WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.360
<v Chair>Good evening. A couple of housekeeping matters. For the sake of good manners, I hope that

2
00:00:06.360 --> 00:00:11.480
<v Chair>your mobile phones are off. And we have a security problem. This is not a joke. One

3
00:00:11.480 --> 00:00:18.160
<v Chair>of our panel has requested that no photographs be taken, apart from a couple of official

4
00:00:18.160 --> 00:00:23.220
<v Chair>shots, which we'll carefully exclude. Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like you to welcome to

5
00:00:23.220 --> 00:00:29.760
<v Chair>the stage, Kaurna Elder Josie Argus, to give a traditional welcome to country.

6
00:00:39.400 --> 00:00:41.400
<v Speaker 2>Gee, I think I'll go home.

7
00:01:12.640 --> 00:01:16.680
<v Speaker 2>Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the Kaurna elders and the Kaurna people, I'd like to

8
00:01:16.680 --> 00:01:20.700
<v Speaker 2>welcome you here tonight, and to know that we are on Kaurna land, and it's important

9
00:01:20.700 --> 00:01:22.320
<v Speaker 2>for us to recognise this.

10
00:01:22.760 --> 00:01:23.200
<v Speaker 2>Let's begin.

11
00:01:23.200 --> 00:01:27.120
<v Speaker 2>Let's not dwell on the bad things of the past, but let's not forget the past. Let's

12
00:01:27.120 --> 00:01:32.600
<v Speaker 2>heal the wounds. Now, let us as together, Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, walk

13
00:01:32.600 --> 00:01:34.920
<v Speaker 2>together. Let's walk together in harmony.

14
00:01:36.440 --> 00:01:39.600
<v Speaker 2>I'm sorry I have to rush, but I'm going to a play, so...

15
00:01:47.480 --> 00:01:52.460
<v Speaker 2>So, if anybody's free tomorrow night, we've got a program up at Tandanya, and it's called

16
00:01:52.460 --> 00:01:53.060
<v Speaker 2>Wicked Sisters.

17
00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:57.380
<v Speaker 2>And it's from the Port Youth Girls, who I'm very much affiliated with. But I just want

18
00:01:57.380 --> 00:02:01.360
<v Speaker 2>to say thank you for inviting me here tonight, and you're in for a special occasion. When

19
00:02:01.360 --> 00:02:05.080
<v Speaker 2>you hear Lowitja speak, I'm sorry I'm not going to be here to hear her, but she's very

20
00:02:05.080 --> 00:02:09.480
<v Speaker 2>good. So, you will hear her, and you will appreciate her. So, thank you for inviting

21
00:02:09.480 --> 00:02:11.240
<v Speaker 2>me, and have a good night. Thank you.

22
00:02:11.400 --> 00:02:11.840
<v Speaker 2>Thank you.

23
00:02:25.140 --> 00:02:29.860
<v Chair>It seems about a minute ago that it was my great honour

24
00:02:29.860 --> 00:02:34.560
<v Chair>to introduce the first guest at the first Adelaide Festival of Ideas.

25
00:02:35.020 --> 00:02:36.780
<v Chair>Her name was Hanana Chowari,

26
00:02:37.620 --> 00:02:40.900
<v Chair>and of course she's one of the heroic spokespeople

27
00:02:40.900 --> 00:02:42.640
<v Chair>for the Palestinian people,

28
00:02:43.440 --> 00:02:45.000
<v Chair>and it was a very memorable night.

29
00:02:45.660 --> 00:02:48.180
<v Chair>In a few moments, you'll be meeting a woman

30
00:02:48.180 --> 00:02:52.660
<v Chair>equally heroic in her own way and equally remarkable.

31
00:02:53.420 --> 00:02:56.680
<v Chair>I first met this woman a little over ten years ago

32
00:02:56.680 --> 00:03:01.300
<v Chair>when I was invited to address an Indigenous conference.

33
00:03:02.280 --> 00:03:04.320
<v Chair>And when I arrived, it was in Brisbane,

34
00:03:04.440 --> 00:03:06.980
<v Chair>I suddenly realised that any fantasies

35
00:03:06.980 --> 00:03:10.820
<v Chair>about Indigenous politics being monolithic were ill-founded.

36
00:03:11.240 --> 00:03:14.520
<v Chair>It was acrimonious, fractured, factional,

37
00:03:15.200 --> 00:03:17.140
<v Chair>almost as bad as a Labour Party conference.

38
00:03:18.540 --> 00:03:22.420
<v Chair>But there was an eye in the storm, or rather two eyes,

39
00:03:22.420 --> 00:03:26.440
<v Chair>gentle eyes, wise eyes, kind eyes, laughing eyes,

40
00:03:26.680 --> 00:03:29.600
<v Chair>and they belonged to Lowitcher O'Donoghue.

41
00:03:30.360 --> 00:03:33.340
<v Chair>And I watched with fascination the way she settled everyone down,

42
00:03:33.860 --> 00:03:37.480
<v Chair>the way her goodwill, her charity, her decency,

43
00:03:37.520 --> 00:03:42.220
<v Chair>and her immense common sense just made order out of that chaos.

44
00:03:42.880 --> 00:03:45.740
<v Chair>Then we started working together.

45
00:03:46.560 --> 00:03:48.560
<v Chair>I was asked to chair an organisation

46
00:03:48.560 --> 00:03:50.560
<v Chair>called the National Australia Day Council,

47
00:03:50.640 --> 00:03:51.220
<v Chair>which was approaching.

48
00:03:52.420 --> 00:03:52.880
<v Chair>It was called the National Australia Day Council.

49
00:03:53.320 --> 00:03:55.320
<v Chair>Lowitcher had been an Australian of the Year,

50
00:03:55.400 --> 00:03:56.840
<v Chair>and she was one of my board members.

51
00:03:57.200 --> 00:04:00.480
<v Chair>And the great job we had every year, which is terrific fun,

52
00:04:00.640 --> 00:04:03.000
<v Chair>was to anoint an Oz of the Year.

53
00:04:03.100 --> 00:04:05.460
<v Chair>And incidentally, I think Fiona Stanley is with us tonight.

54
00:04:05.580 --> 00:04:06.660
<v Chair>Congratulations, Fiona.

55
00:04:08.260 --> 00:04:10.260
<v Chair>So it's a very strange process.

56
00:04:10.520 --> 00:04:13.960
<v Chair>It's almost as mysterious as choosing a pope.

57
00:04:14.980 --> 00:04:18.480
<v Chair>And there's lots of black smoke before the white smoke comes out.

58
00:04:19.360 --> 00:04:21.100
<v Chair>Lowitcher tended to dominate proceedings,

59
00:04:21.380 --> 00:04:22.400
<v Chair>but we worked.

