Minister for Indigenous Australians
BRIDGET BRENNAN, HOST: The Federal Government will today hand down its annual Closing the Gap report after last year's data showed many targets were going backwards. The Minister for Indigenous Australians is Senator Malarndirri McCarthy, and she joins us now from Parliament House. Hi, Minister, and welcome back to News Breakfast.
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY, MINISTER FOR INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS: Good morning, Bridget and good morning to all your viewers across the country.
BRIDGET BRENNAN: Yeah, great to talk to you. Look, we understand this is not new data so we can look at what we've seen from progress from previous reports and from last year's data, but what will be the focus of the Prime Minister's statement to parliament today, Minister?
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: Yes, you're correct there, Bridget. This is about our plan going forward. We will be revealing our plan in terms of food security across remote and regional Australia, improving the health of First Nations families through that food security by having a focus on nutrition and the kinds of foods that we'll have across those stores in remote and regional Australia. So that will be a very strong centrepiece. But also, just on Friday you would have seen that the Prime Minister signed an agreement with the Northern Territory Chief Minister and also the Aboriginal Peak Organisation of the Northern Territory, APO NT, to ensure six-year funding in terms of regional Northern Territory and family safety and security and policing in that region.
BRIDGET BRENNAN: Yeah, well let's get a little bit more detail on both of those announcements. First on remote food. I mean, you know better than anyone that it costs so much money to do your shopping in a remote store as compared to what it does in the city or other parts of regional Australia. How will you guarantee and monitor the prices in remote areas going forward? Because this is an ambitious guarantee that prices will match those of city stores.
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: And we are ambitious, Bridget, we make no excuse for that. First Nations families and communities across the country deserve our government to be that, this parliament to be that, ambitious for them. I've been working on food security over the last couple of years with the Food Security Working Group. It's been important to be able to work with the Arnhem Land Progress Association, with the Community Enterprise of Queensland. This is a working group that has seen states and territories involved with me and we've been able to come up with a plan towards this, and I thank those on that working group who have advised our government to be able to reach this point. One of the big issues, Bridget, along with the high prices of food is access to food. As we've just seen with the Townsville coverage, people get cut off, roads get cut off, bridges get cut off, so infrastructure and all those needs that are required to make it essential to get good food into remote and regional Australia is imperative.
BRIDGET BRENNAN: And so, do you have a timeline? Like if someone's watching from a remote community, when can you tell them that prices will be cheaper or just more affordable for families? Will there be a concrete date for this?
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: There's not a concrete date at this particular point in time, we are working on a national food strategy, which I look forward to announcing soon with the support of the states and territories, so we should be able to provide more information on that for you hopefully in the very near future. But I would say this to those communities that are watching, we have heard you. We saw the flooding that took place in Far North Queensland, in Western Australia and the Northern Territory. We were able to provide a food resilience package last year in August to prepare for the coming wet season and flooding and bushfires, because those communities were cut off, by enabling extra freezer storage so that they would be prepared to not have anything fly in for at least a month extra than they normally would.
BRIDGET BRENNAN: Minister, let's talk broadly about the approach to Closing the Gap because the Coalition of Peaks which represents Aboriginal organisations right around the country says it's deeply concerned that states and territories don't take this seriously. They have said in the past year some state and territory governments have made regressive steps in concerns to youth justice and bail laws. You've also got the Productivity Commission's first report on progress saying that progress had been weak in terms of the partnership agreements and the approach to change that's needed to close the gap. Do you worry that some governments don't take this seriously enough?
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: When I first came into the role six months ago, Bridget, I was very conscious of those concerns, which is why I reached out across the parliament federally to my opponents in terms of the federal Coalition, but also to the Greens, to the Teals, to anyone who was able to work with me, and rise above making Indigenous affairs a political football, as part of our signed up agreement to Closing the Gap. And one of the things I did here was about the states and territories, so I've been working very closely with the states and territories. I'm conscious there are issues, especially around justice. And we had a meeting in November in Perth where both Pat Turner and myself raised this issue directly with the Indigenous Affairs Ministers about our concerns of First Nations people and the high rates of incarceration, but also remand, Bridget. Many people are in remand and what other options could we look at instead of overcrowding in remand? So, I will be meeting again with those Ministers in coming weeks and looking forward to a response from them.
BRIDGET BRENNAN: How concerned are you about the booming prison population in the Northern Territory, as well as human rights concerns about the way people are living inside jails?
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: Well, every state and territory government has to be mindful of their responsibilities to their citizens, and we as a Federal Government are watching very closely. I am concerned about the high rates of incarceration right across the country, not just in the Northern Territory. And certainly, I have asked though, in terms of the Northern Territory, I will be asking to be able to view the prisons in terms of Alice Springs and Darwin. I want to go in there. I did the same in Western Australia when I was concerned about our youth in the prison, in the correction services in Western Australia. This is about putting states and territories on notice as well, that we have to have other options to assist people, especially First Nations families, to look at other alternatives other than prison.
BRIDGET BRENNAN: Well, I wish I had more time with you, Minister, but I am time pressed, as I know you are. But just before you go, I want to ask you about the by‑election results. We're seeing the early results here in Victoria, it looks to be a blow for Labor. We don't have the confirmed numbers yet in Werribee, but it does look like the primary has gone backwards for Labor. What federal implications will this have at the upcoming election?
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: Well, we know with every seat across the country, Bridget, we have to work hard. We've shown we're working hard. We've shown we've got a plan going forward. I've certainly watched the by‑election results in Victoria, I know it's difficult, certainly for Labor in Victoria, but we will keep fighting right up to the time that we go to an election. We have a plan going forward at the federal level and I urge all Australians to stay with us.
BRIDGET BRENNAN: Malarndirri McCarthy, thanks for your time. Have a great day.
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: Thank you.
