Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Let me inform the member that my first week in a remote community as Prime Minister will be in East Arnhem Land. My first week in a remote community as Prime Minister will be in East Arnhem Land, and I suggest that the member should quote the sentence or two that came before the sentence that he quoted to this parliament. For the benefit of members opposite, let me repeat: my first week in a remote community as Prime Minister will be in East Arnhem Land. I am looking forward to going. I am looking forward to meeting with the traditional owners and with other Indigenous leaders led by Galarrwuy Yunupingu. It will happen later in the year and I look forward to meeting while I am up there anyone who feels that the federal government can be doing more to help. What I intend to do is as far as is humanly possible be a Prime Minister for all Australians. I can understand why the people in Nhulunbuy are unhappy, why people involved in the Gove refinery are feeling disappointed. But I have spoken on a number of occasions with Rio Tinto about this and, as I said, the assurance I have had is that the Indigenous workers at the refinery will be offered new employment in the mine and that as far as is humanly possible every worker at the refinery will be offered redeployment within the Rio Tinto business.

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