Burnett and Bundaberg MPs address Parliament on South Sea Islander

Both sides of government have supported a motion in Parliament to acknowledge the historic brutality of blackbirding in Qld, with a QLD MP calling for Australians to ‘stand together against cruelty’. See the special report.

Labor and LNP parliamentarians have unanimously supported a motion to recognise Australian South Sea Islanders after hearing some undertakings made 22 years ago by then premier Peter Beattie were never fulfilled.

Burnett LNP MP Stephen Bennett spoke in support of the motion, which was presented by Mirani One Nation MP Steve Andrew, aiming to recognise the past cruelty of Australian South Sea Islanders.

Both sides of government unanimously moved a motion in Parliament on Wednesday to further acknowledge the historic brutality of blackbirding in Qld, with Burnett MP Stephen Bennett calling for more action to support vulnerable farm workers and the South Sea Islander community.

Mr Bennett further made an emotional plea to acknowledge the historic brutality of “blackbirding” in the Bundaberg region and called for more action to support vulnerable farm workers and the South Sea Islander community.

The discussion in Parliament came after the Bundaberg NewsMail ran a series of articles on alleged modern day slavery by a labour hire firm uncovered by businesswoman and human rights advocate, Amanda Slade.

“One hundred and fifty years ago, South Sea Islanders were coerced, tricked and kidnapped before being brought to the shores of the Burnett River,” Mr Bennett said.

“They were sold in the slave trade market to build our sugar industry.

“While some came willingly, many did not.

“Of the 62,000 Islanders who were brought here, 16,000 died.

“That’s a mortality rate of around 25 per cent.

“Sadly, the records for the Islanders who were transported to our coast were destroyed.”

Mr Bennett said he had hoped to never see the horrific practice of blackbirding in the Burnett electorate or anywhere in the world.

“Despite our terrible past, it’s recently been revealed that several South Sea Islanders have been subjected to ‘slave-like’ treatment once again here in the Burnett,” he said.

“We cannot let history repeated itself.

“We must stand together against cruelty and show some humanity.

“I’m calling on all levels of government to not only acknowledge past wrongs against South Sea Islanders, but to pledge to do more to protect the financial, physical and mental wellbeing of vulnerable backpackers, seasonal farm workers and our South Sea Islander community.”

The motion comes after the Bundaberg NewsMail ran a series of exclusive stories on alleged modern day slavery by a labour hire firm uncovered by businesswoman and human rights advocate, Amanda Slade.

Bundaberg Labor MP Tom Smith said while he did not support the motion, he would support amendments to it.

“This is a unique opportunity to speak about a matter that is ingrained in our history but not always at the forefront of our minds in the present and as we move towards the future,” Mr Smith said.

“In saying that, I will not be supporting the motion; I will be supporting the amendment to the motion.

“There are approximately 6800 people with Australian South Sea Islander heritage in Queensland.

“We know that over 50,000 people, predominantly men, came from some 80 Pacific islands and that the majority were kidnapped. They were blackbirded or deceived into coming.

“On 7 September 2000, then premier Peter Beattie, with opposition leader Rob Borbidge and Speaker Ray Hollis, signed the Queensland government recognition statement, which recognises Australian South Sea Islanders as a distinct cultural group.

“They called it indentured labour, but it is not indentured labour if you are asking someone to sign a contract when they do not understand what they are signing or do not speak the language in which that contract is written.

“We know that blackbirding, even though it might have had a contract attached to it, should rightly be called slavery.”

Mr Smith told of his own personal experiences trying to teach his former students about South Sea Islander history in Australia, finding they knew little about their past.

“In my former role as a teacher I taught in Maryborough,” he said.

“I took my school students to the cemetery and said to them that I wanted them to find the graves of South Sea Islanders. They could not find them.

“Whilst Europeans have tombstones, the graves of our South Sea Islanders are not marked. There is no trace of their name, history, heritage or culture, just a lot number.”