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

I certainly would completely disagree with Senator Thorpe. There is a great need for a Minister for Indigenous Australians in this country to push through on Closing the Gap; to meet with our state and territory ministers, which I did on Friday; to meet with the Coalition of Peaks, who do their utmost to improve the health and livelihoods of First Nations people; and to negotiate within cabinet and with my colleagues, with their respective portfolios, on how we can reach agreement through the national agreement, which was signed by both the opposition and the government in every single jurisdiction. That's why we need an Indigenous Australians minister: to ensure that all of these things go through—