MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY, MINISTER FOR INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS: Thank you for joining us this afternoon. I'd like to acknowledge that we come together on the lands of the Ngunnawal people and we pay our respects to Elders, past, present and emerging. A pretty special day, and I am joined by the Coalition of Peaks, with Scott Wilson and Catherine Liddle, and we acknowledge Pat Turner, who has worked consistently as my Co-Chair on the Joint Council, for the Coalition of Peaks in Closing the Gap.
So, today's a significant day for us as a Commonwealth, in terms of the Albanese Government, has been about making sure we provide to the Australian people, but also to the Coalition of Peaks, what our plan has been in the last 12 months and what our achievements have been and what we're still working on. But it's also about what we intend to do going forward in 2026. That's what today is really about. The Closing the Gap report that the Prime Minister delivered in the House of Representatives this afternoon is a reminder of the work that we still continue to do, but we must do it in collaboration with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community across Australia, and that is through the Coalition of Peaks. That is why we have the Joint Council twice a year, to look at some of the structural and systemic change that has to occur, but also in terms of doing it in partnership, to see the changes for First Nations people.
I'll just briefly outline some of the announcements we made today; doubling the number of jobs being created through our Remote Jobs and Economic Development program from 3,000 to 6,000, expanding the cost of living support through the Low-Cost Essentials Subsidy Scheme, so 225 remote stores across the country can access it. Expanding the Store Efficiency and Resilience package. In the area of health, we will continue to support our Aboriginal Community Health Organisations with infrastructure, in particular, with the program of Birthing on Country, and assisting our women and children with culturally appropriate Birthing on Country programs. 13YARN, which is an important area for First Nations to go to in terms of seeking counselling, to ring for help. We are expanding that service.
Our Ways, launched this week, with Minister Tanya Plibersek. Our Way - Strong Ways - Our Voices, the first standalone plan to end violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children. The National Commissioner for First Nations Children and Young People, last week we introduced legislation for a dedicated, independent national advocate. And that has been a part of the consultation that's taken place with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. Obviously, the Productivity Commission will release its report at a later date, but today it has been about showing that for the next five years, on this National Agreement that we have with the Coalition of Peaks and the states and territories across Australia, that we must close the gap. And today, you heard what the Commonwealth will continue to do. I'll hand over now to Scott.
SCOTT WILSON, ACTING LEAD CONVENOR OF THE COALITION OF PEAKS: Thanks Minister, and we'd like to also give a big shout out to Pat Turner, because I know she'll be watching, because it was her leadership and drive that, along with government, got us to where we are here today. So, today's Closing the Gap statement matters because it reflects a shared commitment to a different way of working, one that recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are not just stakeholders but partners with governments and leaders in Closing the Gap. We welcome the further investments that were announced today by the Prime Minister in the House of Reps; in employment, food security and access to mental health services. They are not abstract policy areas. They go directly to whether our people can live with dignity, stability and hope.
We also acknowledge the significant and long overdue investments in Aboriginal health, including infrastructure. Aboriginal health workers, because I think we're now getting up to near 500 trained health workers across the country and community-led programs. We know that when investment flows through Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations, outcomes are stronger, services are safer and trust is built. There is a clean pattern we see again and again, where governments invest in Aboriginal Community-Controlled Services over the long term, our communities get better services, stronger workforces and better results against Closing the Gap targets. Short term programs don't build systems, sustained investment does.
We also welcome the Closing the Gap being given priority in the third funding round under the Housing Australia Future Fund, including a dedicated funding stream for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lead organisations. Housing is foundational. It underpins health, education, employment and safety and our community-controlled housing providers must be central to delivering this investment. To make this housing investment work, it must be supported by strong, national, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander housing leadership, including ongoing funding from the Commonwealth, for the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Housing Association. That's how we ensure our community-controlled housing organisations can access funding, build capability and deliver housing that actually meets community needs.
Partnering with Aboriginal Community-Controlled organisations is not just the right thing to do, it's the most effective way to close the gap. But we also need to be honest, investments like the ones announced today must be backed up by ongoing, sustainable funding. Our organisations need certainty to plan, to employ people and retain staff, and to deliver lasting change, not just survive from one funding round to another. Finally, I'd like to acknowledge the importance of the Apology to the Stolen Generations and obviously the breakfast tomorrow. My family is part of the Stolen Generations, from the Northern Territory. So, obviously it's something that I think about often. It will be important that the government recognises the needs of the Stolen Generation survivors, outlined in the Healing Foundation’s, Are You Waiting for Us to Die? report. I’ll give you to Catherine.
