This represents all that needs to be done.
On this stick there is a mark for every life lost at the hands of this system
Four hundred and forty one Aboriginal people have lost their lives in police custody.
So I'll be taking this message into this place today
as a symbol and a reminder that we've still got a long way to go
and that we have to end this systemic violence
against Aboriginal people in this country.
Four hundred and forty one families and communities will never be the same,
and not *one person* has *ever* been held accountable for these deaths.
So I'm not going in there to have a good time, I'm going in there
to continue the fight that I've always fought, and that's the fight for our people
to survive this system, and change this system, so that it's better for everybody. It's
not just blackfellas that are discriminated against in this system. Look at how our old people
are being treated in this country right now. How many old people and elders have we lost because
of this system? How many people are homeless? How many people are hungry? It's got to stop.
And yeah - how many children are still being taken away? More than the stolen generation itself.
[Others: Shame.]
It is relentless.
I'm going in there to take our voices, our struggle and our continued fight into this place,
and I hope I can do it justice. But I have good colleagues beside me in the Greens,
and I'll continue to fight for our people, and our land, and our water.
We've got to stop propping up these companies that are destroying our country and our people.
And we see - it's tax, it's budget time - who's going to benefit? [Others: Yes.] The
millionaire. Not the millions of people that need it - the millionaires. So it's time for change,
and I want to be part of that change, and I want to bring people together to do that.
[Applause]
Welcome to Ngambri Ngunnerwal country.
On behalf of our ancestors
on behalf of our elders,
on behalf of our youth of tomorrow.
Welcome to Ngunnerwal Ngambri country.
So after this we've got morning tea down at the Tent Embassy,
so you're all welcome to come down, have a feed, cup of tea.