to young mums, young dads and older Australians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, by this wonderful centre. I commend them on the work they do.

But, once again, today we reaffirm the commitment required of both sides of politics. Our side is committed; to us, the government remains uncommitted to the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan, a 10-year health plan launched in the middle of last year. The government should take up that health plan and undertake its implementation. They should also commit themselves to the national partnership on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. They have not done so. Sadly, we will see Indigenous health disadvantaged in this country if they do not.

I also call on them to commit themselves to improving early childhood development by reaffirming at the middle of this year their commitment to the national partnership. If you cannot get your kids to school and they cannot be taught in the early childhood context by teachers with the educational resources and funding required, then we will not get good outcomes and we will not close the gap in this country. So, the government has a big responsibility. They need to change their perspective, commitment, and determination to fund these wonderful programs.