Warren Mundine calls on Labor to abandon 'nonsense' approach to Indigenous issues, focus on 'great things' rather than highlighting gap in outcomes

Sky News AU

2 days ago

Warren Mundine has called on Labor to abandon its "nonsense" approach to Indigenous issues.
Following the defeat of the Voice referendum in 2023, the Albanese government has received criticism for a lack of action on improving the lives of Indigenous Australians.
A lack of progress in hitting health, education and other socioeconomic targets in the Closing the Gap report led to further scrutiny, as well as calls from some in the community for a return to basics approach.
Despite this, Labor has maintained it remains committed to implementing the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full, adding it was focused on turning outcomes around.
Speaking to Sky News Australia, though, Mr Mundine argued the government's approach would continue to fail so long as they kept seeking ways to implement the Uluru Statement instead of focusing on fundamental needs.
"The No vote (against the Voice) was almost twice the size of what the Albanese government got in this election, so let's get back to the reality," he said.
"The reality is none of these things will ever fix anything or the problems within Aboriginal and the rest of Australia.
"We have to come up with some serious stuff and there is some great stuff that is happening out there.
"Let us talk about them, let us work on those, instead of just talking about all this nonsense all the time which has been so strongly rejected, not only by the wider Australian community, but by Aboriginal people."
Mr Mundine is not alone in calling for greater focus on the "great stuff" occurring in some Indigenous communities.
New shadow minister for Indigenous Australians, Kerrynne Liddle, has been outspoken on the need to change perceptions about First Nations peoples.
"It is disingenuous to suggest that every Aboriginal person is impoverished because that is not true. There are many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people working well and effectively in organisations," she told The Australian last week.
Mr Mundine echoed that view, citing the Indigenous Business and Economic Program as he argued Labor needed to shift its focus to promoting the success of Indigenous communities.
"I sat at a conference once and it talked about health problems in Aboriginals, it talked about crime in Aboriginals, it talked about unemployment in Aboriginals," he said.
"I'm a very positive person. By the end of that conference, I sat there and said: 'God, I must be one of the most miserable people on the planet'.
"We're not recognising the incredible success of what's happening. You look at the Indigenous Business and Economic Program. It's gone from a 6.7 million program to 8.2 billion, 40,000 jobs for, not only for Aboriginal people, 25,000 for Aboriginal people, but 20,000 other people in Australia who are working for Aboriginal businesses."
Mr Mundine added the government could only change outcomes by injecting "positivity" into the conversation around Indigenous issues, warning: "If we keep talking about negative stuff, then we'll always end up with negative stuff".