60
00:04:22.400 --> 00:04:30.120
<v Chair>worked out an idea. We said, whoever we choose, we'll have to drive Alan Jones mad. And that

61
00:04:30.120 --> 00:04:36.680
<v Chair>was our first principle, our guiding principle. Working with Lewitsch, watching her closely,

62
00:04:37.200 --> 00:04:44.860
<v Chair>learning from her, my respect grew into affection. My affection became love. This is a woman

63
00:04:44.860 --> 00:04:49.980
<v Chair>you cannot help but love. She is so extraordinary. I was talking to Keating the other day about

64
00:04:51.160 --> 00:04:58.820
<v Chair>tonight's event, and I said, why the hell didn't you anoint or appoint Lewitsch as Governor

65
00:04:58.820 --> 00:05:06.660
<v Chair>General? And he said, look, I thought I was going to lose power, and I didn't want them

66
00:05:06.660 --> 00:05:11.620
<v Chair>to tear her apart. Well, two things arise from that. First of all, I don't think they

67
00:05:11.620 --> 00:05:15.940
<v Chair>would have been capable of it. Lewitsch knows how to look after herself while she's looking

68
00:05:15.940 --> 00:05:19.960
<v Chair>after all of us. And secondly, of course, the way she looks after herself is the way

69
00:05:19.960 --> 00:05:22.600
<v Chair>she looks after herself. The appointment that he did make turned out to be fairly good,

70
00:05:22.640 --> 00:05:27.720
<v Chair>didn't it, in Bill Dean. But of course, the woman that's going to walk on stage shortly

71
00:05:27.720 --> 00:05:31.700
<v Chair>just has to be the first President of an Australian Republic.

72
00:05:40.440 --> 00:05:45.540
<v Chair>There's a lot more to Lewitsch than Indigenous politics. This is something which I hope she

73
00:05:45.540 --> 00:05:48.060
<v Chair>deals with in the address we're about to hear.

74
00:05:51.760 --> 00:06:08.300
<v Chair>Hard one

75
00:06:14.540 --> 00:06:18.980
<v Chair>irrespective of their colour or their belief systems.

76
00:06:22.720 --> 00:06:24.080
<v Chair>I don't think...

77
00:06:24.080 --> 00:06:25.040
<v Chair>Look, I'm very privileged.

78
00:06:25.140 --> 00:06:27.800
<v Chair>I get to meet tens of thousands of the most interesting

79
00:06:28.500 --> 00:06:30.600
<v Chair>and in many ways important people on Earth.

80
00:06:30.680 --> 00:06:32.420
<v Chair>It's been a wonderful run for me.

81
00:06:32.880 --> 00:06:36.160
<v Chair>I have conversations with the best and the brightest

82
00:06:36.160 --> 00:06:37.340
<v Chair>in every sphere of activity,

83
00:06:37.540 --> 00:06:40.380
<v Chair>but a lot of them slip through the neurons and synapses

84
00:06:40.380 --> 00:06:42.160
<v Chair>and I wouldn't remember them an hour later.

85
00:06:42.780 --> 00:06:44.920
<v Chair>They pass through what's left of my consciousness

86
00:06:44.920 --> 00:06:47.540
<v Chair>like a pig through a boa constrictor.

87
00:06:48.240 --> 00:06:52.540
<v Chair>But there are a few people you meet who you never, never forget.

88
00:06:53.740 --> 00:06:55.340
<v Chair>One of them was Nelson Mandela.

89
00:06:56.600 --> 00:06:59.800
<v Chair>Another, ladies and gentlemen, was Lowitcher O'Donoghue.

90
00:07:02.680 --> 00:07:03.720
<v Chair>Thank you.

91
00:07:17.120 --> 00:07:25.760
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Thank you, Philip.

92
00:07:25.880 --> 00:07:29.360
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>I think you behaved for once, what I could hear.

93
00:07:30.800 --> 00:07:35.100
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>My address tonight is the reflections of an activist.

94
00:07:37.000 --> 00:07:40.660
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>And I'd like to, first of all, thank Josie for her welcome

95
00:07:40.660 --> 00:07:42.140
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and to acknowledge her.

96
00:07:42.160 --> 00:07:43.320
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>And to acknowledge the traditional owners

97
00:07:43.320 --> 00:07:46.720
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>on which we tonight meet on their land.

98
00:07:48.540 --> 00:07:49.840
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>So thank you, Philip.

99
00:07:50.660 --> 00:07:52.500
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>And a good evening to everyone.

100
00:07:53.260 --> 00:07:57.420
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>And to those of you who are visiting from overseas,

101
00:07:58.580 --> 00:08:00.960
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>a very warm welcome to Australia.

102
00:08:02.960 --> 00:08:06.040
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>It is a very great privilege to have been asked

103
00:08:06.040 --> 00:08:08.020
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>to open this festival.

104
00:08:08.840 --> 00:08:11.400
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>I feel humbled and flattered.

105
00:08:12.160 --> 00:08:14.680
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>That you have chosen to dedicate this festival

106
00:08:15.540 --> 00:08:16.680
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>to my life's work.

107
00:08:17.040 --> 00:08:19.240
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>And I thank you sincerely.

108
00:08:20.860 --> 00:08:25.120
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>It means a great deal to me, especially in my hometown

109
00:08:25.120 --> 00:08:28.980
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>of Adelaide and with such a wonderful event as this,

110
00:08:29.860 --> 00:08:32.460
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>our very own Festival of Ideas.

111
00:08:33.920 --> 00:08:38.740
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>What a good idea you had, Greg Mackie, when you thought

112
00:08:38.740 --> 00:08:39.900
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>up this one.

113
00:08:40.880 --> 00:08:42.140
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>And how gratifying it was.

114
00:08:42.140 --> 00:08:45.540
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>And I think it must be for you and the advisory committee

115
00:08:46.480 --> 00:08:49.160
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>to see how successful it has become.

116
00:08:50.400 --> 00:08:52.440
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Congratulations to you all.

117
00:08:59.140 --> 00:09:03.300
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>It is evident from the sellout crowd here tonight

118
00:09:04.200 --> 00:09:08.220
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>that people are thirsting for ideas, for debate,

119
00:09:09.320 --> 00:09:10.000
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and for dialogue.

120
00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:16.120
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>And I would suggest we are also hungering for that sense

121
00:09:16.120 --> 00:09:22.520
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>of community that comes from the respectful exchange of ideas.

122
00:09:24.900 --> 00:09:27.700
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>It's very nice to be reminded in the festival's dedication

123
00:09:28.960 --> 00:09:31.700
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>that my life work is indeed that.

124
00:09:32.940 --> 00:09:37.260
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Sometimes in the daily routines of fending off calls

125
00:09:37.260 --> 00:09:38.160
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>from journalists.

126
00:09:38.880 --> 00:09:39.980
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Being caught up in the daily routine of the press,

127
00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:44.340
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>being polite to politicians, flying around the country,

128
00:09:45.220 --> 00:09:49.320
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>eating airline food, and staying in motels

129
00:09:50.120 --> 00:09:51.160
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>that all look the same.

130
00:09:51.780 --> 00:09:57.200
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>I lose sight of the fact that it all has a coherent purpose.

