PATRICK GORMAN, ASSISTANT MINISTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER AND ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE:  This has been a large week as we start to wrap up the parliamentary year. What we've seen is a massive announcement from my Australian colleague, Senator Patrick Dodson, to announce that he will not be rejoining us in 2024. I, like many, want to pay tribute to Patrick's contribution, not just in the Senate, but his contribution to Australia and his appointment to the Senate, which was something I was very pleased to be a part of back in 2016.

Today, the 26th State of the Service Report was tabled in Parliament.

Read a copy of the State of the Service Report 2023.

The results show that the Albanese Government’s reforms are already having a tangible impact on our Australian Public Service (APS), after a decade of stagnation.

This transformation is changing the face of capability, fairness, inclusion and transparency in our public sector.

Residents of a remote community near the Queensland border are planning to celebrate Christmas in brand new homes, thanks to a building boom across the Barkly region.

Twenty-one families have recently moved into homes at Alpurrurulam, and three more five-bedroom homes will be ready in the next couple of weeks.

The modular homes, built by Territory company Demountable Sales and Hire have been installed by Wilga Indigenous Corporation, which has provided employment opportunities to Alpurrurulam locals.

I pay tribute to my dear friend and Yawuru man Senator Patrick Dodson, who has today announced his retirement from the Federal Parliament.

Patrick has dedicated his life to improving the lives of Indigenous Australians, and deserves our deepest respect and gratitude.

I first met Patrick in 1995, when we worked together on the Recognition, Rights and Reform report for the Keating government.

Over many years, his courage and wisdom has been a powerful source of support.

Australians are stronger when we work together.

We see that during fires, floods and moments of human tragedy.

Right now, events in our world risk tearing our people apart.

The reality of terror and of war has always been horrific. Now in 2023 the images of the Hamas-Israel conflict confront us on our televisions, inboxes and phone screens.

More than ever, we must remind ourselves of Australia's fundamental strength.

The cohesion of our multicultural society is our greatest national asset.

This asset is something we all build.

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: