Cherbourg’s mayor has hit back at LNP leader David Crisafulli’s “disappointing” promise to scrap the Truth-telling and Healing Inquiry if his party is elected into the Queensland Government on Saturday, saying the landmark hearings are not divisive but instead empowering and necessary.
Bruce Simpson, who heads the Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council, said he was disheartened to hear the LNP’s stance on the recently-started Inquiry, which has put the troubled history of Queensland’s First Nations people in the national spotlight.
Mr Crisafulli said on Tuesday, 22 October that his party would put an end to the Inquiry, calling it as ‘divisive’ as the 2023 referendum on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament which his party also heavily campaigned against.
“The public discourse and the level of debate was a low the likes of which I’ve never seen from both sides, and I was determined not to put Queensland through that,” Mr Crisafulli said.
“And so, I’ve taken a decision. I understand not everybody agrees with that decision, but I bet you everyone agrees with this statement; we need to do more for Indigenous communities,” he added.
“It’s disappointing,” said Cherbourg’s mayor in response.
“It’s our history, it’s our truth. We know it happened.
“This is about being together even more and understanding each other more. We want everyone to know there is actually common ground rather than being divided,” Mr Simpson added.
He took issue with the LNP leader’s choice of words, saying the major party was turning the wishes of Queensland’s First Nations people to tell their stories into a political issue.
“The word ‘divisive’ is very strong; I believe we as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have never had this opportunity to share what happened,” Mr Simpson said.
“We’re telling people in our own country that our basic human rights were compromised, and now we just want to be a part of healing.
“It’s about opportunity rather than politics, and that these stories will leave some type of legacy in our Australian history,” Mr Simpson said.
“We want that shared understanding – spreading our knowledge and bringing the whole state together.”
TRUTH-TELLING ALREADY A SUCCESS
The town of Cherbourg was one of the first Queensland First Nations communities visited by the Truth-telling and Healing Inquiry team on their recent tour of the state.
“Being able to bring our team here for the truth-telling needs to happen,” said Ronald Saltner, a manager at the Inquiry and former Cherbourg local, during one of his team’s visits to the town on 2 October.
Cherbourg’s mayor explained that his town taking up a major role in the Inquiry’s efforts to uncover the trauma of First Nations Australians has already sparked a wave of change – not just in the Burnett, but across the whole of Queensland.
“Already the momentum of shared understanding – not ‘us and them’, no political line in the sand – is producing outcomes,” Mr Simpson said.
“Already we’ve seen healing in our elders who have been interviewed by the truth-telling teams.
“These elders are now stepping forward – they’re wanting to be a part of history and they want their history to be recorded,” he added.
Should the LNP enter government on Saturday and go ahead with its plans to scrap the Inquiry, Cherbourg’s community will not stop their pursuit of truth-telling, the town’s mayor promised.
“We don’t want our stories to stop there,” Mr Simpson said.
“In my capacity as mayor, I’ll ensure that the truth-telling remains – even if it’s not by the party in government. We can see the value in it.
“We also don’t want other communities to miss out on this process.”
Mr Simpson said he was heartened by the promises of Cherbourg’s Government Champion, Director-General of the Department of Justice and Attorney-General Jasmina Joldic, to commission a research and record-keeping initiative with Griffith University to ensure Queensland’s First Nations stories can be told and preserved.
Ms Joldic told an Inquiry session on 24 September that a final report on the state’s history of justice and its impact on Indigenous Australians is expected to be finished in May of 2026.
However, without official government backing – such as through the Truth-telling Inquiry – Cherbourg’s push for reconciliation will become a more difficult undertaking.
“It’ll mean more work for us to do in our communities,” Mr Simpson said.
“I’ll have to have those conversations with [Mr Crisafulli] if he does get into government.
“We want him to change his mind around truth-telling, what it means for us as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people but also for the whole of our state,” he added.
LOCAL MP STAYS SILENT
Nanango MP Deb Frecklington, who is seeking re-election this Saturday, has declined to directly comment on her or her party’s stance on the Truth-telling Inquiry, the stopping of which would impact over 1,200 First Nations people – over three per cent of voters – in her electorate alone.
Upon request, her office provided Burnett Today with a statement ‘attributed to an LNP spokesperson’.
“We need to do more for Indigenous communities, and the LNP will deliver practical solutions with measurable outcomes, rather than put Queensland through another divisive debate,” the statement from Ms Frecklington’s office read.
“An LNP Government’s priorities will be lifting healthcare and education standards while also unlocking the door to home ownership,” the statement concluded.
For Cherbourg’s mayor, such promises ring hollow.
“We don’t want money or programs out of it – we want to showcase how resilient our communities are that we want to partner with ‘mainstream’ Australia,” Mr Simpson said.
“There are 47 First Nations communities in Queensland, and we don’t all just want home ownership. It’s a priority, sure – but not in the face of truth-telling.”
He said that with or without support from the state government, Cherbourg’s truth-telling will happen.
“That’s the big part for our community: our history will be recorded, even if nothing will get done with it,” he said.
“At least the world is now watching.”