131
00:09:59.240 --> 00:10:02.160
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>That it is my life's work.

132
00:10:02.980 --> 00:10:07.980
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>It is what I have the very great privilege of being able

133
00:10:07.980 --> 00:10:09.560
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>to devote my life to.

134
00:10:10.440 --> 00:10:14.280
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>I feel quite daunted when I look at the impressive list

135
00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:19.100
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>of speakers that you have got lined up for the next three days.

136
00:10:21.440 --> 00:10:23.220
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>I am not a public intellectual.

137
00:10:24.820 --> 00:10:28.120
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>I have never felt comfortable in the ivory towers

138
00:10:28.120 --> 00:10:28.980
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>of academia.

139
00:10:30.660 --> 00:10:35.260
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>But somehow I do feel I belong here when I read

140
00:10:35.260 --> 00:10:39.080
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>the chairperson's words about the need for social action.

141
00:10:44.220 --> 00:11:07.300
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>And one of them was one of one of one of one of one

142
00:11:07.300 --> 00:11:13.920
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>or the more shamefully about those committed by some of our contemporaries

143
00:11:13.920 --> 00:11:17.980
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and also by some of our political leaders.

144
00:11:18.760 --> 00:11:21.000
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Well, not very much anyway.

145
00:11:23.440 --> 00:11:28.160
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>What I am going to do is to reflect on a few of my experiences

146
00:11:28.160 --> 00:11:32.000
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>as a public figure and as an activist

147
00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:36.300
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and share with you in this intimate setting

148
00:11:36.300 --> 00:11:43.960
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>some of the dilemmas, frustrations and fears and hopes

149
00:11:43.960 --> 00:11:47.280
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>that my life's work has involved.

150
00:11:48.840 --> 00:11:52.880
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>It is difficult for me to air some of these issues

151
00:11:52.880 --> 00:11:56.220
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>but I feel safe here somehow.

152
00:11:56.660 --> 00:12:02.160
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>I feel that there is a kind of a coalition of the caring in place here.

153
00:12:04.520 --> 00:12:06.120
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>But this three days,

154
00:12:06.300 --> 00:12:08.700
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>this is about more than caring, isn't it?

155
00:12:09.400 --> 00:12:14.220
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>It's about generosity of spirit and intellectual honesty.

156
00:12:15.340 --> 00:12:17.260
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>It's about being receptive

157
00:12:17.260 --> 00:12:23.540
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and it's about being broad-minded in the very best sense of the word.

158
00:12:24.740 --> 00:12:28.240
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>So tonight, I want to invite you behind the scenes

159
00:12:28.240 --> 00:12:34.600
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>to consider some of the challenges and dilemmas in my public life.

160
00:12:36.300 --> 00:12:37.940
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>While in one sense personal,

161
00:12:38.980 --> 00:12:41.420
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>these dilemmas and frustrations

162
00:12:41.420 --> 00:12:46.440
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>illuminate some of the broader tensions within Australia at the moment.

163
00:12:47.120 --> 00:12:51.260
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Tensions between what we hope for and what we fear.

164
00:12:52.340 --> 00:12:56.280
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>One of the greatest dilemmas I continually face

165
00:12:56.280 --> 00:12:58.240
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>as an Aboriginal person

166
00:12:58.240 --> 00:13:01.920
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>is that I'm seen or used

167
00:13:01.920 --> 00:13:06.180
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>as being representative of all Aboriginal people.

168
00:13:07.200 --> 00:13:12.420
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>I am referred to as Lowaja O'Donoghue, Aboriginal leader.

169
00:13:13.320 --> 00:13:15.980
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Lowaja, the Aboriginal spokesperson.

170
00:13:17.440 --> 00:13:20.360
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>But identity is more complex than that.

171
00:13:21.260 --> 00:13:22.400
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>I am also a woman.

172
00:13:22.980 --> 00:13:26.860
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>A woman who had an Aboriginal mother, Lily,

173
00:13:27.560 --> 00:13:30.200
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>from the Yunkunjara lands in Central Australia.

174
00:13:30.760 --> 00:13:33.120
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>And a father who was Irish.

175
00:13:33.880 --> 00:13:35.700
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>And I have trained as a nurse.

176
00:13:36.300 --> 00:13:37.560
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>And I'm a sister.

177
00:13:37.900 --> 00:13:38.920
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>An aunt.

178
00:13:39.660 --> 00:13:40.320
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>A great aunt.

179
00:13:40.720 --> 00:13:42.020
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>And I'm a neighbour.

180
00:13:42.400 --> 00:13:43.620
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>And I'm a friend.

181
00:13:44.880 --> 00:13:46.300
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>I am a Republican.

182
00:13:47.040 --> 00:13:49.160
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>I am, along with Philip Adams,

183
00:13:49.460 --> 00:13:52.760
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>a patron of Australians for Just Refugees.

184
00:13:53.800 --> 00:13:57.940
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>How can I speak for all Indigenous Australians?

185
00:13:59.260 --> 00:14:01.220
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>One consequence of this

186
00:14:01.220 --> 00:14:03.480
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>is that my freedom to speak

187
00:14:03.480 --> 00:14:05.340
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>as an individual

188
00:14:05.340 --> 00:14:06.780
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>is denied.

189
00:14:08.200 --> 00:14:11.660
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>This is not just a personal difficulty, however.

190
00:14:13.020 --> 00:14:13.920
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>More importantly,

191
00:14:14.660 --> 00:14:17.260
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>it is indicative of a way of thinking

192
00:14:17.260 --> 00:14:20.200
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>which glosses over the complexities

193
00:14:20.200 --> 00:14:22.360
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>of people's experience

194
00:14:22.360 --> 00:14:27.320
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and sets up all sorts of false expectations

195
00:14:27.320 --> 00:14:30.740
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>of sameness and unity.

196
00:14:32.000 --> 00:14:34.980
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>So such thinking stifles debate.

197
00:14:35.340 --> 00:14:37.520
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>And inhibits the reforms

198
00:14:37.520 --> 00:14:41.740
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>which productive debate might generate.

199
00:14:43.000 --> 00:14:45.140
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Another issue I confront

200
00:14:45.140 --> 00:14:48.520
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>is being categorised as an Aboriginal person

201
00:14:48.520 --> 00:14:52.880
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>who is therefore exclusively interested

202
00:14:52.880 --> 00:14:54.540
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>in Aboriginal issues.

203
00:14:56.060 --> 00:14:58.720
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>I have much broader interests and concerns.

204
00:14:59.840 --> 00:15:00.520
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>For example,

205
00:15:01.180 --> 00:15:02.640
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>I have been passionately concerned

206
00:15:02.640 --> 00:15:05.320
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>about Australia's refugee policies.

207
00:15:05.340 --> 00:15:05.840
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>I have been a member of the Australian Government

208
00:15:05.840 --> 00:15:07.240
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>for a number of years.

209
00:15:07.480 --> 00:15:09.120
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>And I am appalled

210
00:15:09.120 --> 00:15:12.800
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>that children are detained behind razor wire.

