Introduction

Thank you for inviting me today.

It is a real privilege to celebrate your success in the Australian Public Service Indo-Pacific Executive Development Program.

Navigating and stewarding Australia’s future and place in our region. 

Our connection with the Indo-Pacific is not just geographical.

It is steeped in history, and for many, deeply personal.

Let me take you back around 65,000 years into our shared past.

Long before modern maps or borders.

Long before Europeans set foot in Australia.

Good morning. I start by acknowledging the Bunurong people of the Kulin nation as the traditional owners of the land we’re gathered on today.

I’d also like to thank Caroline Martin for your Welcome to Country this morning.

Can I also recognise:

Topics: $2.6 million for Danila Dilba Health Service to support First Nations women, children and families, addressing family and domestic violence, NT Coroner’s recommendations, Central Australia Justice Reinvestment Initiative.

It is my great pleasure to join you in celebrating the Awards for Excellence in Risk Management.

Today, we gather at this iconic venue, the National Museum of Australia — a treasure trove of stories and resilience.

Just imagine, every artefact here has survived challenges of time and circumstance. Floods, fires, and perhaps even a few butter-fingered curators. Reminding us that good risk management is both an art and a science.

The Albanese Labor Government is delivering another initiative as part of the largest commitment to justice reinvestment ever delivered by the Commonwealth.

Following a rigorous assessment process by an independent panel a partnership between Tangentyere Council Aboriginal Corporation, Lhere Artepe Aboriginal Corporation and the Northern Territory Government Community Justice Centre has been selected to deliver the Mparntwe (Alice Springs) Peacemaking Project.

The Albanese Labor Government is investing $2.6 million to trial a new approach to support First Nations women, children and families at risk of, or impacted by, family and domestic violence and reduce the number of children entering the child protection system in the Greater Darwin region. 

Danila Dilba Health Service, an Aboriginal community-controlled organisation based in Darwin, will receive the funding over two years. 

The Albanese Labor Government is investing $171.2 million to fund dozens of new place-based employment support projects for First Nations people, under the Indigenous Skills and Employment Program (ISEP).

The money will fund 37 community-led projects in remote, regional and urban locations across all states and territories, connecting First Nations people to jobs, training and job-ready activities.

The projects have been designed in partnership with First Nations communities to ensure activities are tailored to local needs.

The Australian Government has today announced Mr David Shankey will be appointed as the inaugural Chief Executive Officer of the Net Zero Economy Authority.

The appointment comes as the Government’s Future Made in Australia legislation passes Parliament, a major step forward in making Australia indispensable to the global net zero transformation.

Mr Shankey brings significant senior leadership experience in energy and climate policy and a track record of delivering future-focused reforms with local communities front and centre.

Valuing Democracy in Australia's Words, actions and public spaces

I am pleased to welcome you all to the seventh meeting of Australia’s Open Government Forum.

Australia is fortunate to be served by the Forum’s co-chairs, Professor Kate Auty and Deputy Secretary Simon Newnham. Together we continue to implement Australia’s Third National Action Plan.

I rise to table the Government Response to the Inquiry Report into Missing and Murdered First Nations Women and Children, by the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee.

In 2018, Kumarn Rubuntja travelled to Canberra from her tiny community of Antepe Camp, near Alice Springs.

She was among a group of women who came to Parliament House, to speak out about the murders of First Nations women.

I met with Ms Rubuntja, along with my friend and colleague Linda Burney, the-then Minister for Indigenous Australians.