Dorinda Cox (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

My question is for the Minister for Indigenous Australians, Senator McCarthy. Come on down. Minister, your government promised to implement the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full when elected in 2022 and had been pursuing this in opposition for many years before. For the past two years, this government, led by the Prime Minister, have attended the annual Garma festival in the Northern Territory, telling not just the Australian people but First Nations people that they will support a makarrata commission as part of this commitment. Why did the Prime Minister just a fortnight ago change this approach, whitewash and water down the important concept of makarrata, the Yolngu word that has been gifted to the nation, to say that it just means coming together after a struggle?