Ms CLANCY (Elder) (12:06): I rise today in support of the Premier's motion and thank him for introducing such an important and long overdue adjustment to our standing orders. I would also like to thank the Hon. Kyam Maher, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, for his guidance, knowledge, experiences and leadership.

Last week, I visited Guardian's childcare and early learning centre in Daw Park and was given the opportunity to read a book to some very fun, funny and excited four year olds. The book was called Finding Our Heart and is a story about the Uluru Statement from the Heart but pitched at children. The children then sang a song to me in Kaurna language. I asked them if they do an Acknowledgement of Country at the start of each day. The answer was yes. The ECEC my daughter attended before starting school also had an Acknowledgment of Country in their program every morning, and now we are following in their little bitty footsteps and finally making it officially part of our program each sitting day.

Acknowledging country is a crucial step on the parliament's journey to reconciliation. To acknowledge country is to acknowledge the exclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people—centuries of exclusion from our history, exclusion from our curriculum and, for many years, exclusion from our democracy. To acknowledge country is to acknowledge the ongoing impact of colonisation and the disparities between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and other Australians. We must continue to not only acknowledge this exclusion and the continuing effects of colonisation but take meaningful and consultative steps to end it.

An Acknowledgement of Country also shows respect, reminding us of the connection the world's longest surviving culture has with the land and waters we call home. As a parliament, we must always acknowledge and respect Australia's Indigenous ownership and custodianship of Australia.

Our government has an ambitious agenda in Aboriginal affairs. We are committed to working in partnership with Aboriginal people and stand unwavering in our support for their self-determination. Our government will introduce a state-based implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart. By enshrining a First Nations voice into the South Australian parliament, Aboriginal people in our state will have direct input into decisions made about them.

Our government will also be restarting the Treaty process in our state and establishing a truth-telling process that recognises all aspects of our past. This is just the beginning. From the windy hills of Panorama to the jacarandas of Clarence Gardens, my electorate of Elder is Kaurna Yerta and I knowledge their elders past and present. Sovereignty was never ceded. This land always was and always will be Aboriginal land.