Hon TE URUROA FLAVELL (Leader—Māori Party:

Tuesday 21 October 2014; 2.30pm

The Passing of Gough Whitlam

The Māori Party stands, along with our colleagues in the House, to acknowledge the passing of Gough Whitlam.

In particular, I refer to one of the elements that has already been raised by colleagues, and that is around the reaching out to the indigenous people of Australia. There is a particular photograph from 1975 of Gough Whitlam passing soil to the traditional landowner from the Northern Territory, a Gurindji man named Vincent Lingiari. I have a photo here of him—a fine man—and it was seen as a defining image of the Whitlam era.

Mr Lingiari was one of four signatories to the petition to the Governor-General in 1967. That petition argued that: “morally the land is ours and should be returned to us.” Mr Whitlam, in a time when it was considered controversial, paved the way for later reform through his early recognition of Aboriginal land rights, and in that symbolic action of passing the soil he sent a message to the world that indigenous Australians share the same nation and the same hopes of those who arrived later from other lands.

In 1974 the Australian Cabinet accepted in principle the Woodward Royal Commission on Aboriginal land rights in the Northern Territory, which later led to the introduction of Land Rights Act of 1976. We think of the bold actions of Gough Whitlam today, and that symbolic land hand-back ceremony is part of his legacy and also a challenge for future administrations.

Such a legacy can inspire hope around the world that politicians can be open to working with indigenous peoples to help set an agenda for change. We recognise his passing and express our sympathies to his family and to the peoples of Australia.

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