211
00:15:13.340 --> 00:15:15.160
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>And I was horrified

212
00:15:15.160 --> 00:15:17.060
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>by the Tampa incident

213
00:15:17.060 --> 00:15:19.940
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and the government's lies about children

214
00:15:19.940 --> 00:15:21.960
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>being thrown overboard.

215
00:15:23.340 --> 00:15:25.500
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>I continue to be ashamed

216
00:15:26.340 --> 00:15:28.240
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>that we are not more welcoming

217
00:15:28.240 --> 00:15:30.180
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>of asylum seekers.

218
00:15:30.660 --> 00:15:33.440
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>And that our government is sidestepping

219
00:15:33.440 --> 00:15:35.320
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>its international human rights obligations.

220
00:15:35.340 --> 00:15:37.540
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>In this respect.

221
00:15:38.740 --> 00:15:40.820
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>And when asylum seekers,

222
00:15:41.260 --> 00:15:42.600
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>boat people,

223
00:15:42.780 --> 00:15:45.920
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>are dismissed as queue jumpers

224
00:15:45.920 --> 00:15:47.620
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>or illegals,

225
00:15:47.640 --> 00:15:50.840
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>I want to ask Prime Minister Howard

226
00:15:50.840 --> 00:15:52.660
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and Minister Ruddock,

227
00:15:52.900 --> 00:15:56.360
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>whose country do you think this is?

228
00:16:06.360 --> 00:16:08.140
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>And to remind them

229
00:16:08.140 --> 00:16:09.580
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>that my people

230
00:16:10.340 --> 00:16:11.640
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>had to deal with boat people

231
00:16:11.640 --> 00:16:13.380
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>over 200 years ago.

232
00:16:18.340 --> 00:16:20.020
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>And on the theme of fear,

233
00:16:20.180 --> 00:16:22.200
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>it is truly frightening,

234
00:16:22.340 --> 00:16:23.480
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>isn't it,

235
00:16:23.500 --> 00:16:25.320
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>that John Howard

236
00:16:25.320 --> 00:16:27.140
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>rose to an election victory

237
00:16:27.140 --> 00:16:29.380
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>by whipping up fear

238
00:16:29.380 --> 00:16:30.860
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>in the community.

239
00:16:31.600 --> 00:16:33.820
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>The fear of our borders

240
00:16:33.820 --> 00:16:34.760
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>being violated

241
00:16:34.760 --> 00:16:36.340
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>by hordes of foreigners

242
00:16:36.340 --> 00:16:38.800
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and potential terrorists.

243
00:16:40.080 --> 00:16:41.920
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Then, as a spin-off,

244
00:16:42.120 --> 00:16:43.560
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>there was the fear

245
00:16:43.560 --> 00:16:45.280
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>of a public backlash

246
00:16:45.280 --> 00:16:48.220
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>that drove the Labour Party

247
00:16:48.220 --> 00:16:51.260
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>to another electoral defeat.

248
00:16:52.660 --> 00:16:54.420
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>When you think about it,

249
00:16:54.500 --> 00:16:57.600
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>fear has been a potent driving force

250
00:16:57.600 --> 00:17:00.560
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>in politics in recent years,

251
00:17:00.700 --> 00:17:01.920
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>hasn't it?

252
00:17:02.200 --> 00:17:04.480
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>But let me return my theme

253
00:17:04.480 --> 00:17:07.140
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>of the challenges I encounter

254
00:17:07.140 --> 00:17:09.340
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>as an Aboriginal activist.

255
00:17:10.300 --> 00:17:15.240
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>One particularly difficult one

256
00:17:15.240 --> 00:17:16.600
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>is the persistence

257
00:17:17.480 --> 00:17:18.300
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>of the romantic,

258
00:17:19.260 --> 00:17:20.700
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>exotic stereotypes

259
00:17:21.480 --> 00:17:23.300
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>about Aboriginal people

260
00:17:23.300 --> 00:17:25.060
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and the refusal

261
00:17:25.060 --> 00:17:26.640
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>to see Aboriginal culture

262
00:17:27.480 --> 00:17:29.640
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>as living and changing.

263
00:17:30.580 --> 00:17:32.320
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>All too often,

264
00:17:32.400 --> 00:17:33.680
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Aboriginal culture

265
00:17:33.680 --> 00:17:36.500
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>is seen as a thing of the past,

266
00:17:37.140 --> 00:17:38.660
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>as if our culture

267
00:17:38.660 --> 00:17:39.940
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>has been caught

268
00:17:39.940 --> 00:17:41.760
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>in a time warp.

269
00:17:42.580 --> 00:17:43.700
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>For example,

270
00:17:44.400 --> 00:17:47.460
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>I am not a traditional Aboriginal woman.

271
00:17:47.940 --> 00:17:49.380
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>I am more at home

272
00:17:49.380 --> 00:17:50.300
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>in the coffee shops

273
00:17:50.300 --> 00:17:52.460
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and bookshops of the city

274
00:17:52.460 --> 00:17:55.040
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>than camping out under the stars.

275
00:17:56.320 --> 00:17:58.280
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>We are a diverse people,

276
00:17:59.040 --> 00:18:01.200
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>united by our shared heritage

277
00:18:01.200 --> 00:18:03.400
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and our identification

278
00:18:03.680 --> 00:18:04.440
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>as Aboriginal,

279
00:18:04.720 --> 00:18:06.840
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>but also divided

280
00:18:06.840 --> 00:18:08.680
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>on many things.

281
00:18:10.380 --> 00:18:12.160
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Divided by all the things

282
00:18:12.160 --> 00:18:13.200
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>which also divide

283
00:18:13.200 --> 00:18:14.340
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>the rest of Australia.

284
00:18:14.720 --> 00:18:16.380
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Things like gender,

285
00:18:16.560 --> 00:18:17.720
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>politics,

286
00:18:18.080 --> 00:18:19.100
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>religion,

287
00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:20.720
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>football

288
00:18:20.720 --> 00:18:22.660
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and camping out.

289
00:18:23.980 --> 00:18:24.700
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Actually,

290
00:18:24.740 --> 00:18:26.100
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>that reminds me

291
00:18:26.100 --> 00:18:27.440
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>of a funny story.

292
00:18:28.100 --> 00:18:30.980
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>It was the early 1990s

293
00:18:30.980 --> 00:18:33.240
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and I was chair of ATSIC

294
00:18:33.240 --> 00:18:33.660
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>at the time

295
00:18:33.680 --> 00:18:35.980
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Dame Roma Mitchell

296
00:18:35.980 --> 00:18:38.220
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and I were joint patrons

297
00:18:38.220 --> 00:18:39.980
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>of the Pidginjarra,

298
00:18:40.080 --> 00:18:41.080
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Yunkunjarra

299
00:18:41.080 --> 00:18:42.120
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and Narindjarra

300
00:18:42.120 --> 00:18:42.900
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Women's Council.

