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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the federal government remains committed to promoting the interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
But Albanese effectively ruled out a formal Makarrata Commission, instead saying dialogue with Indigenous organisations and people, including land councils, was the way to engage with First Nations Australians.
During the Galma festival, a member of the Gumatj tribe of the Yolngu nation presented Albanese with a scepter.Credit: American AP Association
“That’s not what we’re proposing. What we’re proposing is ‘Makarrata’, the idea of unity,” he told the ABC’s Insider program.
Speaking at the Garma Festival in the Northern Territory on Saturday, Mr Albanese stood firm in the face of accusations his government had abandoned its commitment to truth and the treaty process.
Albanese said the federal government had made no progress on the treaties before last October’s referendum on whether to enshrine Indigenous voices in the constitution, and that had not changed.
Instead, the treaty process is conducted through the states and territories.
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He said it was important Australians “work together” to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.
“Australia as a country will benefit from greater unity and a greater understanding of our history, which is important for all of us but also for Australia’s image in the region and in the world,” he said.
The Greens accused the government of “almost abandoning” the Uluru Mind Statement.
The 2017 Uluru Statement called for an Indigenous voice in the constitution and the establishment of the Makarratha Commission to work towards a treaty and the truth.
“Despite Labor’s previous commitment to fully implement the Uluru Statement, today Anthony Albanese has treated it as the elephant in the room and said let’s leave it to the states and territories,” Senator Dorinda Cox said on Saturday.
American AP Association
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