Welcome to Country culture wars a ‘dry gully', PM tells Garma Festival
Native Title holders will receive $75 million and mobile TAFE programs $35 million, Albanese announced on Gumatj country at Gulkula in the Northern Territory on Saturday.
Albanese said the government must repay and build trust with Indigenous Australians, criticising 'those who choose the cheap politics of division over the patient work of lasting change, or who seek to turn the grace and generosity of a Welcome to Country into a political weapon'.
'Culture wars are a dry gully. They offer us nothing, they lead us nowhere. The way forward is to invest in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, trust in their aspirations and draw from their knowledge. Because when we lay these strong foundations together, there is no limit to what we can build,' he said.
The latest update to Closing the Gap data, published this week, showed Australia had moved backwards on four of the 15 assessed targets. A further six metrics were improving but not on track to meet targets.
One of the most alarming movements was a rise in suicide rates, with self-harm reported as the most frequent cause of death for Indigenous people aged 15 to 39. Rates were increasing for those aged 25 to 39.
Fewer children were assessed as being developmentally on track, and more adults were incarcerated. The only on-track targets were in early childhood education, land and water rights, and economic participation.
Minister for Indigenous Australia Malarndirri McCarthy said she was pleased the majority of targets were seeing some improvement, but found it 'very concerning' to see worsening rates of incarceration, children in out-of-home care and suicide.
'It's important that state and territory governments all back in their commitments under the National Agreement with actions that will help improve outcomes for First Nations people,' she said.
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'Genocide must stop': Elder's message to the PM
A Warlpiri Elder has delivered a powerful message for the prime minister following the deaths of two young men from his remote community. Visiting the annual Garma Festival at Gulkula in northeast Arnhem Land, Ned Hargraves said his community of Yuendumu had lost trust in the police after the deaths of his grandson Kumanjayi White in May, and Kumanjayi Walker in 2019. Kumanjayi Walker was 19 when he was shot by then-constable Zachary Rolfe at close range at a home in Yuendumu. A coronial inquest found Mr Walker's death was preventable, and coroner Elisabeth Armitage said she could not rule out that racism may have played a part in the teenager's death. The Northern Territory government is yet to commit to any of the coroner's recommendations, handed down in Yuendumu in July. In May, the community was left reeling after the death of Kumanjayi White at a supermarket in Alice Springs. The 24-year-old, who had a disability, died after being forcibly restrained by two plainclothes officers. "Kumanjayi Walker was murdered in broad daylight," Mr Hargraves said. "In the same way my jaja, my grandson, was done, he was killed by the law. "The police has done enough. Enough is enough. We have to put a stop to it somewhere." Reading from a letter he penned to the prime minister Mr Hargraves said Anthony Albanese had the power to turn around the outcomes for his community. "This genocide must stop," he said. "We are asking you, the prime minister, to do something about it." Mr Albanese visited Garma for a few hours on Saturday, making a speech and meeting with senior Yolngu leaders. He announced an economic partnership with Indigenous organisations, which he said would allow Traditional Owners to advocate for infrastructure, housing and energy projects on their land, with millions promised for First Nations clean energy projects and for native title reform. While Opposition Leader Sussan Ley did not attend Garma, she continued the Liberal Party's post-election defeat listening tour through engagements with First Nations community groups in Western Australia. "The first thing we have to do is listen, be present in regional communities, and talk to Indigenous Australians," she told ABC Weekend Breakfast on Sunday. "I don't think it is good enough for the prime minister to stand there, deliver a speech with nice words, but not followed with any demonstration of real action." Since the death of Kumanjayi White in May, the community of Yuendumu has maintained calls for CCTV footage of the incident to be released, and an independent investigation into what occurred. Mr Hargraves reiterated those calls when he spoke to media on Sunday. "We cannot trust them because they, the government and the police, deny what we ask for, they don't help us," he said. "All they want to do is destroy, kill our lives, kill our children, kill our people. It's not right." 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14 A Warlpiri Elder has delivered a powerful message for the prime minister following the deaths of two young men from his remote community. Visiting the annual Garma Festival at Gulkula in northeast Arnhem Land, Ned Hargraves said his community of Yuendumu had lost trust in the police after the deaths of his grandson Kumanjayi White in May, and Kumanjayi Walker in 2019. Kumanjayi Walker was 19 when he was shot by then-constable Zachary Rolfe at close range at a home in Yuendumu. A coronial inquest found Mr Walker's death was preventable, and coroner Elisabeth Armitage said she could not rule out that racism may have played a part in the teenager's death. The Northern Territory government is yet to commit to any of the coroner's recommendations, handed down in Yuendumu in July. In May, the community was left reeling after the death of Kumanjayi White at a supermarket in Alice Springs. The 24-year-old, who had a disability, died after being forcibly restrained by two plainclothes officers. "Kumanjayi