301
00:18:43.360 --> 00:18:45.460
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>And there was to be a meeting

302
00:18:45.460 --> 00:18:46.800
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>out bush

303
00:18:46.800 --> 00:18:48.520
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>beyond Uluru.

304
00:18:49.480 --> 00:18:50.820
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>For the benefit

305
00:18:50.820 --> 00:18:52.540
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>of overseas visitors here,

306
00:18:52.800 --> 00:18:54.660
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>late Dame Roma

307
00:18:54.660 --> 00:18:56.860
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>was a very distinguished

308
00:18:56.860 --> 00:18:58.420
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>South Australian,

309
00:18:58.720 --> 00:19:00.140
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>a judge

310
00:19:00.140 --> 00:19:01.940
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and at one time

311
00:19:01.940 --> 00:19:02.380
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Governor

312
00:19:02.380 --> 00:19:03.660
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>of South Australia.

313
00:19:03.660 --> 00:19:06.640
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>She was a wonderful woman.

314
00:19:07.500 --> 00:19:09.220
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>My idea was that

315
00:19:09.220 --> 00:19:10.740
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Roma and I would fly in

316
00:19:10.740 --> 00:19:11.480
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>from Alice Springs

317
00:19:11.480 --> 00:19:13.520
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>on a small plane,

318
00:19:14.200 --> 00:19:15.480
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>attend the meeting

319
00:19:15.480 --> 00:19:17.260
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and fly out to spend

320
00:19:17.260 --> 00:19:18.360
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>the night in comfort

321
00:19:18.360 --> 00:19:20.120
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>at a suitable hotel.

322
00:19:22.140 --> 00:19:23.840
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>When I put my suggestion

323
00:19:23.840 --> 00:19:24.740
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>to Dame Roma,

324
00:19:25.000 --> 00:19:26.720
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>she was Governor at the time,

325
00:19:26.820 --> 00:19:28.020
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>she explained

326
00:19:28.020 --> 00:19:29.580
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>in no uncertain terms

327
00:19:29.580 --> 00:19:31.060
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>that she'd already

328
00:19:31.060 --> 00:19:32.160
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>packed her swag

329
00:19:32.160 --> 00:19:33.640
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and fully engaged

330
00:19:33.640 --> 00:19:34.340
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>in the service.

331
00:19:34.340 --> 00:19:35.780
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>to sleep under the stars

332
00:19:35.780 --> 00:19:37.760
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and she hoped to stay

333
00:19:37.760 --> 00:19:39.080
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>for about a week.

334
00:19:41.620 --> 00:19:43.700
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>So my offer was gently

335
00:19:43.700 --> 00:19:45.560
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>but firmly declined.

336
00:19:46.980 --> 00:19:49.000
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>And I certainly wasn't interested

337
00:19:49.000 --> 00:19:50.060
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>in camping out

338
00:19:50.060 --> 00:19:51.680
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>with no bathroom.

339
00:19:52.360 --> 00:19:53.460
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>I'd been there

340
00:19:53.460 --> 00:19:54.700
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and done that

341
00:19:54.700 --> 00:19:56.020
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>in my days

342
00:19:56.020 --> 00:19:57.160
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>as a bush nurse.

343
00:19:58.000 --> 00:20:00.300
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>So much for stereotypes.

344
00:20:02.480 --> 00:20:03.620
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Stereotypes are things

345
00:20:03.620 --> 00:20:05.100
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>that are so pervasive, however,

346
00:20:05.120 --> 00:20:07.400
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and I'm sure they arise

347
00:20:07.400 --> 00:20:09.120
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>from some fundamental need

348
00:20:10.020 --> 00:20:12.580
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>we have to contain complex

349
00:20:12.580 --> 00:20:14.440
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and messy ideas

350
00:20:14.440 --> 00:20:16.280
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>in neat little boxes.

351
00:20:16.640 --> 00:20:18.660
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>They offer certainty.

352
00:20:19.680 --> 00:20:21.680
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>I think people generally

353
00:20:21.680 --> 00:20:22.920
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>feel more comfortable

354
00:20:23.620 --> 00:20:24.720
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>in the realm of fiction

355
00:20:25.620 --> 00:20:26.100
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and myth

356
00:20:26.620 --> 00:20:28.160
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>than they do confronting

357
00:20:28.160 --> 00:20:29.240
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>the contradictions

358
00:20:29.240 --> 00:20:29.960
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and complexities

359
00:20:29.960 --> 00:20:32.640
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>of human existence.

360
00:20:33.840 --> 00:20:35.900
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Let me develop my point

361
00:20:36.620 --> 00:20:37.240
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>with an example

362
00:20:37.240 --> 00:20:39.160
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>that I think highlights

363
00:20:39.160 --> 00:20:41.340
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>some of the complexities

364
00:20:41.340 --> 00:20:43.440
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>that I'm speaking of.

365
00:20:43.940 --> 00:20:46.560
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>And it is of the Sydney Olympic Games

366
00:20:46.560 --> 00:20:47.960
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>opening ceremony.

367
00:20:48.640 --> 00:20:50.140
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>I was involved

368
00:20:50.140 --> 00:20:51.940
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>in the opening ceremony officially

369
00:20:52.620 --> 00:20:55.040
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>as a host and ambassador.

370
00:20:55.800 --> 00:20:56.880
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>And truly,

371
00:20:57.620 --> 00:20:59.120
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>it was a remarkable occasion

372
00:20:59.120 --> 00:21:01.840
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and it was enormously successful.

373
00:21:01.840 --> 00:21:04.420
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>There was a feeling

374
00:21:04.420 --> 00:21:06.320
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>of intoxication in the air

375
00:21:06.320 --> 00:21:08.040
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>that indigenous

376
00:21:08.040 --> 00:21:09.840
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and non-indigenous people

377
00:21:09.840 --> 00:21:10.920
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>could come together,

378
00:21:11.860 --> 00:21:13.420
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>transcend conflicts,

379
00:21:13.740 --> 00:21:15.640
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and together make Australia

380
00:21:15.640 --> 00:21:18.680
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>a wonderful and unique place,

381
00:21:18.840 --> 00:21:21.020
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>a reconciled nation.

382
00:21:21.880 --> 00:21:23.160
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>But I think

383
00:21:23.160 --> 00:21:24.740
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>what we were offered

384
00:21:24.740 --> 00:21:25.820
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>in the opening ceremony

385
00:21:25.820 --> 00:21:27.720
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>was an opportunity

386
00:21:27.720 --> 00:21:30.320
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>to engage in the fiction

387
00:21:30.320 --> 00:21:31.820
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>or the fact

388
00:21:31.820 --> 00:21:32.080
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and fantasy

389
00:21:32.820 --> 00:21:34.040
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>that reconciliation

390
00:21:34.820 --> 00:21:35.920
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and acceptance

391
00:21:35.920 --> 00:21:37.540
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>of all nationalities

392
00:21:37.540 --> 00:21:39.260
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>had been achieved

393
00:21:39.820 --> 00:21:40.660
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>in Australia.

