‘Where is the accountability? There is none': Uluru Dialogue condemns status quo as 25th Garma festival begins
'Enough is enough,' the Uluru Dialogue, a key advocate for the yes vote in the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum, said in a blistering statement shared on social media on Friday.
'There are no surprises, we are at the same place we were in in March. The status quo. No real progress.'
The comments came a day after the latest Closing the Gap data showed key targets, including youth and adult imprisonment rates, children in out-of-home care, suicide and childhood development continuing to worsen, and just four of 19 measures on track to be met.
'Our children are being locked up, our Elders are dying, and our people are continuing to live in a country where their rights are neglected. Their voices and calls for help falling on deaf ears,' the Uluru Dialogue statement said.
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'We are tired of being told, yet again, that there is is no progress …
'Garma is imminent. A performative opportunity for the government to repeat their talking points … Some will lap it up. Not our people.
''But this isn't about Garma, it is about the disappointment we feel this week isn't only directed a the lack of progress. It's directed at the sheer magnitude of how different this year could have been if we had a voice …
'The reality is, we've had 18 years to make progress on Closing the Gap, but the same people and institutions are still in charge of deciding what we do and what changes are made. Where is the accountability? There is none. The agreement is not legal, and it is not binding.'
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It has been 25 years since the annual Garma Festival began, showcasing art, song, bunggul (dance) and storytelling at the culturally significant ceremonial grounds of Gulkula.
Garma has become an important policy forum, with the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, Indigenous affairs minister, Malarndirri McCarthy, and other politicians slated to speak at the four-day festival.
These talks co-exist with discussions of culture, education and other significant issues for First Nations people.
The 2025 Garma theme, 'rom ga waŋa wataŋu', or 'the law of the land, standing firm', reflects the Yolngu fight for empowerment and land rights.
Garma Festival runs until Monday.
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