DANIEL BURDON,HOST: You were in Port Hedland and the Pilbara last week, can you tell me what you were hearing from people on the ground?
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY, MINISTER FOR INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS: Yes, I certainly was in the Kimberley and the Pilbara. I drove from Broome to Port Hedland and also visited Bidyadanga. What I wanted to do in Port Hedland was really to hear from the families and the organisations in Port Hedland, given the horrific stories coming through a national newspaper, and just wanted to hear for myself from those organisations how they were going and what they were hoping to see take place. I've also had a chance to speak to the West Australian Government and ask them as to what they were doing in this area of child protection and the concerns being raised. I understand that the WA Minister has been to Port Hedland a few times, and is working with families there as well, which is appropriate. But I did want to also make sure, after the National Children's Commissioner had been there and I had been briefed by her, I wanted to also visit.
HOST: I spoke to the National Children's Commissioner last week, and she had that roundtable and obviously visited Port Hedland as well. They've called for an independent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children's Commissioner at the West Australian Government level, and also an independent peak body that represents all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families across the state. Are those recommendations things that you'd support?
MINISTER: Well, we put the position of the National Children's Commissioner in place under the Albanese Labor Government because we wanted to have a First Nations National Commissioner for our children across the country. And for Commissioner Sue-Anne Hunter to hear from leaders and Elders in Western Australia calling for these things, of course we're listening to what she has to say. We do believe having Commissioner Hunter at the forefront of this is absolutely important, and so too is listening to what the West Australian Government is doing.
HOST: And when we spoke, she was still in the early stages of drawing up the terms of reference of the Rapid Review. She did say she'd like to be able to tie that up by the end of the year. Have you seen those terms of reference and, you know, what that'll be looking at?
MINISTER: I certainly hope to have a briefing with the Commissioner this week. I've only just got back from my travels interstate, so I'm certainly hoping to do that in the coming days.
HOST: There's also the separate but related issue of Dorothy Papertalk's calls for an inquest into the deaths of her three grandchildren. Am I right in understanding that you would like to see the WA Attorney-General essentially order the Coroner here to hold an inquest into the matter?
MINISTER: I have seen the articles on Mrs Papertalk in terms of her calls, questioning what happened to her grannies, not just in regards to the event which saw them tragically killed. It's also about the surrounding circumstances and the lead-up to it. And I support her calls for that inquest. And I will certainly be writing to the West Australian Government along those lines.
HOST: You mentioned that the WA Minister for Child Protection has, I guess, announced a few new initiatives, specifically including expanding the Safe Spaces Program in the region and those sorts of things. But we're talking about long-term systemic problems, and they're not unique to WA or the Pilbara or Kimberley. You're also a former NT Child Protection Minister, going back nearly 20 years, so you're no newcomer to this space. Do you think things have improved or changed, really, in child protection for Aboriginal children, particularly in remote communities, in that time?
MINISTER: What I want to see more of is support for Kinship care and resourcing. This is really important. It has been, unfortunately, a political debate about the Aboriginal Child Placement Principle. It doesn't need to be. It simply is about aunts and uncles, grandmothers, grandfathers, other cousins or sisters looking after children instead of them going completely out of the care of family. What I'd like to see, and what I will be pursuing through the Joint Council on Closing the Gap, is that our state and territory governments actually look at more resourcing behind that Kinship care.
HOST: And the Kinship care issue is a sort of major sticking point, and it has actually gone backwards over the last 10 years, in WA at least. I mean, how do you overcome this pretty difficult policy area?
MINISTER: Well, you see governments come and go of all political persuasions, and I think First Nations people are astute enough to know that, with governments coming and going, so do policies. What I want to do with the role that I have as Federal Indigenous Australians Minister is really encourage the support for Kinship care. I firmly believe if our country and our state and territory governments can really look at resourcing Kinship care appropriately, we would see a real difference in the care of our children.
HOST: And the relationship, I guess, you probably have with your counterparts in the WA Government is probably better than with the CLP Government in the Territory at present. But are you looking to, I guess, stretch your legs as Commonwealth Minister in terms of Commonwealth funding for these programs if certain improvements are made?
MINISTER: We provide substantial funding through federal funding agreements across the country, and in the Northern Territory, we certainly fund well over 70 per cent of the Northern Territory budget. So, we expect that each state and territory who have signed up to the National Agreement on Closing the Gap to sincerely work towards closing that agreement. And that means in the care and protection of First Nations children.
HOST: Are you seeing any bright spots in child protection programs around the country at the moment?
MINISTER: We've got a lot of work to do across the country. It is one of the highest rates of out-of-home care, in terms of the targets that we're trying to meet in Closing the Gap, and we've got a lot of work to do.
HOST: Thanks Minister.