NATALIE HUTCHINS, VICTORIAN MINISTER FOR TREATY AND FIRST PEOPLES: 

Joint Council members were welcomed to Naarm (Melbourne), by Wurundjeri Elder Aunty Di Kerr OAM who provided a Welcome to Country focused on the pride and strength of Aboriginal culture in creating thriving communities. Aunty Di encouraged all members to maintain the strength of their leadership efforts whilst noting that progress on Closing the Gap remains slow. 

The Albanese Labor Government is committed to progressing our shared ambition to end violence against women and children in Australia in one generation. One life lost to intimate partner homicide is too many.

We know that to end violence, we must be able to measure it. Understanding the scale of the issue with accurate, verified, closer to real-time data is critical.

To assist, today the Government is announcing the implementation of a new statistical dashboard which will provide more timely reporting on intimate partner homicide.

The highly successful Indigenous Ranger Program (IRP) will receive a $359 million boost to double the number of Indigenous rangers by 2030, ahead of the Joint Council on Closing the Gap in Melbourne today. 

The $359 million investment will prioritise applicants committed to gender equality and new Indigenous Rangers Groups, particularly on Indigenous Protected Areas where a ranger program isn’t yet established. 

Acknowledgements

Good afternoon, everyone.

I begin by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the land on which we meet — the Whadjuk people of the Noongar nation — and I pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

Thank you to Aunty May McGuire for that beautiful welcome to country.

Thank you, Jasmyn and the team at Orana for inviting me to be part of the Conversation that Matters here at The Rise.

There are some special guests with us today that I would also like to acknowledge:

I am here to thank each of you as risk management professionals.

Public servants who give Australia a safer, more certain world.

It is my pleasure to celebrate these awards with you today at this iconic venue in our Nation’s Capital.

Stepping onto the stage at the National Press Club comes with great risk.

This Club is now 60 years old.

Starting as a lunch club.

And before too long the journalists got bored of grilled food.

They moved on to grilling politicians.

The Albanese Government has today released the second annual report outlining findings from the 2022-23 Survey of Trust in Australian public services.

Delivering on our commitment to annually release this report publicly for increased transparency and trust in our Australian Public Service.

Key findings from the Survey include:

From Ntaria (Hermannsburg) in the south to Milikapiti in the north, homes continue to be handed over in remote communities.

The Territory Labor Government has delivered 1278 new remote homes, including over 800 homes completed under the Remote Housing Investment Package, plus upgrades to close to 1700 homes under all remote housing programs since September 2016.

In the latest handover on Monday, three homes - a four-bedroom and two five-bedrooms - were finalised in the Central Australian community of Ntaria and are now easing overcrowding in the community.

The Commonwealth Minister for Indigenous Australians and Ministers responsible for Indigenous Affairs from all States and Territories met today via videoconference. Ministers reaffirmed their support for listening and working in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians to improve the lives of Indigenous people.

Ministers acknowledged that many First Nations Australians were disappointed by the referendum result on 14th October.

ADAM SHIRLEY, HOST: Patrick Gorman, is a Labor MP and Assistant Minister for the Public Service and is with us this morning. Patrick Gorman, a very good morning to you.

PATRICK GORMAN, ASSISTANT MINISTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER AND ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE: And good morning to you, Adam. Good morning to your listeners.

SHIRLEY: Assistant Minister, through your time in any public service role, how often have you come across or witnessed racism?