CATHERINE LIDDLE, DEPUTY CO-CONVENOR OF THE COALITION OF PEAKS: Thank you, and I acknowledge the Acting Lead Convenor Scott Wilson, and of course the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Malarndirri McCarthy, and our incredible leader, Aunty Pat Turner. I think today's report reinforces what SNAICC has always known, what I know as Deputy Convener, and that is Closing the Gap starts with our children. The story of children is at the heart of the tabling of the report today and when you think about what conditions are required to ensure that all of our children are thriving, they were mentioned in that report. They talk to the impact of incredible services like Connected Beginnings and those incredible programs are supported by Aboriginal health services and education providers and family support services. So, what we now need to see is more investment in that because we need to not only see the number of our children entering preschool, which is fantastic, we're about to close that target. We now need them to be entering that system with everything that they need. And we know that that involves housing. We know that that involves jobs for their families. We know that involves things like food security. So, it is incredible to see what we're seeing in some of the tabling today. And it is obviously creating an opportunity where we can see all children thriving. Thank you.
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: Thank you Catherine and thank you Scott. We’re happy to take some questions.
JOURNALIST: If I can just ask on child development, the children's enrolments has been lauded as one of the positive targets, but they’re concerned about the gap between child development. We're also seeing that the government's about to, in partnership with the states and territories, roll out the Thriving Kids program. Is that going to be something that you think will close the gap in the short to long term?
CATHERINE LIDDLE: Look, I think we're sitting on the cusp of what is a Medicare moment and it's like being in the middle of a perfect storm. Everything is circling, and what will be fantastic is to see the government and the opposition as well, because we know we need full support in order to be able to bring all of those storms together. What we know is that it will be an incredible investment into ensuring that children get the support that they need when they need it, in an environment that suits them. Again, as we know, we need Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children to be ready for school because if they start pre-school with a gap already in their learning development, we know that gap gets bigger and bigger at every stage of their learning development journey. This is potentially a Medicare moment and it will be fantastic to see all governments lean in and push in and invest in what's working. Aboriginal service delivery works.
JOURNALIST: Minister, there are a lot of positives in the report today, but some of the targets that are going backwards are the ones that have consistently gone backwards, whether it’s out of home care or incarceration. You spoke this morning about incarceration and putting pressure on the states, but that conversation has been quite a regular conversation around putting pressure on states and territories. Where does that pressure turn into actual tangible action? We heard the Prime Minister today say we respect the states and territories making their own decisions on justice. So, is it just we have the same conversation over and over again and then nothing else? Because the states and territories have been pretty firm that they're not going to change tact in that way.
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: There are really good programs occurring in the Northern Territory and other states, in terms of the justice reinvestment program. We fund that at the Commonwealth level and part of the conversations that I'm having with those jurisdictions is have a look at what is actually working in your own state and territory. And these are programs that are working, where the Elders and local people in their communities are actually working with their young people, so they're not going to jail. Places like Groote Eylandt for example, is a standout in terms of the justice reinvestment that we as the Commonwealth are providing. Having the conversations with state and territory ministers is my job. It certainly sometimes goes well and sometimes it doesn't go well, but I never give up. Why? Because I just know it matters to our people on the ground.
JOURNALIST: Minister, what kind of consequences or tangible consequences, would you be prepared to place on those states and territories [indistinct] I'd be keen to hear what you think should be done to address that as well.
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: Look, I think first up, before we go to Mr Wilson, is that I have raised publicly the funding arrangements. It was the first thing that I raised in this second term of parliament. And what I'm doing is working with my ministerial colleagues, and I do need to work with them because it's not just the Indigenous Minister who's responsible for everything Indigenous. I need the Health Minister. I need the Education Minister, I need the Justice Minister. So, looking at the federal funding agreements, those agreements are currently underway in different forms across the states and territories. So, I want to see what we can do once those agreements are up in terms of the renewal. And currently, I'm working on a Northern Territory Remote Aboriginal Investment Agreement, and that is where I will start first.
SCOTT WILSON: Thanks for that, and thanks for your question. Obviously, if you have a look at the report that was released in Parliament today, you'll see that from a Commonwealth perspective, they're doing the right thing. They are putting the investment in. They are sort of walking the journey with the Coalition of Peaks and the community. When you see that seven of the targets are improving, it tells you that you're on the right direction. One of the things that we always, and I’ve been here before, where the targets that aren't going forward or going back, tend to be state government responsibilities, as you rightly said. And what we would like to see is that the levers the federal government has and they can pull, such as tying state and territory funding with the Closing the Gap outcomes, whether it's in justice, whether it's in out-of-home home care, and things like that, and we basically encourage the Commonwealth to do that.
JOURNALIST: Minister, can I ask about the situation in Wadeye at the moment? There's been this prolonged period of violence and rioting there over several weeks now. Is there more that the federal government could do to try and resolve that situation?
