Subjects: Joint Council meeting on Closing the Gap, diphtheria outbreak, child protection, deaths in custody, family violence
NSW MINISTER FOR ABORIGINAL AFFAIRS AND TREATY, DAVID HARRIS: Good morning, I am David Harris, the New South Wales Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Treaty, and welcome you all here this morning to the latest Closing the Gap Council meeting. I acknowledge that we gather today on Darug land and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging and acknowledge this special place Kimberwalli, which in Darug language means many stars. It’s actually a place for educating young people, the youth, the leaders and Elders of tomorrow. It’s a special place in Western Sydney. I’m joined today by my ministerial colleagues from around Australia and the Closing the Gap leads, and also, most importantly, we have Senator Malarndirri McCarthy, who’s Co-Chair, along with Donnella Mills, who will lead our discussions today. So, I’ll hand over now to Donnella to say a few words.
LEAD CONVENOR OF THE COALITION OF PEAKS AND JOINT COUNCIL CO-CHAIR, DONELLA MILLS: Thank you Minister. Good morning everyone. I, too, want to acknowledge that we're on Darug land. I feel really honoured to be here in this beautiful Country. Just stepping outside, hearing the birds. Today we have a really important meeting. The meeting is the Indigenous Ministers across the country in relation to Joint Council. I just want to take a moment to acknowledge some of the challenges that are facing our communities. We’ll be discussing the activation of Clause 64, which Minister McCarthy has brought together a working group with the direction to really make sure that we have an open discussion around the issues on fuel, food security and other related matters. I’m sure that as we go through there will be also conversations in relation to diphtheria and, importantly, the Indigenous-led review. Our expectations out of the meeting today is really to come to a point of understanding where we’re going into the next stage of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. The discussions that will be had will be robust, they will be challenging, but it is really clear that the National Agreement on Closing the Gap is sound. When we utilise the priority reforms then we’re able to actually deliver impact for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. I will hand over to the Honourable Senator Malarndirri McCarthy, Minister for Indigenous Australians.
MINISTER FOR INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS AND JOINT COUNCIL CO-CHAIR, MALARNDIRRI MCCARTHY: I, too, would like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of this Country and thank them for the warm welcome this morning to all of us from around the country. It is important to recognise also that we are here in New South Wales, our host, for this first Joint Council for 2026 and acknowledge that New South Wales has its challenges and we thank the Minister and the Coalition of Peaks of New South Wales for welcoming us here. But we will have tough conversations, and we know that. And that’s what’s important, not just with regards to New South Wales but with every jurisdiction and including us, the Commonwealth. We want to close the gap. The Prime Minister said in February when we made the Closing the Gap announcement in the parliament that failure is not an option. And I repeat that, failure is not an option. So, today there will be serious discussions around our global situation. As Donnella Mills has said, Clause 64 has been activated so that we can – and must – be a part of any response in regards to what is happening overseas in the Middle East and how we reach out to our remote and regional communities in terms of fuel and any other issues that will be impacted should the crisis in the Middle East escalate in any way. We know that this Joint Council is very much at the table in those conversations. But closer to home the growing concern, national concern, of diphtheria and what we are seeing in terms of the Northern Territory, Western Australia, parts of Queensland and the top of South Australia is a national concern. We’ve seen the Health Minister Mark Butler announce a package of over $7 million to be able to work immediately in those jurisdictions but also with the states of New South Wales, Victoria, Tassie and, of course, the ACT. No-one is immune from this. We must make sure that we work as a country, and the Coalition of Peaks, in particular, the Aboriginal community-controlled health sector with NACCHO are leading this, in working with the Commonwealth and also with the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre in Darwin. These will be important issues, along with our concerns around justice and education for First Nations people across Australia. So, we’re going to have a pretty big day, and I look forward to that and welcome the conversation. But there must be action that comes from this, and there must be a real building of trust and continued trust. First Nations people across Australia want to see outcomes. And so do we. Thank you.
JOURNALIST: Minister McCarthy, what is the government’s plan to ensure there’s the medical workforce in place to administer the diphtheria vaccine?
MINISTER MCCARTHY: Well, we have now boosted funding for the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre in the Northern Territory to be part of a surge workforce, not only just for the Northern Territory but clearly across the jurisdictions that I’ve also mentioned. We’ve stood up an advisory group or a governance body that includes the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre along with NACCHO in terms of the Coalition and in terms of coordination with Aboriginal community-controlled health centres across Australia. So that’s the critical first step and to ensure from there what we need in terms of those locations that I’ve mentioned and what they’re asking for.
JOURNALIST: And how prepared are remote communities in the event the outbreak can’t be contained?
MINISTER MCCARTHY: We are out there. It is important that we not only communicate with First Nations families, but this is about our whole country being aware that this is a national concern. I’ve been in Redfern in preparation for this meeting today. I’ve gone and got my booster shot to make sure that we as adults – this isn’t just about children – are responsible as well. This is important that Australians take note, and the more that we can get vaccinated the better. But I do understand, as does the Commonwealth Health Minister, that people are – I think they’ve used the word, in terms of the Covid pandemic and vaccinations that there is sometimes a hesitancy. I just urge Australians everywhere, please get vaccinated.
JOURNALIST: I have some questions for Minister Edgington. There’s been one death reportedly probably linked to diphtheria in the NT. Is the department investigating any other deaths linked to diphtheria?
