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

Recently I spoke about my visit to Galiwin'ku in north-east Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. I was in Galiwin'ku to attend the Yota Dokitji event to learn more about the Djakamirr project. The Djakamirrs are birth companions. They accompany women during their birth journey and watch over them during this sacred time. They help ensure that Yolngu knowledge and ways are passed to the next generation and that babies are born healthy and safe. The Djakamirr model of care is an exceptional example of birthing on country. It's a great example of a program that will help improve First Nations women and babies' health outcomes, which we know are worse compared to non-Indigenous mothers and their babies.

While I was in Galiwin'ku I met Richard Gandhuwuy, a Garrawurra clan leader and traditional owner of Dhambala Homestead, where the Yota Dokitji event was held. He spoke about the importance of birthing on country, of bringing back birthing rites to the community. He spoke with great pride about the cultural strength of the Yolngu people and their continuing connection to Elcho Island, Galiwin'ku and surrounding areas. He spoke about the great efforts of those in the community to improve conditions for people living there: their advocacy and their commitment to achieving the best possible outcomes for their families.

I was honoured to receive this letter stick from Richard on behalf of the Elcho Island traditional owners. The letter stick is a message of Yolngu law, a message I was asked to bring back to the Senate and to the Australian parliament. It represents the aspirations of the Yolngu people for their communities and families. This message stick asks us to support their aspirations and goals. It's a message stick, a letter stick, to acknowledge their connection to country and their self-determination. It's an important message seeking support for the Djakamirr project to make birthing more culturally safe for women and babies in Galiwin'ku. We know the impact that community led and culturally safe care can have on First Nations health outcomes, especially for mothers and babies. I thank the traditional owners for entrusting me with this message and I thank all clan leaders and elders for keeping culture strong and for their efforts to achieve the best for their people.

I also had the great pleasure of recently visiting Milikapiti on the Tiwi Islands for the signing of a historic housing agreement with the Northern Territory government. Linda Burney, the Minister for Indigenous Australians, Marion Scrymgour, the member for Lingiari, and I joined our Territory colleagues Selena Uibo and Manuel Brown for the momentous occasion. I thank the Tiwi people for their warm welcome and for the ceremony of dancing and singing, which was just wonderful.

The agreement is the largest remote housing investment in the Northern Territory. This is an absolute game changer. The new 10-year remote housing partnership will halve overcrowding in Aboriginal communities. We know that overcrowding leads to poorer outcomes in terms of health, education and general standard of living. We know, if we invest in better housing, we'll get better outcomes across the board. We heard from a young couple at Milikapiti about their experience with overcrowding. Jacinta Bennett and Dominic Brown had been living in a three-bedroom house with seven other family members, including teenagers. They described the impact of overcrowding, saying that it was suffocating and that was really difficult. They've just moved into their new home and they're now enjoying more space—and a bit of privacy too, I'm sure.

The landmark partnership agreement represents a new way of working collaboratively with Aboriginal communities and housing organisations towards a better remote housing system across the Territory's 73 remote communities. The $4 billion agreement to improve housing across the Territory is a commitment between the federal and Territory governments, but also between the four Northern Territory land councils and Aboriginal Housing NT, to work together to improve existing housing and build houses that are culturally appropriate and meet the climate challenges of the Northern Territory. This is about a new way of doing things in genuine partnership with our communities. We know that working together brings better outcomes for everyone.

Construction of up to 2,700 new homes across the Territory will halve overcrowding in the next 10 years, aligning with the national Closing the Gap targets for improvements in health, education and community safety, as well as with opportunities for economic growth across the Territory. Federal funding agreements between the NT and the Commonwealth, informed by this partnership agreement, will also include better repairs and maintenance in remote community housing and improvements in infrastructure upgrades in homelands. We know we see better results when the state and Territory governments work together. This historic agreement builds on the work Territory Labor has initiated since coming to government in 2016, reaching almost 4,000 new and improved homes across the Northern Territory. Since Territory Labor came to government in 2016, the housing tally is nearing that.

The Albanese government will also extend its commitment to housing upgrades and improvements to essential infrastructure in homelands, matching the Northern Territory's ongoing $40 million investment over three years, representing a joint investment of $240 million over that period. The federal government will also provide $1 million over two years to assist Aboriginal Housing NT to develop a community controlled housing model. This new national partnership supports local decision-making, with a focus on flexibility to support opportunities for local and Territory businesses and employment, supporting Aboriginal business enterprises and improving housing and tenancy of remote housing. The Albanese Labor government is committed to improving housing in remote communities and closing the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. I look forward to seeing more homes for families in our remote communities. It will go a long way to easing serious overcrowding.

I'd also like to bring to the Senate's attention the arrival of local government councillors from across the Northern Territory. I welcome each and every councillor who has arrived and those councillors who have come from the Top End—from West Arnhem, from East Arnhem, from the Roper Gulf, from Victoria Daly, from Katherine, from Darwin and from Palmerston. We've got Alice Springs, we've got the Central Desert and we've got the MacDonnell Ranges. We've got a tremendous number of councillors who've descended on Canberra this week, and that's just from the Northern Territory. I'm conscious that each state and territory jurisdiction has their own local government councillors here. But, for the Northern Territory councillors, it's a particularly special week.

This is also the week of our 46th anniversary of being a self-governing territory. I know that there are still moves by many of us to see the Northern Territory become the seventh state in the Australian federation. It's a long-held passion of mine, and I know it is a passion of many of the councillors who are here this week. I wish each and every one of them every success with their lobbying of all sorts of ministers for their particular needs and I look forward to seeing them all tomorrow in our working group roundtable.