394
00:21:41.600 --> 00:21:44.260
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>The ceremony symbolised

395
00:21:44.260 --> 00:21:45.440
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>the coming together

396
00:21:45.440 --> 00:21:47.240
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and the integrating

397
00:21:47.240 --> 00:21:48.360
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>of an ancient

398
00:21:48.360 --> 00:21:49.840
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and a rich past

399
00:21:50.820 --> 00:21:52.100
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>with an innocent hope

400
00:21:52.820 --> 00:21:54.260
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>for a positive future.

401
00:21:55.240 --> 00:21:57.500
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Remember the traditional dancing

402
00:21:57.500 --> 00:21:59.380
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and the image

403
00:21:59.380 --> 00:22:00.740
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>of the Aboriginal elder

404
00:22:00.740 --> 00:22:04.460
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>taking the little blonde

405
00:22:04.460 --> 00:22:05.760
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Nikki Webster,

406
00:22:06.740 --> 00:22:08.080
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>now of course a superstar,

407
00:22:08.520 --> 00:22:09.960
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>by the hand

408
00:22:10.740 --> 00:22:11.900
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>as they walked forward

409
00:22:12.740 --> 00:22:13.800
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>into the future together.

410
00:22:14.980 --> 00:22:16.840
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>And who would ever forget,

411
00:22:17.740 --> 00:22:18.380
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>for example,

412
00:22:18.540 --> 00:22:20.780
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>the spectacle of Cathy Freeman

413
00:22:21.740 --> 00:22:24.600
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>standing with the torch in her hand

414
00:22:24.600 --> 00:22:27.260
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>in front of a cascade of water

415
00:22:27.260 --> 00:22:29.200
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and slowly descending

416
00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:31.360
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>into a circle of flames.

417
00:22:32.340 --> 00:22:34.660
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>People were understandably moved,

418
00:22:34.880 --> 00:22:37.180
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>their spirits buoyed

419
00:22:37.180 --> 00:22:39.160
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>by the heady emotion of it all.

420
00:22:39.980 --> 00:22:42.060
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Australia was presenting itself

421
00:22:42.060 --> 00:22:44.080
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>as an example

422
00:22:44.080 --> 00:22:45.260
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>of an inclusive,

423
00:22:46.200 --> 00:22:46.580
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>progressive

424
00:22:47.200 --> 00:22:48.780
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and exciting nation.

425
00:22:50.180 --> 00:22:51.820
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>But the spectacle

426
00:22:51.820 --> 00:22:53.520
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>avoided the hard work

427
00:22:54.200 --> 00:22:56.200
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>of looking at what would need to occur

428
00:22:56.200 --> 00:22:58.040
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>in order to achieve

429
00:22:58.040 --> 00:23:00.720
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>this state of mutual recognition

430
00:23:00.720 --> 00:23:02.960
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and blissful equality.

431
00:23:04.100 --> 00:23:07.020
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>It seems contradictory on one hand

432
00:23:07.020 --> 00:23:10.340
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>to celebrate such an inclusive vision

433
00:23:10.340 --> 00:23:12.300
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and on the other hand

434
00:23:12.300 --> 00:23:14.800
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>to operate in ways that continue

435
00:23:14.800 --> 00:23:18.060
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>to marginalise Indigenous people.

436
00:23:19.180 --> 00:23:22.160
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Ways which institutionalise disadvantage

437
00:23:23.040 --> 00:23:25.080
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>through the paternalistic policies

438
00:23:25.080 --> 00:23:27.660
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and ways that entrench

439
00:23:27.660 --> 00:23:28.700
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>welfare dependency

440
00:23:29.660 --> 00:23:31.780
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and thwart any real progress

441
00:23:31.780 --> 00:23:34.080
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>towards self-determination.

442
00:23:35.080 --> 00:23:37.520
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Where smoke and mirrors are used,

443
00:23:37.780 --> 00:23:39.040
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>for example,

444
00:23:39.660 --> 00:23:41.940
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>to conceal the real levels

445
00:23:41.940 --> 00:23:43.700
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>of unemployment behind work

446
00:23:43.700 --> 00:23:45.080
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>for the Dole schemes.

447
00:23:45.940 --> 00:23:48.060
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>We still have a situation

448
00:23:48.660 --> 00:23:50.440
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>where Indigenous Australians

449
00:23:50.440 --> 00:23:52.800
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>have third world status.

450
00:23:53.460 --> 00:23:56.380
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Where our children are dying as babies

451
00:23:56.380 --> 00:23:57.500
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>at the same rate

452
00:23:57.500 --> 00:24:00.760
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>as in the poorest countries in the world.

453
00:24:01.400 --> 00:24:04.140
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>And where Indigenous life expectancy

454
00:24:04.140 --> 00:24:06.400
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>is 20 years lower

455
00:24:06.400 --> 00:24:08.940
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>than for the non-Indigenous population.

456
00:24:10.160 --> 00:24:12.140
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>We still have a situation

457
00:24:12.140 --> 00:24:14.320
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>where most Aboriginal people

458
00:24:14.320 --> 00:24:17.220
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>live below the poverty line.

459
00:24:17.860 --> 00:24:20.720
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Where 60% of Australian youth

460
00:24:20.720 --> 00:24:22.760
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>in care or custody

461
00:24:22.760 --> 00:24:24.940
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>or other forms of detention

462
00:24:24.940 --> 00:24:26.820
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>will be Aboriginal.

463
00:24:27.700 --> 00:24:31.900
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Where 20% of adult male prisoners

464
00:24:31.900 --> 00:24:35.120
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and 80% of female prisoners

465
00:24:35.120 --> 00:24:36.740
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>are Aboriginal.

466
00:24:37.660 --> 00:24:39.780
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>This is a society

467
00:24:39.780 --> 00:24:43.440
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>where we make up only 2%

468
00:24:43.440 --> 00:24:45.040
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>of the population.

469
00:24:46.140 --> 00:24:48.580
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>All of these examples reflect

470
00:24:48.580 --> 00:24:49.860
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>the ongoing impact

471
00:24:49.860 --> 00:24:51.780
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>of colonial attitudes

472
00:24:51.780 --> 00:24:54.060
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and the ongoing failure

473
00:24:54.060 --> 00:24:55.540
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>of contemporary governments

474
00:24:56.060 --> 00:24:57.100
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>to give these issues

475
00:24:57.100 --> 00:24:59.900
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>the serious cross-sectorial attention

476
00:24:59.900 --> 00:25:01.580
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>that they deserve.

477
00:25:02.500 --> 00:25:04.680
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>And one of my greatest fears

478
00:25:04.680 --> 00:25:06.920
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>is that in 20 years time

479
00:25:06.920 --> 00:25:08.800
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>nothing will have changed

480
00:25:08.800 --> 00:25:12.060
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>despite an enormous goodwill

481
00:25:12.060 --> 00:25:12.840
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>from the people.

