English Language
This country has no official language, English is only the de facto national language because it was the main language spoken by its colonisers.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages
The Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies notes that there are more than 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages and around 800 dialects in this country.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages have been a part of this continent since the time of creation and are instrumental in connecting First Nations people to Country, Elders, ancestors, heritage, and culture; the longest living culture in the world.
Because of the ongoing impacts of colonisation, dispossession of lands and waters, forced family separations, massacres, genocide, and the systematic attempts to destroy them, 90% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages are endangered.
Article 13 of the United Nations Declaration on the rights of Indigenous Peoples states that:
1. Indigenous peoples have the right to revitalize, use, develop and transmit to future generations their histories, languages, oral traditions, philosophies, writing systems and literatures, and to designate and retain their own names for communities, places and persons.
2. States shall take effective measures to ensure this right is protected and also to ensure that indigenous peoples can understand and be understood in political, legal and administrative proceedings, where necessary through the provision of interpretation or by other appropriate means.
The Australian Greens believe that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages must be preserved and revived. Being able to share and pass on language to future generations is central to the ongoing wellbeing of the sovereign First Peoples of this country.
This inquiry
The Australian Greens thank all the parties that gave evidence to this inquiry or made a submission.
The Australian Greens are very concerned that there was insufficient time provided for meaningful community consultation and submission to this inquiry.
Providing insufficient time for proper community consultation is grossly unfair and places incredible demands on individuals and organisations (as well as the hard working members of the secretariat) to react quickly to the arbitrarily tight deadlines of the committee.
Furthermore, not providing sufficient time for community members to engage meaningfully with the work of this committee is not compatible with an open and transparent democracy.
Recommendation
The Australian Greens recommends that in line with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages are preserved and revived.
The Australian Greens recommends that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Organisations receive sufficient public money to allow them to continue leading the work of preserving, reviving, and promoting their languages.
Senator Lidia Thorpe
Senator for Victoria