Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Cormann. Some 437 First Nations people have died in custody since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. Will the government commit more resources to eliminating the overrepresentation of First Nations people in custody and to eliminating deaths in custody?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Wong for that important question. We are committed to improving the lives of Indigenous Australians so that this generation, the next generation and generations henceforth can have the same expectations and opportunities as any other Australian. We are committed to taking effective action to close the gap. Indeed, the Minister for Indigenous Australians, Ken Wyatt, the member for Hasluck, is working very hard to address those issues.

These are not straightforward issues. Governments of both political persuasions, at the state and the federal level, have made genuine efforts since the first royal commission report and recommendations were released some decades ago. But, as my friend and colleague in Western Australia, the state Labor Indigenous affairs minister and Treasurer, Ben Wyatt, said on Sunday at an event I was at with him in Perth, this has been a difficult issue for a very long time and, if there were easy and straightforward resolutions, they would have long been applied because there has been a lot of goodwill and a lot of effort put in place in an entirely non-partisan fashion by governments of both political persuasions, both at the state and federal level.

Yes, we are committed to continue to explore ways that we can do better. We must do better—we absolutely must do better—when it comes to this important issue. Going forward, you'd be aware of the announcement by the Prime Minister in relation to the reform of national governance arrangements. The National Cabinet is replacing the Council of Australian Governments from here on in. Also the establishment of the National Federation Reform Council, which will meet together—

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order, Senator Cormann. Senator Wong, a supplementary question?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Why has the government failed to commit to including child removal targets in the Closing the Gap refresh?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The government is doing what it can to help make progress in relation to closing the gap across a whole range of indicators. As I was about to say, once a year the National Cabinet, the Council on Federal Financial Relations and the Australian Local Government Association will meet as the National Federation Reform Council, with a focus on priority national federation issues, including and in particular closing the gap and women's safety. Task forces will be established to continue work on these priority issues, but there are no straightforward solutions here. If there were straightforward, easy solutions, they would have been implemented by now. We've got to continue to work hard to find better ways to make genuine progress in relation to what is a very important and legitimate issue.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Wong, a final supplementary question?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Does Mr Morrison accept that this is a problem that requires leadership from him rather than divisive comments from senior ministers? Will Mr Morrison work on a bipartisan basis to set strong and properly resourced justice targets to eliminate the overrepresentation of First Nations people in custody and to eliminate deaths in custody?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Any death in custody is a tragedy, and of course we should work towards eliminating deaths in custody. The Prime Minister and my good friend and valued colleague the Minister for Indigenous Australians, Ken Wyatt, have demonstrated a willingness to work in a bipartisan fashion to address those very important issues. I reject the proposition of divisive comments from senior ministers.

Senator Wong interjecting—

I hear through your interjection that that is a reference to me and my comments on the weekend. Let me say to Senator Wong that, however legitimate the issue, however legitimate the cause, in the context of a pandemic, in the context of the many sacrifices that millions of Australians were asked to make in recent months in order to save lives and save livelihoods, it absolutely was reckless and irresponsible to conduct mass protests of this nature at this point in time. We are here—

Senator Wong interjecting—

Our mission as a country and our responsibility as a country is to avoid a second wave— (Time expired)