482
00:25:14.300 --> 00:25:16.120
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Another dilemma I face

483
00:25:16.120 --> 00:25:18.900
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>concerns tokenism, for example.

484
00:25:19.620 --> 00:25:21.480
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Being asked to speak

485
00:25:21.480 --> 00:25:23.780
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>because I'm an Aboriginal woman

486
00:25:24.480 --> 00:25:26.520
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>rather than because I might have

487
00:25:26.520 --> 00:25:27.920
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>some important contribution

488
00:25:28.480 --> 00:25:30.780
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>to make to public life.

489
00:25:31.640 --> 00:25:33.960
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>I know I'm sometimes used

490
00:25:34.480 --> 00:25:37.040
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>as a form of window dressing

491
00:25:37.040 --> 00:25:40.520
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and I feel ambivalent about this.

492
00:25:41.060 --> 00:25:43.520
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>And I usually resolve this dilemma

493
00:25:44.480 --> 00:25:47.340
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>by deciding I need to make optimum use

494
00:25:47.340 --> 00:25:48.840
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>of the opportunities

495
00:25:49.480 --> 00:25:50.460
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>I am given

496
00:25:50.460 --> 00:25:52.820
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>to shape public opinion.

497
00:25:53.720 --> 00:25:56.940
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>So I gave the Australia Address in 2000

498
00:25:57.460 --> 00:26:00.260
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>even though I have grave reservations

499
00:26:00.260 --> 00:26:02.780
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>about celebrating a day

500
00:26:02.780 --> 00:26:06.240
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>which symbolises the European invasion.

501
00:26:07.500 --> 00:26:09.280
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>For the same reason

502
00:26:09.280 --> 00:26:11.340
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>I would have had to give some

503
00:26:11.340 --> 00:26:12.560
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>serious consideration

504
00:26:13.460 --> 00:26:14.540
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>to an invitation

505
00:26:14.540 --> 00:26:16.900
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>by our esteemed Prime Minister

506
00:26:17.460 --> 00:26:19.880
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>to take up residence at Yarralumna

507
00:26:19.880 --> 00:26:22.760
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>even though I support Australia

508
00:26:22.760 --> 00:26:25.020
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>becoming a republic.

509
00:26:26.040 --> 00:26:27.380
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Fortunately, perhaps,

510
00:26:27.600 --> 00:26:30.320
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>I was spared the decision.

511
00:26:32.880 --> 00:26:34.360
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Despite all the media speculation

512
00:26:35.140 --> 00:26:37.540
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and despite sitting by the phone

513
00:26:37.540 --> 00:26:38.540
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>day after day

514
00:26:44.620 --> 00:26:46.920
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>it just didn't ring.

515
00:26:47.920 --> 00:26:50.300
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>I can't imagine why not.

516
00:26:52.500 --> 00:26:53.580
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Jokes aside,

517
00:26:53.800 --> 00:26:55.980
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>that leads me to another dilemma

518
00:26:55.980 --> 00:26:57.500
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>of public life,

519
00:26:57.720 --> 00:26:59.640
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>dealing with the media.

520
00:27:00.680 --> 00:27:02.580
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>As many of you would remember

521
00:27:02.580 --> 00:27:04.020
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>a few years ago

522
00:27:04.020 --> 00:27:07.400
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>there was a sensationalist media article

523
00:27:07.920 --> 00:27:10.840
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>which sought to discredit me personally

524
00:27:10.840 --> 00:27:13.000
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and to discredit

525
00:27:13.000 --> 00:27:14.900
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>the Stolen Generations

526
00:27:14.900 --> 00:27:16.760
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and Journey of Healing.

527
00:27:18.060 --> 00:27:20.940
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>I'm sure most of you here tonight

528
00:27:20.940 --> 00:27:24.040
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>know that the term Stolen Generations

529
00:27:24.040 --> 00:27:27.820
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>is a powerful catch-all term

530
00:27:27.820 --> 00:27:29.780
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>for a whole range of situations

531
00:27:29.780 --> 00:27:32.040
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>in which Aboriginal children

532
00:27:32.040 --> 00:27:34.560
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>were removed from their families.

533
00:27:35.360 --> 00:27:37.560
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>I was one such child

534
00:27:37.560 --> 00:27:39.980
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>as were three of my four sisters

535
00:27:39.980 --> 00:27:41.440
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and my brother.

536
00:27:42.480 --> 00:27:44.120
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Whatever the details

537
00:27:44.120 --> 00:27:45.520
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>of our removal

538
00:27:45.520 --> 00:27:46.740
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>it is important to note

539
00:27:46.740 --> 00:27:47.260
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>that it is obvious

540
00:27:47.260 --> 00:27:49.840
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>that from my mother's point of view

541
00:27:50.740 --> 00:27:51.480
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>we were stolen

542
00:27:51.480 --> 00:27:54.840
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>in accordance with the simulation policies

543
00:27:54.840 --> 00:27:56.100
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>of the time.

544
00:27:56.960 --> 00:27:59.240
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>There was no informed consent.

545
00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:02.740
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>There would have been no legal recourse.

546
00:28:03.740 --> 00:28:05.460
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>She would have had no moral support

547
00:28:05.460 --> 00:28:07.340
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and no understanding

548
00:28:07.340 --> 00:28:10.720
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>that she might never see her children again.

549
00:28:11.640 --> 00:28:15.300
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Her grief must have been unimaginable.

550
00:28:16.740 --> 00:28:20.100
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>It really doesn't matter

551
00:28:20.740 --> 00:28:22.640
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>whether children were forcibly removed

552
00:28:22.640 --> 00:28:23.580
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>by the authorities

553
00:28:24.740 --> 00:28:27.560
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>or whether parents were harassed

554
00:28:27.560 --> 00:28:30.200
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>or encouraged by the force of circumstances

555
00:28:30.740 --> 00:28:32.800
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>to surrender their children.

556
00:28:33.460 --> 00:28:37.200
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>The consequences for generation after generation

557
00:28:37.740 --> 00:28:39.160
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>of Indigenous people

558
00:28:39.740 --> 00:28:41.420
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>have been equally tragic.

559
00:28:42.640 --> 00:28:45.640
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>At a time when I was embarking

560
00:28:45.640 --> 00:28:47.960
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>on a personal exploration

561
00:28:47.960 --> 00:28:49.740
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>of my own family history

562
00:28:49.740 --> 00:28:52.520
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>I agreed to a phone interview

563
00:28:52.520 --> 00:28:54.500
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>with a tabloid journalist

564
00:28:54.500 --> 00:28:55.940
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Andrew Bolt

565
00:28:55.940 --> 00:28:57.840
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>whom I didn't know.

566
00:28:58.900 --> 00:29:00.940
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>To say it was an interview

567
00:29:00.940 --> 00:29:01.920
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>is misleading.

568
00:29:02.660 --> 00:29:05.600
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>It was more like an interrogation.

