Minister for Indigenous Australians
Subjects: Perth terrorism charge, Daly River flooding.
JAMES GLENDAY, HOST: Let's bring you some more reaction to those terrorism charges in Western Australia, which is all to do with the failed bomb attack. A short time ago, I spoke with the Minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy.
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY, MINISTER FOR INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS: It was important at the time that the police were present almost immediately, James. And I sat with Elders yesterday and Noongar representatives in a meeting with the Premier of Western Australia, and they actually thanked the police. The rally organisers, all of those in the room thanked the police for the work that they did. They had seen that there was cooperation immediately between the WA Police, AFP and ASIO.
JAMES GLENDAY: Some of those Elders have spoken to the ABC, though, and they've essentially raised the question, 'Why did it take nine days to get to this point?' Is that too long?
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: Well, that's a different question then, isn't it, really? I mean, in terms of the immediate work that was done, that's what they thanked the police for. They recognised that there was confusion at the time. They recognise there's a lot of learning and so did the WA Police. And it was important to hear that and work through this and continue to work through this with the community in Perth, because there are questions around what happens with the next gathering and how can the next gathering be safe. So, the community's well and truly moved beyond this in the sense of a blame game. What they want to know now is how they can feel safe.
JAMES GLENDAY: Do you think that Indigenous Australians should feel safe if they are going to go out and hold rallies or big events in our major cities in Australia?
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: Well, every Australian should feel safe. In particular, when you want to protest against a particular policy or a particular government or an action, that's what our country is built on. We are a democratic country, and we should be able to do that peacefully and certainly safely. So, of course, we want all Australians, and especially First Nations people, to know that they can do that. And this was really the crux of our conversation as well yesterday, as we met to discuss those kind of preparations. What is the takeaway, what is the learning and how can we move forward.
JAMES GLENDAY: In the wake of the Bondi terrorist attack, of course, the Prime Minister announced a royal commission into antisemitism. Did any of the Elders, Indigenous leaders that you've spoken to say, 'hey, what about a similar inquiry, some sort of inquiry into the conditions that could have led to this failed attack?'
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: Not so much into what happened on January 26th. I think it's more about the fact that Invasion Day rallies occur across the country and for community who gather in Perth on Noongar Country, a lot of the commentary that comes through is that the reasons behind the Invasion Day rally is about the injustices that occur towards First Nations people. High incarceration rates, deaths in custody, poverty, the lack of housing and jobs, and the high removal of First Nations children from their families. So, it really did come back around to the issues of why people take to the streets. But I must also say that the Premier of Western Australia, and this is obviously for Premier Cook to respond to, there were calls as well about truth telling or a truth justice commission in Western Australia. So, these are things that I'm certainly going to work with the WA Government and the community of WA with.
JAMES GLENDAY: Just before I let you go, one of our other big stories today, Minister, is the flooding of the Daly River community and the evacuation of the community there. I know you know that community very, very well. The Top End is no stranger to these types of events, particularly this part of the world. Do you think generally, though, remote Indigenous communities are prepared for these events to become more frequent and the effects of climate change?
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: Well, we certainly know that there are heavy rains, we know that we have cyclones. But it is increasing, James, and it's increasing in a manner that many of us know we never grew up with that, I certainly didn't. I've seen now that it's just happened so frequently, more than we'd seen before. What I would say is this, though, the evacuation of residents from Daly River, from Nauiyu, is being done, was certainly done yesterday, as far as I'm aware. I'm certainly heading into Darwin today. I want to be able to see how things are going with those who are evacuated but also understand that there has to be care for those evacuees in Darwin. They must be housed in a manner that is appropriate, that there is care in terms of accommodation, in terms of it's hot, it's wet weather time, make sure there's good water, good food, all of those things. And we're talking about hundreds of people being evacuated, James, and usually we do do that well in the Northern Territory. So, I do want to make sure that is continuing.
JAMES GLENDAY: Just one very final one, Minister. When you travel about the Top End to some of these remote communities, does this issue come up? Do people say, 'hey, we're seeing these kind of events more than we ever have in the past'?
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: It does. It certainly does. We see this quite often now and the conversation is very real. You talk to people across northern Australia, I'm sure they tell you the same thing, but I can tell you, from the Northern Territory's perspective, the weather patterns have changed quite dramatically, and the increase in rivers rising and in flooding, actually is really occurring.
JAMES GLENDAY: Malarndirri McCarthy, we know you've got a plane to catch. Thank you so much for speaking with News Breakfast this morning.
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: No worries, James. Thank you.