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: Well, we invest significantly into the Northern Territory. What I would say is that the Northern Territory Government need to be very much involved in looking at the future of our communities and working with us. I do know that the NT Police Commissioner is also tasked with having to ensure the police, in terms of numbers of police in certain areas, that they are around the Northern Territory, because that has also been at the request of First Nations people in our communities, in terms of wanting to feel safe as well. So, the Commonwealth is very much involved in our communities in the Northern Territory. I drove out to Wadeye before the wet season and spent some time out there. Simple things like roads, for example, the road infrastructure, we've spent money and provided that money to the Northern Territory. That road needs to be completed in order to be able to have the access that people require in terms of food, to have the capability to get through the wet season. And some of the conflict that we do see does require everyone to be involved in terms of the local community and Traditional Owners to come together for peace.
JOURNALIST: Does the Territory Government have the resources they need in your view at the moment?
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: The Northern Territory Government receives a considerable amount of federal funding. In fact, nearly 80% of its budget is from the federal government. So, we certainly invest very heavily into the Northern Territory. What it does require is people on the ground to be able to work with those community groups. There are 12 different clan groups in Wadeye. It always has struggled with trying to find a way forward, but I am confident there are incredibly good people in Wadeye who want to see good things happen, and I'll be focussed on working with all of them, to see that, along with the Northern Territory Government, that we see peace.
JOURNALIST: Minister, I know you won't be able to comment exactly on the criminal aspect of it from the January 26th alleged terror attack, but just a lot of First Nations people have been speaking for quite a considerable period of time about racism and a lot of people have been arguing that their concerns have not been illuminated in the same way, or elevated in the same way that other minority groups have experienced that kind of racism as well. And I was just wondering if, your government has sat on the anti-racism, the racism framework since 2024. We've seen Senator Lidia Thorpe has called for that to be implemented. Is there any sort of reason the government hasn't implemented or are they looking to implement it or at least, yeah, take it on board?
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: You’ve got a fair bit in that question, so I might start with the actual incident. And I certainly spent time with the Noongar Elders, and the rally organisers, in Boorloo Perth, to do a couple of things. One is, obviously, to hear from them firsthand as to where they're at, to make sure that they're OK and that they know they're supported. That was really important to do. It was horrific what occurred for families on that day, in terms of what might have happened. All of this impacts people, in terms of social and emotional wellbeing. The other areas that organisers and Elders spoke to me about was how do we move forward in terms of feeling safe, to be able to come together as a group. Whether it's to protest black deaths in custody, whether it's to have a gathering of sorts or even in preparation for NAIDOC. How are people going to feel safe? Even wearing their colours, whether it's to do with any Aboriginal organisations, wearing the Aboriginal flag, people were starting to feel that they need reassurance, and it was important to be able to provide that, that it doesn't matter if you're a First Nations person in this country, every single Australian has the right to feel safe. And that is paramount, and I made that really clear. So, there's a couple of levels to that, as well, in terms of the concerns I raised around racism and hatred. I know it for a fact. I only have to look at my social media feed at times, and it's abhorrent the way that people think they can just say these things, and without any kind of thought that goes into what it does to young minds, to old minds, to vulnerable people who are reading that about themselves. So, that's why we implemented the hate speech rules here in the parliament, and we've got the strongest laws. And that was important. The other thing that was important last week was that as a Parliament, we condemned outright what happened in Perth. And we condemned it not just for the Noongar people, but for all First Nations people in this country to know that this Parliament will not condone any act of violence against First Nations people or any people in this country.
JOURNALIST: Just on Closing the Gap again, we obviously have the deadline of 2030 as the end of the agreement. A lot of the things that you've said today are youth focussed. We’ll see this in coming generations, long-term funding, long-term stability is what's important. Do you think that we will get to a point where maybe not everything's achieved by the end of this deadline, but at least we'll have everything lined up to be there.
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: Thank you. That's really important. You're right. The way I approach it is a couple of levels. One is, we have to work together, as hard as that is at times, especially in this place. I do reach out across the Parliament to my opponents, to the crossbench, to the different parties. Because to me, for First Nations people, we have to work together as a Parliament. And that isn't easy to navigate through, but I will always, I'm determined to do that every time. So, that's important, and it sets up, hopefully, the difference in the structural and systemic change of this Parliament. I mean, I can only do what I can do in the remit I have, but the states and territories can do a hell of a lot as well. And I hope by our leadership at the Commonwealth level, by what I'm doing, what the Coalition of Peaks are doing, at our level, that we are sending a really firm example that this is possible. We can achieve this, but we need everyone on board.
JOURNALIST: Mr Wilson, you spoke about your family being impacted by the Stolen Generations. Were you disappointed to see that today's commitments didn't have those recommendations [indistinct]? The recommendations are mentioned in the Healing Foundation's report for urgent support for Stolen Generations funds.
SCOTT WILSON: We obviously we were, but I mean, we're looking forward to tomorrow because tomorrow is sort of a day of reflection for those events that occurred for generations of Aboriginal people right across the country. And so, we look forward to the Commonwealth maybe making some announcements tomorrow that might actually address some of those issues.