569
00:29:06.400 --> 00:29:08.200
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Words were put in my mouth

570
00:29:08.200 --> 00:29:10.140
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>as I attempted to explain

571
00:29:10.140 --> 00:29:12.140
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>what little I knew

572
00:29:12.140 --> 00:29:13.900
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>about the circumstances

573
00:29:13.900 --> 00:29:16.080
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>of my own removal.

574
00:29:16.620 --> 00:29:19.160
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>I was only two at the time,

575
00:29:19.160 --> 00:29:20.440
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>you must remember.

576
00:29:21.880 --> 00:29:23.920
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>It was a shocking experience

577
00:29:24.900 --> 00:29:26.620
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>to wake up the next morning

578
00:29:26.620 --> 00:29:28.720
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>to a frenzied media

579
00:29:28.720 --> 00:29:31.260
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>with better headlines screaming

580
00:29:31.900 --> 00:29:33.900
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>I was not stolen.

581
00:29:35.080 --> 00:29:37.760
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>An article which in essence proclaimed

582
00:29:37.760 --> 00:29:40.680
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>that I had betrayed my people

583
00:29:41.620 --> 00:29:43.780
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and that I had been living

584
00:29:43.900 --> 00:29:44.720
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>a lie.

585
00:29:45.920 --> 00:29:47.740
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>A mediocre journalist

586
00:29:47.740 --> 00:29:50.140
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>had got his pound of flesh

587
00:29:50.900 --> 00:29:53.480
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and his 15 minutes of fame.

588
00:29:54.720 --> 00:29:56.160
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>I am now aware

589
00:29:56.900 --> 00:29:58.180
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>that the interview was part

590
00:29:58.180 --> 00:29:59.480
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>of a wider agenda

591
00:30:00.700 --> 00:30:03.440
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>orchestrated by those who want to deny

592
00:30:03.440 --> 00:30:05.840
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>that any violation occurred

593
00:30:05.840 --> 00:30:07.400
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>to our people.

594
00:30:08.280 --> 00:30:10.800
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>It seems that we as individuals

595
00:30:10.800 --> 00:30:13.720
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and that the reconciliation movement

596
00:30:13.900 --> 00:30:14.560
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>as a whole

597
00:30:14.560 --> 00:30:16.600
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>are very threatening

598
00:30:16.600 --> 00:30:18.720
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>to some groups of people.

599
00:30:19.500 --> 00:30:21.540
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>The real tragedy of this

600
00:30:21.540 --> 00:30:24.180
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>is not my personal anguish.

601
00:30:24.720 --> 00:30:26.540
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>The real tragedy is

602
00:30:26.540 --> 00:30:29.460
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>that the article did untold damage

603
00:30:29.460 --> 00:30:32.480
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>to the cause of the stolen generations

604
00:30:33.880 --> 00:30:36.220
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and caused painful divisions

605
00:30:36.900 --> 00:30:38.160
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>among my people,

606
00:30:38.900 --> 00:30:41.640
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>some of which remain to this day.

607
00:30:42.560 --> 00:30:44.200
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>I have now learnt

608
00:30:44.200 --> 00:30:45.520
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>to be enormously careful

609
00:30:45.520 --> 00:30:46.280
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>what I say

610
00:30:46.280 --> 00:30:47.600
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and when

611
00:30:47.600 --> 00:30:48.960
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and to whom.

612
00:30:49.800 --> 00:30:51.040
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>I have learnt

613
00:30:51.040 --> 00:30:52.320
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>that the world created

614
00:30:52.320 --> 00:30:53.700
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>by the popular media

615
00:30:53.700 --> 00:30:56.120
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>with its ten second bites

616
00:30:56.120 --> 00:30:57.720
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and better headlines

617
00:30:58.540 --> 00:31:00.500
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>is a black and white world

618
00:31:00.500 --> 00:31:03.500
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>populated by goodies and baddies

619
00:31:03.500 --> 00:31:06.220
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and boiled down to half truths.

620
00:31:07.220 --> 00:31:08.740
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>And this leads me

621
00:31:08.740 --> 00:31:09.960
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>full circle

622
00:31:09.960 --> 00:31:11.620
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>back to the vagaries

623
00:31:11.620 --> 00:31:11.820
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and the value

624
00:31:12.620 --> 00:31:13.400
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>of a festival

625
00:31:13.400 --> 00:31:15.880
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>in which ideas can be canvassed

626
00:31:16.620 --> 00:31:17.460
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>in their complexity

627
00:31:18.620 --> 00:31:19.820
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and debated vigorously,

628
00:31:20.620 --> 00:31:21.520
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>respectfully

629
00:31:21.520 --> 00:31:23.380
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and safely.

630
00:31:24.160 --> 00:31:27.620
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>You are part of a global community of people

631
00:31:28.620 --> 00:31:30.460
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>committed to the liberating power

632
00:31:30.460 --> 00:31:31.960
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>of ideas

633
00:31:32.620 --> 00:31:33.620
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>to bring about

634
00:31:33.620 --> 00:31:35.240
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>a better society.

635
00:31:36.240 --> 00:31:37.520
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>My people

636
00:31:37.520 --> 00:31:40.200
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>have been damaged greatly

637
00:31:40.200 --> 00:31:42.240
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>by narrow-minded,

638
00:31:42.400 --> 00:31:43.200
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>prejudiced

639
00:31:43.760 --> 00:31:46.380
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>or paternalistic ideas.

640
00:31:47.320 --> 00:31:49.140
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>But against all odds

641
00:31:49.140 --> 00:31:50.580
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>we have survived

642
00:31:51.200 --> 00:31:53.240
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and our resolve

643
00:31:53.240 --> 00:31:55.400
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>is heightened by the support

644
00:31:55.400 --> 00:31:57.580
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>of people like yourselves.

645
00:31:58.300 --> 00:32:00.300
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Let us tonight rejoice

646
00:32:00.300 --> 00:32:02.740
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>in what we have in common

647
00:32:02.740 --> 00:32:04.940
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and I invite you all

648
00:32:04.940 --> 00:32:06.700
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>to join my people

649
00:32:06.700 --> 00:32:08.820
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>in our struggle for justice

650
00:32:08.820 --> 00:32:09.700
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and reconciliation.

651
00:32:10.540 --> 00:32:12.200
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>To embark with us

652
00:32:12.200 --> 00:32:14.160
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>on our journey of healing.

653
00:32:14.980 --> 00:32:16.980
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>I am very pleased to declare

654
00:32:16.980 --> 00:32:18.620
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>this festival open

655
00:32:19.200 --> 00:32:20.040
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>and I hope

656
00:32:20.040 --> 00:32:21.740
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>you all have a wonderful

657
00:32:21.740 --> 00:32:22.780
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>three days.

658
00:32:23.060 --> 00:32:23.860
<v Lowitja O'Donoghue>Thank you.

659
00:32:33.200 --> 00:32:34.860
<v Chair>Ladies and gentlemen,

660
00:32:35.000 --> 00:32:35.600
<v Chair>the President.

661
00:32:42.020 --> 00:32:43.760
<v Chair>Thank you.