Malarndirri McCarthy (NT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Stewart. I certainly reached out to First Nations organisations across the country. It did all happen very quickly, so there was a fair bit of work—and there is still ongoing work, obviously. But one of the most key important aspects for me is this parliament and reaching out across parties, in both the Senate and the House, to close the gap. Regarding those targets, certainly the data that came out last Friday showed again that we are not reducing the incarceration rates, we are not reducing the out-of-home care rates and we are not able to see the slowdown of suicide. In fact, we're seeing way too many suicides. I do thank the members and senators who met with me this morning to, as my first task in this parliament, speak about closing the gap. We had senators and members from across the aisle, and I do thank those who were unable to appear this morning, but I will be in touch with them over the coming days.