Indigenous Australians Minister rejects suggestions that the government is walking away from truth-telling commission
The Minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, has rejected suggestions the federal government is walking away from a Makarrata, or truth-telling commission. Yesterday, the Prime Minister insisted the government had not proposed a national commission, despite its commitment to implementing the Uluru Statement from the Heart, in full. Anthony Albanese's comments have triggered an angry response from key figures from the Yes campaign.
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00:00We did hear from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese here at the Gama Festival on Saturday morning
00:06where he outlined his government's new direction for Indigenous affairs, which is one of economic
00:12growth and development for Indigenous Australians.
00:14And after the speech I spoke to a lady called Joy Cardona from the Mullat clan of the Dali
00:20River and she questioned where the conversations were about treaty.
00:24She was hoping to hear something about treaty this weekend.
00:27She told me that she doesn't think she's going to see one in her lifetime.
00:30She's in her mid-sixties so that's something that she says she's really disappointed by.
00:34But also what's been a huge focus this weekend is Makarrata.
00:37So firstly I think it's important that we understand what the term Makarrata means.
00:42And it means, it's a Yolngu word and it means coming together after a struggle.
00:48And why it's become a part of the national agenda because it was one of the three pillars
00:52to the Uluru Statement to the heart, which asked for a Makarrata commission.
00:57And implementing the Uluru Statement in full is something that the Prime Minister promised
01:01on election night, but now it seems like his language has changed a little bit.
01:05And early this morning, the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Malindiri McCarthy, also weighed
01:11in on the conversation.
01:13We are not moving away from our commitment to the Uluru Statement from the heart in terms
01:19of our love and our support for all of those who gathered there in 2017.
01:25I'm still confused and I apologise for that.
01:29There is a prospect of a Makarrata commission still being set up based on what you're saying
01:32this morning.
01:33I'm saying that the principles of the Uluru Statement from the heart are very much supported
01:37by our government.
01:38In full?
01:39What we have to do, absolutely.
01:40You know, the Prime Minister made that commitment on election night.
01:45The Prime Minister said that he supports Makarrata, but not so much the implementation of a commission.
01:51And the language is a little bit confusing.
01:54And you know, the Uluru Dialogue co-chair, Pat Anderson, is condemning the Prime Minister
01:58saying that his language is confusing and that he needs to be clearer in what he's saying.