Speaker, I acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we meet, the Gimuy Walubara Yidinji.

I acknowledge the custodians of my home, Yuggerah, Yugambeh and Quandamooka.

I pay my respects to elders past and present.

I recognise their connection to the land, water, and sky which spans over 65,000 years. 

It is this history, this connection … their sovereignty … that the Path to Treaty Bill seeks to recognise and honour.

Speaker, the truth is we know, but most of us were never taught, that our State’s history is inescapably entwined with egregious wrongs.

Actions that today we know were committed against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples…

Many of these atrocities sanctioned by the State.

And so, we come into this House in recognition.

The crimes of our forebears cannot be left to fade beyond memory, as if they never happened.

For these are not the crimes of the past … because the truth is their actions ripple through generations, and relationships and are still felt deeply today.

This sitting of regional parliament in far North Queensland is poised to establish a mechanism for truth telling.

One that recognises First Nations peoples and non-Indigenous Queenslanders as equal partners.

To shape the narrative about what it means to be a Queenslander.

To create a shared identity we can all be proud of.

We are in this House, right now with a once in a lifetime chance, to take a significant step forward on our journey towards Reconciliation.

But it is not the beginning of this journey.

Because our State’s history contains not only wrongs.

Despite the darkness, we have seen much to be proud of.

So much of this progress was driven by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people themselves.

I honour their work.

I honour their resilience, strength, and bravery.

In fact we are here because, like the Voice, First Nations people have come us, to this Parliament and asked us to do this.

This is not something we are doing to them, again.

This is the significant and poignant difference.

It’s what those opposed must come to terms with.

It is a generous and deeply kind offer, made to us, despite what we have done, despite our wrongs, or what in fact we've failed to do.

To suggest, whether on a Path to Treaty or the Voice, that government has got it wrong, is worse than missing the point.

It’s actually the same mean trick that has oppressed First Nations people.

To say this is our idea, to create a doubt that this is a plan to distract from doing everything else on reconcile and advance the experience of First Nations Queenslanders - is nothing more than gaslighting.

Instead, I am honoured to be part of a movement that is ready to, and worked with Indigenous people to mould this moral arch, this progress.

In this debate, we can take strength and guidance from the multitude of other acts of reconciliation brought to us.

Solutions to assist reconciliation like the recovery of decades of stolen wages from First Nation workers.

Like the establishment of the nation’s first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander housing authority.

Like calling on us to establish a commitment to invest in and uplift First Nation businesses.

And I acknowledge we have more to do.

And as a Queenslander, I am so proud to build on my relationship with the people of Hope Vale, a beautiful, vibrant community.

I speak about these achievements not as an act of self-congratulations - this debate is not about us.

We are not here to pat ourselves on the back, to be satisfied with a job well done, or to pause on the road to reconciliation.

No, we must speak about example of progress, so we can understand the path we are already on - a path that in fact First Nations Queenslanders have laid out for us.

The steps we have already taken.

What might stand in our way.

And most importantly, how we can shine a bright light on the way forward.

Speaker, this is another pivotal moment.

As the House moves to vote on establishing the path to treaty, the nation is also about to deliver a Voice to federal parliament.

I am proud to support both the path to treaty and the Voice.

I am proud to be standing along with the members of this House who believe in a better future.

But mostly, I look forward to standing shoulder to shoulder with all Queenslanders – with Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander peoples - as we walk this path together.

Treaty will deliver a better Queensland.

The Voice will make us a better nation.

And when we vote this week, we can take inspiration from the many who have gone before us.

Those who are reaching out their hands to ours, so that we may walk arm-in-arm, heart-to-heart, indigenous and non-indigenous Queenslanders alike, and united.

We are not walking away from our past, but towards a future that we all have a role in creating.

A future all Queenslanders can be proud of.