Mr ALBANESE (Grayndler—Prime Minister) (12:03): by leave—I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet. I pay my respect to elders past, present and emerging, and I recommit on behalf of the government that I lead to the implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full. I particularly welcome the members of the stolen generation who are joining us here this morning, having been at the anniversary breakfast in the Great Hall earlier on. The traditional owners of Broome, the Yawuru, Man-gala. It is one of six seasons that they divide the year into, a time of heavy rain and strong winds. In Kakadu, another land of six seasons, the Bininj and Mungguy know it as Gudjewg, the true wet season. That will in turn give way in a couple of months to Banggerreng, the season of knock-'em-down winds, which will come flatten the speargrass. To the Noongar around Perth, it is the second summer of Bunuru, while to the Wurundjeri in Melbourne, it is Iuk, the season of eels. Across this continent—in the tropics, on the coast, on the islands and in the deep desert, in the mallee and the bush valleys—it is mapped out in a shifting mosaic of human knowledge. Major seasons and a supporting cast of minor seasons, all in tune with the specific language of the land and sky. Languages built over millennia and spelt out in flowers and fire, in the shifting of the wind or the vanishing of the rain, in the behaviour of animals and the movement of the stars. More than 60,000 years of wisdom from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is all around us, if we care to listen. We reflect on wisdom today. We reflect on generosity, and on the power of opening our ears and, yes, opening our hearts. As we mark the 15th anniversary of the Apology to the Stolen Generations today, we consider how it guides us as we seek solutions for the challenges of the present, and find ways to shape a better future. Delivering the apology took conviction, decency and humanity. It took courage to hear it. On this day 15 years ago, members of the stolen generations came to this parliament, which for so long had cast its shadow as the pinnacle of a system that had failed them. Historically, governments of all persuasions have failed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Yet those members of the stolen generations came here with such grace. So much had been taken from them, but their hearts had so much to give. I say to them: your courage showed us that when we're brave enough to acknowledge failure, we can find the strength to take the next step forward together. The apology was the first act on the first parliamentary sitting day of the Rudd Labor government. As Leader of the House on that day, it was certainly my proudest moment in this chamber. And from Prime Minister Rudd we heard the words that reverberated across Australia: 'I am sorry on behalf of our nation.' Contrary to the doomsayers, it was a positive moment for the nation. A moment of unity. A moment on the road to healing and unburdening. And for everyone who had put themselves through the ordeal of reliving their childhood—and I thank those men and women who spoke to me this morning about their experience—this was confirmation that their voices had, at last, been heard. Like Prime Minister Keating before him, Prime Minister Rudd understood that until a nation acknowledges the full truth of its history it remains burdened by its unspoken weight. In acknowledging the past, Prime Minister Rudd said we were 'laying claim to a future that embraces all Australians'. All Australians. Truth can be hard—for those speaking it, for those listening—but it is what ultimately lets us move forward as one. As Mick Dodson said about the process that culminated in the apology: 'I know of no Indigenous person who told their story to the inquiry who wanted non-Indigenous Australians to feel guilty—they just wanted people to know the truth.'And to know the truth, we had to open ourselves to those voices. It's easy to say the apology didn't fix everything. It's true—it didn't. But what single thing can? What moment can? There is no step that can, on its own, get us to our destination. But we keep taking steps. And we keep walking. One of the apology's great achievements was to keep alive the faith in decency and the hope for reconciliation that illuminate the Uluru Statement from the Heart. The apology could never be the end of the story, but the close of a chapter—and the beginning of a better one. Not everyone supported the apology 15 years ago, though some have since expressed their regret. There is a long way to go. Just how far is spelt out each year in the Closing the gap report. As of next year, the report will be issued when it was intended—in conjunction with the apology anniversary. But, as we saw when the government tabled the last report a few months ago, the gaps not only persist—some are getting bigger. The report lays out forensically one lopsided statistic after another in health, education, incarceration rates and—especially damning—life expectancy. These aren't gaps; they're chasms. It is clear that not enough support has been directed towards organisations to deliver for communities. It is clear that we have leapt too swiftly from a climate of forceful intervention to simply telling communities, 'You're on your own.' We are seeing this in Alice Springs—and in so many communities beyond. I went to Alice to listen, to hear from the people on the ground. I wanted to hear from the women, whose voices have so often not been heard. Last week, this government and the Northern Territory government announced a landmark package for Central Australia to improve community safety, tackle alcohol related harm and provide more opportunities, particularly for young people. To address the past decade's decline in investment and services, we will invest in a plan for: Improved community safety and cohesion; Job creation; Investing in families; Improving school attendance and completion through caring for culture and country; and Preventing and addressing the issues caused by foetal alcohol spectrum disorders. These decisions are based upon listening to the community. What is called for is nothing less than a renewed national commitment to genuine partnership between governments and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The distinction between well-intentioned government action for Indigenous communities