Walker was murdered in broad daylight," Mr Hargraves said. "In the same way my jaja, my grandson, was done, he was killed by the law. "The police has done enough. Enough is enough. We have to put a stop to it somewhere." Reading from a letter he penned to the prime minister Mr Hargraves said Anthony Albanese had the power to turn around the outcomes for his community. "This genocide must stop," he said. "We are asking you, the prime minister, to do something about it." Mr Albanese visited Garma for a few hours on Saturday, making a speech and meeting with senior Yolngu leaders. He announced an economic partnership with Indigenous organisations, which he said would allow Traditional Owners to advocate for infrastructure, housing and energy projects on their land, with millions promised for First Nations clean energy projects and for native title reform. While Opposition Leader Sussan Ley did not attend Garma, she continued the Liberal Party's post-election defeat listening tour through engagements with First Nations community groups in Western Australia. "The first thing we have to do is listen, be present in regional communities, and talk to Indigenous Australians," she told ABC Weekend Breakfast on Sunday. "I don't think it is good enough for the prime minister to stand there, deliver a speech with nice words, but not followed with any demonstration of real action." Since the death of Kumanjayi White in May, the community of Yuendumu has maintained calls for CCTV footage of the incident to be released, and an independent investigation into what occurred. Mr Hargraves reiterated those calls when he spoke to media on Sunday. "We cannot trust them because they, the government and the police, deny what we ask for, they don't help us," he said. "All they want to do is destroy, kill our lives, kill our children, kill our people. It's not right." 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14 A Warlpiri Elder has delivered a powerful message for the prime minister following the deaths of two young men from his remote community. Visiting the annual Garma Festival at Gulkula in northeast Arnhem Land, Ned Hargraves said his community of Yuendumu had lost trust in the police after the deaths of his grandson Kumanjayi White in May, and Kumanjayi Walker in 2019. Kumanjayi Walker was 19 when he was shot by then-constable Zachary Rolfe at close range at a home in Yuendumu. A coronial inquest found Mr Walker's death was preventable, and coroner Elisabeth Armitage said she could not rule out that racism may have played a part in the teenager's death. The Northern Territory government is yet to commit to any of the coroner's recommendations, handed down in Yuendumu in July. In May, the community was left reeling after the death of Kumanjayi White at a supermarket in Alice Springs. The 24-year-old, who had a disability, died after being forcibly restrained by two plainclothes officers. "Kumanjayi Walker was murdered in broad daylight," Mr Hargraves said. "In the same way my jaja, my grandson, was done, he was killed by the law. "The police has done enough. Enough is enough. We have to put a stop to it somewhere." Reading from a letter he penned to the prime minister Mr Hargraves said Anthony Albanese had the power to turn around the outcomes for his community. "This genocide must stop," he said. "We are asking you, the prime minister, to do something about it." Mr Albanese visited Garma for a few hours on Saturday, making a speech and meeting with senior Yolngu leaders. He announced an economic partnership with Indigenous organisations, which he said would allow Traditional Owners to advocate for infrastructure, housing and energy projects on their land, with millions promised for First Nations clean energy projects and for native title reform. 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It's not right." 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14 A Warlpiri Elder has delivered a powerful message for the prime minister following the deaths of two young men from his remote community. Visiting the annual Garma Festival at Gulkula in northeast Arnhem Land, Ned Hargraves said his community of Yuendumu had lost trust in the police after the deaths of his grandson Kumanjayi White in May, and Kumanjayi Walker in 2019. Kumanjayi Walker was 19 when he was shot by then-constable Zachary Rolfe at close range at a home in Yuendumu. A coronial inquest found Mr Walker's death was preventable, and coroner Elisabeth Armitage said she could not rule out that racism may have played a part in the teenager's death. The Northern Territory government is yet to commit to any of the coroner's recommendations, handed down in Yuendumu in July. In May, the community was left reeling after the death of Kumanjayi White at a supermarket in Alice Springs. The 24-year-old, who had a disability, died after being forcibly restrained by two plainclothes officers. "Kumanjayi Walker was murdered in broad daylight," Mr Hargraves said. "In the same way my jaja, my grandson, was done, he was killed by the law. "The police has done enough. Enough is enough. We have to put a stop to it somewhere." Reading from a letter he penned to the prime minister Mr Hargraves said Anthony Albanese had the power to turn around the outcomes for his community. "This genocide must stop," he said. "We are asking you, the prime minister, to do something about it." Mr Albanese visited Garma for a few hours on Saturday, making a speech and meeting with senior Yolngu leaders. He announced an economic partnership with Indigenous organisations, which he said would allow Traditional Owners to advocate for infrastructure, housing and energy projects on their land, with millions promised for First Nations clean energy projects and for native title reform. 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PM weighs up Palestinian statehood call
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