Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Durack for her ongoing commitment to Indigenous Australians and for her interest in these issues and the constructive role that she wishes to play. I did indeed speak at the Garma Festival. I attended the Garma Festival along with the education minister, the social services minister, the Indigenous affairs minister, the member for Barton, the member for Lingiari, the member for Solomon and many representatives of state governments. We were the only federal members who were there. It was an important gathering to discuss with First Nations people a way forward to close the gap. What we know is that, when it comes to closing the gap, we are not achieving the outcomes that I'm sure everyone here would want to see. We need to reduce the suicide rates. We need to reduce the incarceration rates. We need to reduce the disparities in health and education that exist between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

The theme of this year's festival was 'Fire, Strength, Renewal'. Fire is something that Yunupingu—the Leader of the Opposition attended his funeral—

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