Over the weekend I had the absolute privilege to attend the Garma Festival with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Minister Burney, Special Envoy Pat Dodson and Assistant Minister Malarndirri McCarthy. The festival was on Yolngu land, and I commend the elders and organisers for this fantastic event. A particular thank you must go out to Denise Bowden for her tireless work to make sure that everyone enjoyed the festival but also that COVID safety was implemented. To sit in the crowd as the Prime Minister delivered a thoughtful, heartfelt and respectful speech was one of those moments I won't forget.

For too long, our politics in Australia has lacked vision. It's lacked determination. It's lacked respect. The decision of this government to implement the Uluru statement marks an end to that. It shows the commitment we have to raise the voices of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, to show our desire to bring people together and to change the lives of Australians for the better. This is a historic moment, and we, as parliamentarians, have a responsibility and an obligation to do the right thing—an obligation to bring our community together to lead this great country to a better future and an obligation to our First Peoples to enshrine their voices in the Constitution.

Watch the speech here: Federation Chamber [Part 2] - 01/08/2022 15:50:00 - Parliament of Australia (aph.gov.au)