DARWIN, NT
As a Saltwater woman from the Yanyuwa Garrwa people I pay my respects to the Larrakia, whose lands we are gathered on.
It’s good to be here with you all, families and friends, coming together to celebrate but also to remind us of what is still before us.
We celebrate 50 years of NAIDOC Week. Half a century of honouring our cultures, our resilience and our stories through this week of celebration.
It is a powerful reminder of who we are, where we’ve come from and the strength that keeps us going.
And for those who walk with us, all of you, it’s a time to celebrate the richness of a culture that’s over 60,000 years old and thriving.
This week I joined NAIDOC celebrations with some of our Elders at Purple House.
And I was honoured to be in Perth last weekend for the National NAIDOC Awards and present the Lifetime Achievement Award to Michael Long.
Alongside Michael, it was fantastic to see so many Territorians among the winners including Professor Eddie Cubillo, Danielle Ponter, and Cerisa Benjamin from Blak Brews.
But I also acknowledge this year’s NAIDOC Week has been a sad time for many, with the Northern Territory Coroner handing down her findings into the death of Kumanjayi Walker.
My heart goes out to Kumanjayi’s family, the Yuendumu community, and the wider Warlpiri-Luritja community who have suffered a profound loss.
They are exhausted and still experiencing deep grief.
The findings by Coroner Elisabeth Armitage have been a long time coming.
I thank Coroner Armitage and her team for their careful work and for travelling to Yuendumu to be with the community to deliver the findings.
We’ve heard from the Acting Police Commissioner, who has acknowledged the history of racism within the NT Police and committed to fixing it.
We’ve heard from Leanne Liddle, the NT Police Cultural Reform Command Director, and I commend her work to create meaningful change and rebuild trust across our communities.
I look forward to hearing from the Chief Minister.
I encourage the Northern Territory Government to carefully review and consider the recommendations in full.
It is time to be at the table with First Nations people.
This continues to be an incredibly difficult and sensitive time for many.
Two more recent deaths in custody have compounded the collective grief and trauma felt by many First Nations families.
I am committed to working with the states and territories – including the NT Government - who hold the levers for change in the justice system.
I am working with the Federal Attorney-General to consider a range of options to address the high number of First Nations people dying in custody.
But it’s also about the incarceration rates of First Nations people.
We have to reduce those numbers.
We are working through existing mechanisms, including the Standing Council of Attorneys-General and the Joint Council on Closing the Gap, to identify tangible actions and hold states and territories to account.
Bail and remand are key drivers of the disproportionately high incarceration rates for First Nations young people and adults.
I’ve been to the Darwin Correctional Centre. I’m spending time in the Alice Springs Correctional Centre with the prisoners and with the staff.
This is serious business.
Too many of our people are being locked up.
I thank General Manager David Gordon, Tony O’Callaghan and Erica Harvey from NT Corrections who took the time to show me through and explain how overcrowded the prison is.
While Corrections is doing what they can, it is NT laws that are driving this situation.
It is unacceptable for both prisoners and staff.
Our prisons are holding people who have not been convicted of a crime because of laws which drastically reduce the circumstances under which they can be granted bail.
As the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody made clear, the best way to reduce First Nations deaths in custody is to reduce the high incarceration rate of our people.
This is what the Commonwealth Government is focusing on, including through the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.
We are investing in the areas that we know will help keep Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people out of the justice system – like housing, jobs, education and health.
We are rolling out community-led Justice Reinvestment initiatives across the country to help prevent First Nations people coming into contact with the justice system in the first place.
In the NT, those initiatives are in Central Australia, Maningrida, Katherine, Lajamanu and Groote Eylandt - and we’re seeing results.
On Groote there has been a huge decline in offending, with crime rates now at all-time low.
130 offences were recorded in the last 12 months compared to more than a thousand in 2019.
That’s just one example of how local people have local solutions to these issues around justice.
This year’s NAIDOC Week theme is The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy.
The Albanese Government is proud to support so many community events across the country, through more than 500 NAIDOC Local Grants.
And there are more events still to come – including the Darwin Gala Ball and Awards Ceremony tomorrow.
Wherever you are, and whatever your passion, please remember this.
Australia is a democracy.
You vote people in.
Keep them accountable, keep me accountable, and keep all governments accountable.
Enjoy NAIDOC Week.
Yo, Bauji Barra.