I'd like to begin by acknowledging the traditional lands of the Lenape people. I'm a Yanyuwa Garrawa woman from Borroloola, a small town in the Northern Territory of Australia. And I come here as Senator for the Northern Territory and as Assistant Minister for Indigenous Australians and Indigenous Health.

The Albanese Government is expanding the highly successful Junior Ranger program, offering on-Country learning to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students across Australia.

The $50 million funding boost means thousands of First Nations primary and secondary students will now be able to access the Junior Rangers program at 50 new sites.

The program is designed to boost school attendance and engagement, while providing students with practical skills in land and water management, presenting opportunities to pursue future careers as Indigenous Rangers.

It’s Chinese New Year this weekend, and the year of the Dragon, symbolising new beginnings, luck, happiness and prosperity.

But in an unfortunate and unexpected end to 2023 which continued through January, my family spent many days at the bedside of my 25-year-old son who survived a heart attack. He’s on track to recovery thanks to the amazing doctors and nurses who cared for him. 

I’m ever conscious it’s a tough time for a lot of people across Australia, for many reasons. 

‘Our Voice, Our Future: Reclaiming our Rightful Place after the Referendum’

Good morning. If I could firstly just acknowledge the Larrakia people on whose land we gather and pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging. Thank you all for your invitation to have been here to speak… 

The power to make a practical, positive difference in the lives of our fellow Australians is in our hands. When we step into the voting booth on referendum day, we will have the chance to be part of a great, unifying moment by saying “Yes”. 

Yes to recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in our Constitution, and yes to giving them their best chance of being properly heard with a Voice.

The Albanese Government has achieved another successful milestone for employees across the Australian Public Service (APS).

Results this week have seen employees in the four biggest agencies – the Australian Taxation Office, the Department of Home Affairs, Services Australia and the Department of Defence – vote up their enterprise agreements.

The success of APS-wide bargaining means employees at 45 agencies, or almost 70 per cent of all APS employees, can access the benefits of the new agreements.

A new round of funding to support Australians living with cancer has opened today, with the Assistant Minister for Indigenous Health Malarndirri McCarthy announcing the latest Supporting People with Cancer (SPWC) Grant initiative.

The Australian Government, through Cancer Australia, is inviting grassroots community organisations and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations working to improve outcomes for people affected by cancer to apply for grants of up to $120,000 each.

The expansion of a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) screening program will be explored in partnership with community organisations as part of a new National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) project.

Professor Dianne Shanley of Griffith University and team will partner with community organisations, including Indigenous-led health service providers, to examine whether their Tracking Cube tool can be Indigenous health service providers nationwide.

PATRICK GORMAN, ASSISTANT MINISTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER AND ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE: There's paper cuts. There's shortcuts. There's director's cuts. There's hair cuts. And for every Australian this week because of Labor, there's tax cuts.

13.6 million Australians will get a tax cut because of the legislation that Labor introduced, Labor argued for and Labor voted for in the House and the Senate.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good evening and thanks for joining us at this unusual time for a media conference. But Labor's cost of living tax cuts have just passed the parliament. This is a huge win for all 13.6 million Australian taxpayers. It means 84 per cent of Australians will get a bigger tax cut than they would have under the Liberals plan. Under Labor, Australians are earning more and they will get to keep more of what they earn. Peter Dutton wants people to work longer for less, and this is a great divide in Australian politics.