The former Liberal senator for Queensland was a constitutional conservative who tried to change the system from within.
The original Indigenous Voice to parliament was not one of grievance or hectoring complaint. It was that of a dignified, quietly spoken Liberal senator who became the first Aboriginal member of any Australian parliament way back in 1971.
I knew Neville Bonner well; in my youth, he was to me, as he was to others taking their early steps in politics, something of a mentor. He was one of the few truly inspiring people I have ever met. The early 1960s saw Bonner settle in Ipswich. He began to involve himself in causes for Aboriginal advancement, and was a founder and first president of the One People of Australia League , dedicated to racial equality. He also joined the Liberal Party. In 1971, when senator Annabelle Rankin resigned, the party had to choose someone for the casual vacancy. Bonner, at the time working as a bridge carpenter and by then a member of the party’s state executive, put his hand up.
You will, however, find Paul Keating’s Redfern speech and Kevin Rudd’s apology to the stolen generations. Undoubtedly, the most eloquent orations about Indigenous disadvantage have come from Labor prime ministers. Words matter, and each of those speeches marks an important waypoint in our national consciousness.
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