Federal politics live: Indigenous Australians minister says ‘now is time’ to take steps on truth-telling

Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this blog post contains the name of an Indigenous person who has died, used with the permission of their family.

Almost six years after the police shooting of Kumanjayi Walker in the Northern Territory, the coroner will hand down her findings today.

Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy told ABC’s Radio National Breakfast the corner had been working through the case for years and she would be “very interested” to read the report.

“This is a journey that the people of Yuendumu and Central Australia in particular have waited quite some time for. They’ve been through many other traumas since that time and I know that today will be particularly important,” she said.

Asked about how the federal government would respond, and if it could work constructively with the NT government following recent criticism from Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro, the minister said the matter had to be “above politics”.

“This is too important,” McCarthy said.

“It is not about the chief minister or myself. It is about the families of Yuendumu who need the leadership of this country to act on the concerns that they raise.”

Support for Indigenous Australians

• Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander crisis support line 13YARN on 13 92 76
• eSafety Commission’s First Nations resources

Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy says “now is the time” to consider a federal truth-telling process.

Australia’s first truth-telling inquiry, Victoria’s Yoorrook Justice Commission, last week found First Peoples of the state endured crimes against humanity and genocide since the beginning of colonisation and they are still being impacted by systemic injustice today as a result.

McCarthy told ABC News Breakfast the federal government was watching closely “what’s going on in each of the state and territory jurisdictions” since the defeat of the Voice referendum.

“But now is the time. I hope as we go forward that we can look at what we can do at a federal level in regards to taking the steps that are required around truth-telling,” she said.

“We do talk about this when we come to Garma, but now is the time to see action, and I do want to read the Yoorrook Justice Commission report and see what we can do at a federal level.”

A truth-telling commission (Makarrata) and treaty process were the second and third pillars of the Uluru Statement from the Heart after the Voice referendum.

About $5.8m was previously set aside for the establishment of the Makarrata commission.

Jewish groups
are calling for more support from the federal government in the wake of the antisemitic attacks in Melbourne over the weekend.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Peter Wertheim says more money will be needed to protect Jewish institutions.

“The guarding costs are crippling for any community,” he says.

“Because the heightened need is still there and is likely to be there for the foreseeable future we are going to be needing additional funding to cover that additional cost going forward.”

The government also passed stronger laws for hate crimes in February, which aimed to expand and strengthen hate speech laws and included mandatory minimum sentences for some terrorism offences.

Wertheim acknowledges all of this but wants more, specifically a new law where it’s an offence to intentionally promote hatred on the basis of inherent attributes such as race, religion and sexual orientation.

“The legislative changes that have been enacted to date are not perfect, they don’t cover the main sources of promotion of hatred that fuel these violent acts,” he says.

You can listen to Romy’s full report for ABC’s AM below.

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley says she’s still waiting to hear back from the federal government after the Coalition offered to team up and fast-track safety reforms to Australia’s childcare sector.

“I have written to the prime minister in good faith to offer our constructive engagement in the lead-up to parliament returning so we can have legislation ready to go to actually act once and or all to
do what I think every parent would expect … to make sure our children are safe in childcare settings,” she told Sunrise.

Labor has vowed to introduce legislation to allow the government to cut funding from centres failing to meet safety standards and for new powers for department officials to make unannounced visits to centres where there is suspected fraud.

It comes after a childcare worker in Victoria was charged with more than 70 offences yesterday, including sexual offences, last week.

Sexual assault support lines:

• 1800 Respect National Helpline: 1800 737 732
• Lifeline (24-hour crisis line): 131 114
• Full Stop Australia: 1800 385 578
• Bravehearts: counselling and support for survivors of child sexual abuse: 1800 272 831
• Child Wise: counselling provider: 1800 991 099

A decade on from the signing of Australia’s free trade deal with China, Beijing’s man in Canberra says his country is willing to expand the agreement to include AI, healthcare and green energy.

Writing in the Australian Financial Review, Xiao Qian said:

“We are willing to review the agreement with a more open attitude and higher standard, further consolidate co-operation in traditional areas such as agriculture and mining, and actively explore new growth areas in emerging fields like artificial intelligence, healthcare, green energy, and the digital economy, elevating practical co-operation to new heights,” he wrote.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to make the trip to Beijing for the Australia-China Annual Leaders’ Meeting.

It would mark the fourth meeting between Albanese and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

Bon matin, mes amis. Bienvenue to our politics live blog.

I’m Courtney Gould, logging in from the ABC’s Parliament House bureau in Canberra, ready to bring you all the news as it comes in.

Let’s get bloggggginnnnnng!

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