“That’s one of the most challenging and difficult areas of public policy in supporting Indigenous Australians, whether they be in our major capital cities or, particularly, in remote communities,” Morrison says.
“Ken Wyatt, the first ever Australian to be the Minister for Indigenous Australians, the first Indigenous Australian to ever sit in a Cabinet – in my Cabinet – I think has been very well-placed to inform the government’s response.
“When I became Prime Minister, one of the things I wanted to change was how we were dealing with closing the gap. Because the problem with Closing the Gap – it was only dealing with things at a federal level. And what I was able to do with Pat Turner, who heads the Coalition of peak groups of Indigenous service providers is, we struck a new deal.
“A deal that ensured that everybody has a role to play, including the federal government, including state governments and others, commit to the same outcomes and commit to the same plans with the funding to support that, as we’ve demonstrated now in several budgets since I’ve brought down that first agreement.
“And that includes everything from the causal factors that go to Indigenous disadvantage with health and education and maternal health and child health and foetal alcohol syndrome and all of these types of things. We’ve been increasing our investment and ensuring that those investments have been drawn up by the experiences on the ground.
“Now, we will take the same approach there in Wadeye, working with the local authorities to ensure that they get what they need from the Commonwealth areas of responsibility. And that means it’s a tough issue and we will be guided by what is needed on the ground, and listen carefully to the requests for assistance that are made.”
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