Subjects: Northern Territory Coroner findings, First Nations deaths in custody, Justice Reinvestment, NAIDOC Week.
KYLIE MORRIS, HOST: Justice and accountability. That's what the family of Kumanjayi Walker say they're hoping comes from today's Coronial inquest findings into the fatal police shooting of the teenager in a remote Northern Territory community. In November 2019, Kumanjayi Walker was shot three times by then Police Constable Zachary Rolfe after the 19-year-old stabbed the police officer in the shoulder with a pair of scissors during an attempted arrest. Mr Rolfe was later tried by a jury and subsequently acquitted of all charges, including murder. Today's long-awaited findings are expected to target issues of systemic racism in the Northern Territory and come amid growing calls for greater federal government action on First Nations deaths in custody.
Malarndirri McCarthy is the Federal Minister for Indigenous Australians and Senator for the Northern Territory. I spoke to her earlier.
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY, MINISTER FOR INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS: Good morning, Kylie, to you and your listeners.
KYLIE MORRIS: Minister, what do you hope comes from the Kumanjayi Walker inquest findings?
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: It's been a while coming, Kylie. This is a journey that the people of Yuendumu and Central Australia, in particular, have waited quite some time for. They've been through many other traumas since that time, and I know that today will be particularly important, especially for the Elders of the Yuendumu community.
KYLIE MORRIS: Is the Federal Government prepared to act on the findings and recommendations when they're delivered by the Northern Territory coroner, Elisabeth Armitage?
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: Well, I will certainly be very keen to read the coroner's report. I know that the coroner has been very diligent in working through this case for so many years, investigating it, listening to people from all areas, not just the Yuendumu community. And I will be very interested to read it, to look at the recommendations and to take seriously what she considers.
KYLIE MORRIS: Can the government work productively, though, with the Northern Territory Ggovernment? Even after recent comments, for example, from the Northern Territory Chief Minister, Lia Finocchiaro, accusing Federal Labor MPs of showing, it's a quote from her statement, "little respect for police".
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: My job is to continually try to reach out to all governments, to all political leaders. This has to be above politics, and I'll continue to do that with the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory and her ministers. This is too important. It is not about the Chief Minister or myself. It is about the families of Yuendumu who need the leadership of this country to act on the concerns that they raise.
KYLIE MORRIS: Have you had any further conversations with the Northern Territory Chief Minister in regards to these ongoing calls for an independent inquiry into Kumanjayi White's death in custody in May?
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: Not directly with the Chief Minister. There has been correspondence between us. I've also had some personal sorry business myself, Kylie, so I am just getting back into the role again and I will be seeking a meeting with the Chief Minister at some point in the future.
KYLIE MORRIS: You're listening to Radio National Breakfast, where Malarndirri McCarthy, Minister for Indigenous Australians and Senator for the Northern Territory, is my guest. Minister, part of this year's NAIDOC Week theme is strength. Now, in your view, has the government shown enough of that quality in addressing First Nations deaths in custody and incarcerations?
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: Well, let me start with NAIDOC Week, Kylie. It was extraordinary on Saturday night at Boorloo in Perth to see the outstanding achievements of young and older First Nations Australians. And in fact, one of them, Aunty Rosalie Kickett, spoke directly about the issues around high incarceration rates, deaths in custody, and her award was a recognition of the work that she's doing with Indigenous inmates in WA. And we support wholeheartedly, across Australia, efforts to reduce incarceration. Unfortunately, those efforts are still not being met at the appropriate numbers. We have to reduce the incarceration rates, and my work recently with Indigenous Affairs Ministers at the Joint Council in Darwin was about emphasising that with them.
KYLIE MORRIS: We'll be talking to Aunty Rosalie Kickett later in the show, Minister. So, it's interesting that you reflect on her comments.
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: Oh, fantastic. She had us all in tears, Kylie, telling her story. In fact, there were quite a few tears that night from many of the outstanding speakers. But all of the nominees, I mean, they were just terrific people who inspire us across Australia.
KYLIE MORRIS: Now, last week, the Prime Minister appeared to rule out convening National Cabinet into deaths in custody. Do you believe a National Cabinet is needed?
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: Well, the Prime Minister made reference to the Joint Council that was convened in Darwin recently between myself and the Coalition of Peaks, Kylie. And it is essential that we work at our level. But one of the other things the Prime Minister has tasked me with is to work with each state and territory cabinet in regards to Closing the Gap. That's what we have to do. Every cabinet in every Parliament in Australia has signed up to that agreement. And one of the most outstanding issues is justice. So, I will continue to push that along with the Attorney-General here in the Commonwealth.
KYLIE MORRIS: Given the government that has been returned for a second term with a clear mandate, isn't now the time to be really bold in pushing for First Nations justice reform, you know, exuding that strength that NAIDOC celebrates?
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: Well, justice is a key area, but so too is health and education and food security. We made a major announcement about reducing the cost of living. All of these impact on the lives of First Nations people right across Australia, especially in remote and regional Australia. We cannot just do things in isolation. Justice is requiring better housing, better education, making sure that young people have a life and don't end up in prisons. They should be going to school, they should be going to colleges. It's a combination of all these things, Kylie, and it's what I'm working on.
KYLIE MORRIS: Minister, I'm wondering, when you sit down and talk to someone like Aunty Rosalie Kickett and she implores you for action on incarceration or on domestic violence, what reassurances can you give her? What evidence can you point to that this government is 100 per cent committed and working toward that goal?
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: Sure. Look, one of the things that we brought in in our previous term was the Justice Reinvestment package. This was to make sure that we could look at, in terms of justice, working on the ground with local people, with local solutions. In Maningrida, for example, we have the Cultural Leaders and Justice Group, who are working with judges and lawyers to try and look at ways to support young people in their community. It's the same with Groote Eylandt in the Northern Territory, in places like Cowra, places like the Kinchela Boys Home, the Savanna Solutions. These are the Justice Reinvestment programs that have to happen at a local level. And the same in Western Australia, we have a number of programs there. We do work with the Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia to try and reduce the incarceration rates but try to assist families on the ground so we can prevent it in the first place.
KYLIE MORRIS: Malarndirri McCarthy, thanks for joining me.
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: No worries, Kylie.
KYLIE MORRIS: That's Malarndirri McCarthy, Minister for Indigenous Australians and Senator for the Northern Territory. Oh, and by the way, Minister, if you're still there, happy NAIDOC Week.
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: Happy NAIDOC Week. Thank you.