Subjects: Indigenous affairs, remote jobs, incarceration rates, justice reinvestment, Yiŋiya Guyula, NT Remote Housing Agreement, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle, Northern Territory
JAMES GLENDAY, HOST: Now we're here in Darwin this morning as part of the ABC's your say campaign. This is stop five of our eight-week national tour and I'm happy to say we're joined now by Northern Territory Senator Malarndirri McCarthy, who is of course also the federal Minister for Indigenous Australians. She's raced back from Canberra after a big week in Parliament. I mean, we better start with that. What's the trip like to get up to the Northern Territory from Canberra?
MALARNDIRRI MCCARTHY, MINISTER FOR INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS: Well, it seems to be lessening, James. We need to still have more flights to the Northern Territory and beyond.
HOST: What time did you get in?
MINISTER: I got in about 1am this morning. It's what we call the red eye. For many of your viewers, they would know it well, especially here in the Territory. It's a flight I catch each week.
HOST: Well, we appreciate the effort and we know you're operating on a couple of hours sleep and we can sympathise with that very well and truly. Now we've been travelling around the country for the ABC's your say campaign and quite a few Indigenous people have said to us, look, we were really happy the Albanese Government took the Voice to a referendum but since it's failed, we think that they're not doing enough or they're too worried to act on Aboriginal affairs. What do you say to people who think that? I'm sure this is something you hear as well.
MINISTER: Certainly in the months after the referendum I heard that. And then obviously what I've done in coming into this role is work on the policies that we want to roll out. And we are rolling those ones out, James. And that is the remote jobs, seeing 3,000 First Nations people in jobs. I can happily say we have reached that number. But it's also around cost of living and other areas. Not as exciting as campaigning, at the moment. But it is about day to day business for First Nations families.
HOST: The Uluru Statement from the Heart, are you going to revisit that at some point? Heading to the next election, should we expect you to see putting aside money for maybe truth telling at a national level or something like that?
MINISTER: Well, we have an inquiry underway now into racism in our country, James, and already reading some of those submissions, and there's been well over 600 submissions, Senator Jana Stewart is leading that inquiry, and we have seen through that the calls for truth telling. And there is no doubt that inquiry will put forward some of those views.
EMMA REBELLATO, HOST: So, next hour we're going to be having the Northern Territory Chief Minister on our show. She, of course, represents your political opponents. We're going to be talking about crime because that is one of the big policies here. She'll argue they're working. Do you agree with that?
MINISTER: Oh, well, look, it depends on the perspective in which you're looking at that. My concern is actually about the high rates of incarceration of First Nations people across the country but most particularly here in the Northern Territory. We have some really good programs with the Justice Reinvestment Program. So, on Groote Eylandt, for example, we have seen those rates of crime drop considerably. And that is because the local people, the Anindilyakwa people, have been able to find the solutions themselves. And this is what I've encouraged the Northern Territory Government to do, is look at these models that are actually working successfully with First Nations people and emulate that across the Territory. And I've said that to the other Attorneys-General across the country as well.
JAMES GLENDAY, HOST: But instead, they're building more jails at the moment. And we saw this week –
MINISTER: Yeah, that’s disappointing. It’s really disappointing, James.
HOST: We saw this week First Nations MLA Yiŋiya Guyula, now he's an Independent, he resigned from the Northern Territory Parliament. He called the current policies of the Northern Territory Government dehumanising and oppressing. He also even said that the Westminster system of government was failing Indigenous people more broadly. As you travel around, and you go to more remote communities than probably anyone, is this something you hear, that faith in government in Indigenous communities is failing?
MINISTER: Well, I might just go to Yiŋiya for a moment. This is an extraordinary leader, Yolŋu person, a man who's well respected in his area. There are over 100 Aboriginal languages right here in the Northern Territory. In North East Arnhem Land, you have so many different dialects. So, for him to compare with the Westminster system, I thought that was important, and I think it might have been a bit lost in all the coverage. That there is tremendous law, in terms of the Yolŋu, what we've seen with the Yolŋu rom and what they try and do to teach about Yolŋu law. He had hoped he could influence that more in the Territory Parliament as well as the Federal Parliament.
EMMA REBELLATO, HOST: You're basically deadlocked with the CLP regarding funding for the 10-year remote housing plan. Where are things at? What needs to move for that to happen and go ahead?
MINISTER: Look, I do appreciate Minister Steve Edgington's work on this. I know it's tough. I know that we both work together in terms of, he's the Indigenous Affairs Minister here in the Northern Territory. We have to try and work together for the betterment of the people of the Territory. And it is tough. It is tough when you come up against policies of governments who really seem to go against First Nations people. With the housing one, what's different in this, is that we have the Aboriginal community sector involved in the negotiations and that's not happened before. And so, as a result of their involvement, they too have put forward their views and they are urging us to just get on with the job. And that's what I'll try and do with the Minister.
JAMES GLENDAY, HOST: What's your personal view about the Northern Territory Government's child placement policies? Because it's a complicated area, but a lot of people are worried that this could repeat some of the mistakes of the Stolen Generations. I mean, do you share that concern?
MINISTER: Look, it's not complicated. The (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Child Placement Principle is there for a reason, and that is that First Nations families know how to look after children. They know how to look after their kids. And what we have is a kinship structure in that placement principle. So, for example, I've raised probably, I don't know, 20 kids on top of my own children, looking after other families’ children. And that's part of kinship, and that is the structure that families stand up strongly for. If you remove that and not enable a child to go to their aunty, to go to their grandmother, to go to their sister, if they're old enough to look after them, then that is where these concerns are really being raised.
HOST: The Northern Territory Government's going to argue, and I'm sure we're going to hear this later, that this is about protecting kids and it needs to happen. I mean, what do you say to the people who believe that. Who are watching this this morning, saying, look, we need to act in this space?
MINISTER: Sure, James, I think it's important to say to your viewers that everyone's worried about safety. Safety is critical for every child, whatever colour that child is. We want every child in this country to grow up to their full potential, surrounded by love, having food on the table, being secure and the same with First Nations people. But what we also want to say with the placement principle is that their sense of who they are matters as well. And if they can be with family members and there is enough resourcing to support those family members to look after them, then put your effort into that.
HOST: We should ask you a nice question to end because we did get you here to talk about what was great about the Northern Territory. I mean, why have you stayed here for so long? What is it about this place?
MINISTER: It's home. It's where my family are. It's where I’ve raised my family. My husband's a teacher here. The girls go to school here. I'm from Borroloola and yes, we have our ups and downs but there is such a connection to Country. I'm a Yanyuwa Garrwa woman. Our connection goes back thousands of years. But what I love the most, James, is the ability to travel the country and engage with all people. And you know, if you come to the Northern Territory and if you come to Darwin, you'll certainly be able to do that as well.
HOST: Minister Malarndirri McCarthy, thanks for your time this morning.
MINISTER: Thank you.