30 Years of Reform, a speech by Kirsty Davis

It was our old people that put Cape York on the map, and sometimes on the front page.

Through courage, intellect and unity, they turned a remote region into one of the nation’s most influential reform agendas.

Tonight, we celebrate thirty years of refusing to give up, purely for the love of our people.

From the beginning, this was never tinkering at the edges. It was, and it remains, an attempt to reimagine freedom, responsibility and development for First Nations people – and for the nation.

Noel Pearson drew deeply from Amartya Sen and fused it with the wisdom of the old people. Rights must travel with responsibility, and responsibility must be met with real, structured opportunity. That is how capability is forged.

This is the philosophy that has guided us for three decades:
Responsibility PLUS opportunity equals capability

The Architecture of Reform

When our Elders organised and vowed to stand up for our future, a new structure of reform took shape, an impressive series of national firsts:

• Cape York Institute – Australia’s first dedicated Indigenous policy think-tank, building the intellectual spine of reform.
• Family Responsibilities Commission (the FRC) – the first legal bridge between federal welfare and state services, restoring authority through respected local Commissioners.
• Cape York Leaders Program – a pipeline of scholars and professionals walking confidently in both worlds – now more than 625 strong.
• Cape York Aboriginal Australian Academy – bringing the science of learning and high expectations to remote schools.
• Djarragun College rescued, revived and now a model of Indigenous-led schooling.
• Cape York Girl Academy – Australia’s first and only Indigenous school where young mothers learn with their babies.

Confronting the Hardest Truths

Thirty years ago, families in Cape York were not broken; the systems around them were. Passive welfare had become a mission station.

Grog and violence hollowed out community life.

Fewer than 6% of our children were finishing high school.

Governments kept doing what they always did – spray and pray. More programs, more reports, no results. And then they blamed us.

Our old people drew a line: we will not be managed;  we will take responsibility for our future. They taught unity and the courage to confront hard truths – even close to home.

That wisdom passed to the generation in front of us tonight – the reform leaders who took the toughest decisions to get families back on track. That was the beginning of Cape York Welfare Reform.

The Cape York Welfare Reform

In 1999, for the first time in Australian history, a Commonwealth Government and a Queensland Government united behind an Indigenous-led legislative reform.

At its heart was the Family Responsibilities Commission – the moral and legal centre.

It was co-design before co-design had a name.

Bipartisan unity at the state and federal levels joined with local authority in an unprecedented act of self-determination. The Coalition Government under Prime Minister John Howard enacted complementary legislation to Labor Premier Anna Bligh’s Queensland Government, joining the federal welfare with the state’s service-delivery system.

Former Premier Anna Bligh is with us tonight, and we thank her for her leadership and bold act of trust.

While that unity of state, federal and community leadership held, transformative outcomes have been achieved:

• School attendance rose
• Violence fell
• Families began saving, budgeting and planning for their children’s futures
• MPower and Student Education Trusts helped families turn every dollar into purpose

Cape York Welfare Reform proved the diagnosis: passive welfare.
And the solution: comprehensive family development.

Education as the Great Disruptor

Our most radical act was in education. We treated remote schooling not as welfare but as a discipline grounded in the science of learning. We introduced Direct Instruction – one of the most tested pedagogies on earth – with precision and faith in our children.

We knew the result: children would learn. And they did.

• Attendance once below 50%, now exceeds 89% in Coen and Hope Vale.
• Students once written off became readers, problem-solvers and confident learners.
• Our methods and materials now influence 3,200 schools nationwide.
• Djarragun College has seen 1,000 graduates from 36 language groups.
• The Girl Academy maintains 97% attendance.
• The Cape York Leaders Program has supported over 625 students through school, university and trades – young doctors, teachers, engineers and lawyers, living proof of high expectations.

What began with the Wik people has become one of Australia’s most impactful education reforms.

And yet, our own state remains paralysed – still debating what Cape York proved more than a decade ago: when we teach effectively, every child can flourish.

Over three decades, we built the architecture of innovation:

• Student Education Trusts
• The scholarship and orbiting model
• Government Champions
• Negotiation Tables (the forerunner of today’s joint decision-making)
• High-Expectations Education
• Our Right to Take Responsibility
• The ABSTUDY Bypass
• Alcohol Management Plans
• A place-based delivery model, rejecting fly-in fly-out.

We created Jawun – seconding top talent from corporate Australia into Indigenous organisations to build capability.

And yes – we conceived the idea that became the Voice to Parliament – that decisions should be made close to the ground, in dialogue with those who live the consequences.

If it comes from Cape York, people know it will be ambitious – maybe contentious – but always courageous.

We did all this because the cost of doing nothing is measured in wasted lives.

Enterprise and Wealth

Our next frontier was economic empowerment.

Opportunity Products like Pride of Place, Home Pride, Bayan and Homelands, helped families turn low incomes into real assets – over $6 million saved collectively.

We built enterprises:

• Bama Services – 75% Indigenous workforce
• Cape York Employment –1,400 jobs placed
• Cape York Enterprises – incubating local businesses.

When real work and real ownership are possible, people step up.

The National Lesson

The deepest lesson of the last 30 years is not just what we achieved, but how.

• Through leadership and unity
• Through intellect and culture
• Through community, corporate, government and philanthropy partners

Our best work has never been done alone.

The Moral Purpose

At its heart, this work is about love.

Love for the idea that every child born on this continent should have the capability, choice and opportunity to live a life they have reason to value.

Our old people spoke it first. Noel Pearson gave it a language to move a nation.

When we work together – across race, class and geography, for our children – we don’t just close a gap.

We build a better nation for all Australian children.

Thank you.