Cook MP Cynthia Lui said Qld’s Path to Treaty legislation is the state’s best shot at reconciliation
Cook MP Cynthia Lui reckons this is the best chance the state has had to address abject socio-economic outcomes in Indigenous communities as the state advances a treaty.
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Queensland’s Path to Treaty and the Federal Voice to Parliament are the state’s best shot at reconciling relationships with First Nations peoples, a Far North MP has said.
The state was shoved a yard closer to the elusive but perpetual goal of reconciliation last week when the Labor Government introduced its Path to Treaty legislation in parliament.
Cook MP Cynthia Lui said this was the platform from which the horrendous disparity in socio-economic outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, such as those in health and incarceration, can begin to be properly fixed.
“I don’t think you’ll get any higher platform than that to push the notion of reconciliation for everyone,” Ms Lui said.
“Every year we come together and talk about reconciliation and say ‘we’re all going to play our part’, but do we really?
“I want (people) 100 years from now having a conversation about how great things have become … the better outcomes that happened because of the conversation started here.
“We haven’t improved outcomes yet … you’ve got to ask where have we gone wrong, because for some reason we’re still seeing the worst social outcomes.”
The Queensland Government’s Path to Treaty legislation has created a First Nations Treaty Institute, to the value of $10m per year, which is designed to support Indigenous people through treaty negotiations.
It also empowers a truth-telling inquiry that will hold similar powers to regular government inquiries.
Ms Lui said those functions would allow Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in her electorate to work closely with government in the treaty process.
“It’s important as a society for us to have a better understanding of the past,” she said.
“The way I see it, as an Indigenous person, is we’ve always had two very different histories (in Queensland).
“The opportunity for healing that will come out as part of the inquiry will give everybody an opportunity to share their experiences … it’s about starting a new journey that will right the wrongs of the past … and set a new agenda for the future.
“I cannot recall another time in my life where we’ve had this opportunity.”
Ms Lui said there was not yet enough detail available to predict how life could change practically for Far North residents after a potential treaty was crystallised.
“The practical stuff, in my view … it’s about coming down to community and working with (them),” she said.
“The only difference you’ll see is the outcomes will be different.”
The Path to Treaty will also push for sections of the law deemed to discriminate against Indigenous peoples to be amended or removed, but Ms Lui said she was not aware of legislation requiring immediate change.
“If you compare past policies and legislation (with the present), you’ll see there’s a vast difference,” she said.
“(It’s) a bold step to acknowledge we made decisions in the past that weren’t the right decision for First Nations people, and what we’re saying now is we can do better.”
Ms Lui’s comments come after the yes campaign for the Voice to Parliament launched last week, seeking to enshrine an Indigenous advisory body to the federal parliament in the constitution.
But the campaign is already hitting snags with several parties and prominent politicians campaigning against the motion and the biggest potential opposition, the federal and state Liberal parties, yet to reveal their stance but consistently calling for “more detail”.
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Originally published as Cook MP Cynthia Lui said Qld’s Path to Treaty legislation is the state’s best shot at reconciliation
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