and action with Indigenous communities is a real one. As Tom Calma put it recently: 'Policies are too often made for First Nations people, rather than with us.' Today, as an important step in that renewal, I present our implementation plan—in conjunction with the implementation plan from the Coalition of Peaks. It is a concrete demonstration of how we will advance real-world solutions that improve the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. As well as reaffirming closing the gap as a top priority for my government, our plan reflects our unwavering commitment to working in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It is about action, action that gives purpose and direction to our efforts to transform government, and enables the full participation and self-determination of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in our national life. This plan also accelerates specific actions on the national agreement's four priority reforms to transform the relationship between governments and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, communities and organisations. The implementation plan sets out a plan for improving essential services in discrete communities and households outside town boundaries. New measures in the 2023 implementation plan include: $150 million over four years for the National Water Grid Fund to support First Nations water infrastructure and provide safe and reliable water for remote and regional Indigenous communities. A $111.7 million Commonwealth contribution to a new one-year partnership with the Northern Territory government to accelerate building of new remote housing. $11.8 million over two years for the national strategy for food security in remote First Nations communities. Continued funding of $68.6 million over two years for family violence prevention and legal service providers. $21.9 million over five years for up to seven place based, trauma aware and culturally responsive healing programs for those impacted by family violence or at risk of engagement with child protection systems. $38.4 million over four years to boost on-country education for remote First Nations students. This includes greater access to junior rangers and more choice for families of culturally appropriate distance learning. $21.6 million to support quality boarding for rural and remote students for an additional year. These measures will be designed and delivered in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. While we will have more to say in the budget in May, I would like to express my gratitude to Pat Turner and the Coalition of Peaks in working together with us to develop and deliver tangible, practical and specific actions. It will be a long time before we can say we've done enough. But we have to do this work—together—day after day, week after week. On 26 May, it will be six years since the Uluru Statement from the Heart was delivered after the First Nations National Constitutional Convention. There has been no haste, no shortcuts. This is the culmination of years of discussion, consultation and hard work by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, as well as others, including people in this place. And what shines through most brightly is the desire to bring us all closer together as a people reconciled—and our great nation made greater. The Voice won't be a funding body. It won't run programs. It won't have a power of veto. It will be about recognition of the continent's first people in the nation's birth certificate, and it will be about consultation. And because of it, governments will make better decisions, coordinated and without duplication, leading to better outcomes. Recognition is the 'what'. The Voice is the 'how'. This isn't about politics. This isn't about politicians. This is about people. People striving to make themselves heard across our great nation—in the regions and beyond in the remotest corners of our vast continent. It is not a radical change, but it is a change for the better—for all of us. I am optimistic about the success of the referendum because I am optimistic that Australians will support this embrace of truth, justice, decency and respect. When I think of the 1967 referendum and the apology, two great steps forward that we have taken together as a nation, I look to friends and colleagues who embody those moments. I look to my dear friend Minister Burney, who was a young child when it was decided her people were worth counting as Australians—a vote where Australians were offered the choice to right a wrong, and they seized it. And I look to Senator Patrick Dodson. As a boy in Katherine, he hid in the long grass when the welfare officers and the police came to take his mates away. Think about that. What a terrifying moment for a child. What a formative moment in a life. He's seen some of our nation's story play out before his eyes. And yet Senator Dodson looks back over our modern history and reminds me that amid the wrongs, there was also such kindness. And that is the spirit of generosity that he brings to his task as the Special Envoy for Reconciliation and Implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart—a very big hearted Australian spirit. In 1967, 90 per cent of Australians voted to remove a harmful, discriminatory relic. In 2023, our generation can go one better. Instead of removing a provision that no longer speaks for who we are, we can make a positive change that speaks for the future we seek to build together. This can be a moment of national unity—an extraordinary opportunity for every Australian to be counted and be heard, to own this change and be proud of it and to truly live the spirit of the fair go. We are a nation of goodwill and good heart. I believe there is no challenge that is beyond us. Many Aboriginal people across the country celebrate the rising of the Morning star, its light ushering in a new phase of life for the oncoming generation. It is a transformative time of song and celebration, marking joy in the ongoing survival of their peoples. The people of Australia, through the invitation embodied in the Uluru statement, have been asked to travel on this journey. We have a chance to add a bright new season to the calendar and a future that embraces all of us. I present a copy of my ministerial statement, the Commonwealth Closing the Gap Implementation Plan 2023 and the Coalition of Peaks Closing the Gap Implementation Plan 2023.