MOTIONS › Senate Chamber: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flags
Senator McCARTHY (Northern Territory—Deputy Opposition Whip in the Senate) (15:52): I seek leave to speak for one minute. Leave not granted. Honourable senators interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Order! I'm going to ask people to take a breath at the moment. I understand they're matters people feel deeply about. I'm in the chair. I was asked for leave. Leave was not granted. Senator Watt: A point of order, Mr President: I ask the government to reconsider. This is NAIDOC Week. To deny a First Nations senator leave to speak for one minute on this motion I think is something this government will regret. The PRESIDENT: Senator Watt, that's not a point of order. I'm going to put—Senator Ruston? Senator Ruston: On this occasion we are happy to grant Senator McCarthy leave to make a one-minute statement, but I would draw to your attention that it wouldn't normally be the practice, given that she is the mover of the motion. But in this situation— An opposition senator interjecting— Senator Ruston: It says it's in the names of Senator McCarthy and Senator Dodson. However, Senator McCarthy, you have leave to speak. The PRESIDENT: I'm going to put the practice here. Firstly, Senator Urquhart, the motion is in the name of Senators McCarthy, Thorpe and Dodson, and, while it is not in the standing orders, on this occasion the government has granted leave. Established practice has been, and I understand it has been reflected on both major parties and across the chamber, that statements are made by leave in response to a motion being moved and that movers do not make a statement. The government has granted leave, but I think it is fair for those listening or watching that that established practice be explained. Senator McCarthy. Senator McCARTHY: I point out that established practice, in terms of the Australian flag, began in 1992 by a unanimous vote of the Senate, which recognised the importance of supporting a national flag. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags are also national flags. I appeal to the Senate: when we fly the flags out the front, as we are doing this week, we have them on display for the whole of the country in NAIDOC Week, and they are an opportunity to show that we can unite our country. This is a time when we can show the best of the Senate, when we can say that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags, which we have seen through a recent Senate inquiry, are recognised as national flags. There are senators on the government benches who sat with me on that inquiry. So I urge the Senate to support this motion to have the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags fly in the Senate.