00:00Music
00:06Ingrained in the lush landscapes of Mangala Station in North Queensland is a rich history.
00:17It's Dash, it's my daughter's horse.
00:19For two decades, Nwagi traditional owner Jacob Cassidy has run cultural tours about the site's colonial history.
00:27That's where the old homestead site was.
00:29While spearheading the regeneration of the land.
00:32Yeah, they're magnificent old trees, these things.
00:35It's a long way from the halls of Parliament House.
00:38But there's no escaping politics.
00:41Jacob Cassidy believes the country is at a crossroads.
00:45Aboriginal people have been used as political football for many, many years.
00:49And I think those embers of racism that were evident in that colonisation period,
00:58the fans are blowing those winds of racism across this country again.
01:04When Anthony Albanese claimed victory at the 2022 federal election, Indigenous recognition was front and centre.
01:11On behalf of the Australian Labor Party, I commit to the Uluru Statement from the heart and fall.
01:17But three years on, and after the failed Voice to Parliament referendum, the political tone has shifted.
01:26The government has basically no appetite for Indigenous rights recognition at the moment.
01:36And there's been a strong pivot towards economic initiatives.
01:39In Queensland, the new LNP State Government has scrapped the truth-telling inquiry and path to treaty process.
01:46And Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has refused to stand in front of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags if elected Prime Minister.
01:55There seems to be some kind of conservative backlash internationally against Indigenous rights.
02:04And this seems to be all stemming from, I guess, Trumpism in the United States.
02:11Advocates are urging political leaders to not abandon First Nations people.
02:16What we're seeing is not a lot of commitment to the policies and programs that stop the appalling rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children hitting justice systems and protection systems.
02:29For communities like Palm Island off the North Queensland coast, the priorities are clear.
02:35We still have more work to do, particularly for liveability, cost of living in our communities, better freight subsidies, certainly better grocery prices.
02:45And housing in our community because overcrowding continues to plague us.
02:51On Mangala Station, Jacob Cassidy worries about the toll of community division on the next generation.
02:58I've always been proud of this fact that Australia has been a place of a fair go for all.
03:05And I hope we continue down that path.
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