ALLAN NEILSON, HOST: On the line I have Senator, the Honourable Malarndirri McCarthy, Minister for Indigenous Australians. Welcome.
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY, MINISTER FOR INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS: Oh, hello, Allan. Lovely to join you, and a big hello to all your listeners.
HOST: I'm just going to talk to you about the budget and what it means for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities, the budget that is the Federal Budget.
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: Yes, we had the Federal Budget delivered in the Parliament is this week in Canberra, and it was an important budget, especially when we look at what's happening in the Middle East. We have been very concerned about fuel, in particular, and what was going on with the war in the Middle East. So, that has impacted on Australia, and we've been able to make sure there's strong fuel supplies across the country, especially diesel. I know a lot of our mob, especially out bush, use diesel, it's been important that part of this budget really looked at the supply of diesel, but also looking at the cost. One of the big things, of course, is tax cuts. We've seen that every working Australian has a tax cut through this budget, and that's going to be important. But I think specifically for our First Nations communities, the areas of health and housing were really the big areas for us, and that's important.
HOST: Because that's the whole thing, the budget included a range of measures across key areas and much of the funding reflects extensions and expansions on what you just talked about and that's healthcare, aged care, community safety programs, housing infrastructure, food security and also employment and education opportunities. So that's boosted and ongoing which is a great thing for, especially remote and Aboriginal people, on the whole.
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: That's right, Allan, and for your listeners are who are living in our remote and regional areas, two of the key areas we really focused on is jobs and food security. So with the jobs, we want to see more jobs out there for our families to make sure they have decent wages, superannuation, long service leave, holiday pay and having dignity in jobs. So, we've been able to increase that from 3,000 to 6,000 jobs by 2030, so that's been extraordinary for me to see that come through. But the food security side of things, Allan, is also about when families go to their local shop in their communities, they want to know that they are paying the price of goods the same as you would in Darwin or Cairns in Woolies or Coles, and so we've been rolling out what's called the subsidies for our communities, so on 30 items, it's not on everything in the store, but it's on 30 items that are really critical for families, where we've dropped the price by 50 per cent. So, families should see the difference. The question is which stores, and obviously happy to provide that to you, but there's around 117 stores across Queensland, Northern Territory, WA and parts of South Australia that have signed up to this subsidy scheme. So those communities will see a difference.
HOST: And this was an initiative by the Labor Government, wasn't it?
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: That's right. It's something I've worked on for the past four years, Allan, it's been important to me. One of the big things I see, growing up out bush, the stores, people really complain about the foods and the cost, and I really wanted to concentrate on that in the last three or four years and get the support of my colleagues in the Cabinet and the Prime Minister to focus on this, and we have been able to, and we're going to keep going with it. We want to roll it out to over 200 stores. So, there's about 117 that have signed up now, so we've got plenty more. If you're listening out there, who want to sign up to the scheme, reach out to the National Indigenous Australians Agency.
HOST: We've always talked about Aboriginal health, especially in the remote sector, and this is something important. I know from personal travels to the remote sector that families just couldn't afford simple foods to cook, and it was cheaper for them to buy the take‑away food for their children and families, which as we know is not healthy.
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: That's right. So, we've got to be able to make sure that there's also healthy food. Part of that food security funding also goes to nutrition workers, Allan, so I wanted to provide jobs in our stores so that we actually have nutrition workers, local people, who can do the jobs and talk about the importance of the food that people are eating. We've got so much chronic kidney disease and rheumatic heart disease and other diseases and failures, that we have to eat certain foods in order to assist our own healthy living.
HOST: Exactly. Some of the other things that the budget is going to be continuing with and targeting is housing, and that's a big thing, isn't it; it's across the board, but especially in the remote community sector, Aboriginal communities, that is, housing, it's a big problem, isn't it?
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: Well, that's right. We've got in the Northern Territory, especially the $4 billion Remote Housing Plan, 2 billion from the Northern Territory, 2 billion from the Commonwealth, but there's also additional support across the country by reforming the tax system, Allan, just to support 75,000 more homeowners into the housing market. We've introduced, if people want to buy their first home, there is a 5 per cent deposit that we're helping families with, and that would include First Nations families; those families who have really secure jobs and feel like they want to purchase their own homes, wherever they live in the country. So, I'm mindful that I've got to think about First Nations families across the country, not just those in remote. We've tried to tailor the budget to try and meet everyone where they're at.
HOST: And that's something that I've noticed. Look, the Labor Government since they've been in power, we've come off a bad thing, which is COVID, and how it affected, not only Australia but the world, and now with this, as you mentioned earlier, the Middle East thing. So, to be able to do what you are doing and trying to adjust and maintain cost of living for people to make it affordable, I think you are doing a pretty good job in that area, but a lot of people don't see it that way.
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: Thank you, Allan, we're doing our best. We just want to make sure no one's left behind. It's really important to remember that people come from all walks of life and different experiences and they live in some of the remotest places in the country or they might live in the biggest capital city. But we try to think of everyone, but especially our remote and regional areas.
HOST: No, that's awesome. Anything else that you'd like to just mention about the budget and how it affects the Aboriginal people themselves?
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: No, just that obviously we are wanting to see change in terms of our communities, and I would just say that if any of your listeners want to raise anything, by all means reach out to me.
HOST: Okay. Just before you go, I read this, this morning, and I just wanted to see what your thoughts were on this, the National Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People is raising serious concerns about the Care and Protection of Aboriginal Children Amendment Bill 2026 which was tabled in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly this week. If passed, the Early Child Matters 2026 bill will continue to negatively impact the care and safety of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people. What are your thoughts on that?
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: I think Commissioner Hunter is raising some very important points around the care of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. In any changes to legislation, whether it's in the Northern Territory or any other jurisdiction, changes that impact on First Nations families and their lives should include a conversation with First Nations organisations, and I'd certainly encourage the Northern Territory Government to be doing exactly that. If they're making a specific legislation or law that does impact directly on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, please make sure you are speaking and working with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sector.
HOST: Yeah, I just hope it's not another intervention thing, because that was pretty horrible.
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: Well, I would certainly say that no-one wants to see an intervention, Allan, in regards to what happened in 2007. I think we've all been there before, and we really didn't see too much positive come out of that. In fact, many families are still affected by it in a very traumatic way. I would just encourage the governments of the day, be it here in the Northern Territory or the other state jurisdictions, and my own colleagues in the federal Cabinet, to always be talking to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.
HOST: And I thank you for that. Okay, Senator Malarndirri McCarthy, I thank you for your time and just giving us a bit of an update on that 2026 Federal Budget.
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: No worries, thank you Allan, and all the best to you and your listeners.