MINISTER EDGINGTON: Well, there has been one reported death, and that came through Congress. What we are doing at the moment is that there is an autopsy being conducted in regard to that death. We don’t have the results of that autopsy. But what we do have is 157 cases of diphtheria in the Northern Territory. And as a result of the $7.2 million funding from the federal government, certainly the national critical care unit in Darwin is coordinating the response from Darwin. But I must reiterate, we are working in partnership through NT Health, the Aboriginal community-controlled sector right across the board. And this is critical to get the messaging out right across the Northern Territory. So, what I can confirm is that we have a very strong partnership working on the ground in many remote communities. We’ve established pop-up clinics in Alice Springs, Darwin, Palmerston and Katherine, and those health clinics out in the bush are doing everybody they can to work with the community to identify those that not only require the vaccination but the booster as well.
JOURNALIST: The federal Health Minister says the NT Government did not request federal help to combat the diphtheria outbreak until late April, a month after the public health alert. Why did it take so long to do that?
MINISTER EDGINGTON: Well, we work very closely with the Aboriginal community-controlled sector in the Northern Territory, talking to the federal government. These have been ongoing conversations through our Chief Health Officer. Those conversations have been continuing for a number of months. We have been working very closely putting out communication material and working through not only our main hospitals but our health clinics in remote areas.
JOURNALIST: You talk about communication. Is it appropriate you’ve not held a single press conference in the NT in the seven weeks since the first diphtheria cases were announced?
MINISTER EDGINGTON: Well, there has been press conferences. The Chief Health Officer has communicated regularly with the media in the Northern Territory. There is a range of material that has been circulated in the Northern Territory. And you should never forget the work that’s being done on the ground at Aboriginal community-controlled health clinics, Northern Territory health clinics. That work has been invaluable since the diphtheria outbreak in the Northern Territory.
JOURNALIST: And just one on another matter – the child protection review. Is it appropriate that no Aboriginal people will sit on the scrutiny committee being set up to examine child protection laws?
MINISTER EDGINGTON: The scrutiny committee in the Northern Territory is a parliamentary committee. What we have done is tabled legislation in parliament, so that will sit on the table until it’s debated in parliament. Going through the scrutiny committee gives every organisation, every person the opportunity to contribute to the discussion around the formation of that child protection legislation. And what I would say is that we encourage everybody that wants to have a say in regard to child protection legislation to not only put in a submission but have your say because all of those submissions will be taken into account before that legislation is passed in the Northern Territory.
JOURNALIST: The Member for Lingiari says she’ll speak to the Prime Minister and call for an investigation into how and where federal money is spent by the NT Government and Indigenous organisations. She says enough is enough and this needs to be looked at properly. Would you support an investigation?
MINISTER EDGINGTON: Look, the Northern Territory Government has been calling for an audit of all funding that comes to the Northern Territory, and there’s quite a bit of federal funding that comes to all different parts of the Northern Territory. We’ve been calling for an audit of that funding because, at the end of the day, we want to make sure that funding is going to where it’s needed most and we’re getting the best outcomes for Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory.
JOURNALIST: Minister McCarthy, here in New South Wales we’ve – I think it was in late last year, a record high number of Indigenous deaths in custody. How do you rate the state’s performance at Closing the Gap in terms of justice outcomes?
MINISTER MCCARTHY: We’ve got a long way to go, and that’s the unfortunate side of all of this. We are still seeing deaths in custody across Australia, in particular in the Northern Territory more recently. And that’s why keeping people at the table, pushing for and advocating for policies that actually work on the ground. I have said on numerous occasions there are great programs with our justice reinvestment programs across Australia and, in particular, if I look at the Groote Eylandt model, there are really important outcomes in regards to what’s happening on Groote Eylandt with the justice reinvestment, and local people have the local solutions. And that’s why having the Joint Council, making sure the Aboriginal community-controlled sector is always at the table with these policies, and that includes in justice, we will make a difference.
JOURNALIST: Minister Harris, the latest figures on incarcerations show Indigenous adults make up something like 30 per cent of the adult incarceration population. Is the state failing Indigenous people?
MINISTER HARRIS: Look, this is a huge social issue. Most of those increases are because of domestic violence, and as a government we have a responsibility to make sure families and communities are kept safe. We don’t apologise for that. We know that particularly the impact back on to women and to young people in New South Wales through domestic violence is immense and leads to a range of other problems. So, yes, those numbers have inflated at the moment, but the government is spending record amounts of money on addressing domestic violence in our communities. That money will take time to make a difference. In the meantime, our responsibility is to keep people safe. Most of those people are on remand, and that’s putting pressure, of course, on to our court system. All of these issues are being looked at really carefully. The government is investing a lot of money into supporting families, particularly Aboriginal families, back in the community, and it has to be part of a holistic approach. So, community safety is our prime concern. We have to make sure that those women and families, their kids are safe, and then those other programs, particularly around domestic violence, we know over the longer term that we’ll hopefully change community values and change those numbers.
JOURNALIST: But the gap is widening under your watch, isn’t it?
MINISTER HARRIS: Well, it has – we make no apology. Domestic violence in our community is a scourge. Every day we see terrible, terrible crimes being committed against women and children. And the government has a responsibility to react to that. So, we don’t apologise for that. But at the same time, we are investing in programs right across the community to address these problems. These aren’t problems that have just occurred. But there has been a cry for help from the community around some of these issues. We had what happened in Wellington, for example. And the government has to respond to that. That’s hard. They’re decisions we don’t want to have to make, but we have to ensure that people are safe, that children are safe and that as part of our holistic approach we are addressing this problem more widely.
JOURNALIST: Thank you.