Minister for Indigenous Australians
Subjects: Perth terrorism charge, social cohesion
NADIA MITSOPOULOS, HOST: Well, the Federal Minister for Indigenous Australians flew to Perth for yesterday's media conference, where that terror attack was declared, and I had a quick chat to her early this morning.
MALARNDIRRI MCCARTHY, MINISTER FOR INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS: Good morning, Nadia and good morning to your listeners.
NADIA MITSOPOULOS: An alleged terrorist attack carried out against the Indigenous community. How do you reflect on that?
MALARNDIRRI MCCARTHY: Well, it clearly shows that right across Australia that we've got to really work very, very diligently in terms of bringing our country together. What happened on January 26th should never have occurred. The fear, the anger, the confusion that people felt then and the intimidation they're feeling now, Nadia, in terms of asking, are they safe, you know, this is our country. We should all feel safe. And I'm definitely working on that now, in particular after meeting with them all yesterday.
NADIA MITSOPOULOS: Well, some Indigenous Elders say there was a sense of inevitability about this happening. Do you think they're right?
MALARNDIRRI MCCARTHY: Look, I am conscious, even from my own personal perspective as I travel around the country, that there is a heightened sense of awareness. I certainly am conscious of that. I've seen that with the parliament and politicians and the rise in awareness of our own safety as we travel. So, I am conscious of that. But I think where the Elders are coming from is, in particular, towards First Nations people, and we've seen that escalation largely through online media in terms of commentary on social media, racist comments, hateful comments. And so, that is true, yes.
NADIA MITSOPOULOS: Do you think there is more racism at the moment towards Aboriginal people?
MALARNDIRRI MCCARTHY: Well, I do believe we have to make a concerted effort to de-escalate. What I see is very concerning, Nadia. This is not the country we want to live in. We want to feel safe. We want to feel good. We want to be able to protest and put our views without feeling that we're going to be hurt in any way or violently hurt or killed.
NADIA MITSOPOULOS: And, Minister, what do you think is driving that?
MALARNDIRRI MCCARTHY: I don't know exactly what's driving it. What I do know is that we all - each and every one of us - have to be more alert to it. We have to be conscious that there are people in society who probably feel out on their own, and they choose to find comfort in dark moments on the web that take them down pathways that, you know, we've seen no return in some instances. And I think we've got to all be vigilant about that and as the WA Police Commissioner said yesterday, if you know and can see this happening, whether it's a family member, whether it's someone in your community, whether it's someone in your work space, I think there is now responsibility on each and every one of us to be alert to the fact that when we see changes in people as a result of what they're seeing online or behaving online, then we should do more about it.
NADIA MITSOPOULOS: My guest on ABC Radio Perth and WA is Senator Malarndirri McCarthy, Minister for Indigenous Australians. And, Minister, when you met with the Elders yesterday, what did they ask of you? What did they want?
MALARNDIRRI MCCARTHY: Look, can I firstly say thank you to each and every one of them and also those people who are out in the community, who still are reaching out to me. And I still urge through your program, Nadia, obviously, we couldn't meet everyone in that room. I'm still very available to people who want to reach out through the National Indigenous Australians Agency and also my office. But what Elders and the Noongar community that we did meet with yesterday expressed were a couple of things - next steps, how do we feel safe, how do they feel safe, what shall we do. We've got other events coming up. What are those events going to look like? That was one thing. There was also conversations around why the rally, Invasion Day rally is held, and that's because of the concerns around the high rates of incarceration, of deaths in custody, of poverty, of homelessness. So, these are very fundamental, critical issues that all governments need to be dealing with. And, of course, there was a conversation around justice and truth-telling commissions. So, these were important conversations with the Premier, and I'm determined to work with the Premier but also the Noongar community.
NADIA MITSOPOULOS: And you talk about next steps. What will those next steps look like? And when you talk about more protests and rallies coming up, and there's, you know, people that rally all the time, I wonder if they're now going to be saying, "Well, I'm not sure I want to be in a big crowd right now?"
MALARNDIRRI MCCARTHY: Well, that's a fair comment. That is a very fair comment. And people did express that. But at the same time, we are a democratic country, Nadia, and each and every one of us have a right to protest, whatever the issue may be. And we should be able to do it safely and peacefully. So, I think that's really important we do get back to that in terms of social cohesion across Australia, but especially with our First Nations families.
NADIA MITSOPOULOS: Yeah, often people will say, "We don't get this in Perth. These sort of things don't happen here in Western Australia." Do you feel like something has significantly changed now, something has shifted because of this event?
MALARNDIRRI MCCARTHY: Well, it certainly is a sharp reminder that Australia has changed. But I'm also a firm believer that Australians - all Australians - can do something to make sure that our country still remains the beautiful place that we know, the fair place that we know, to raise our objections in a respectful manner, to be heard, and we are a democratic country, and we need to uphold those values.
NADIA MITSOPOULOS: The man accused of this crime has had his identity suppressed. I just wonder how you and your community feel about that? The fact that we don't have a name, we don't know who this person is.
MALARNDIRRI MCCARTHY: Look, I have received concerns from the community about why that is the case, why is it that in this instance, this person's background and name, etcetera, is not being revealed. First Nations families and people have raised that with me. But I've also heard the briefing from the Police Commissioner and the AFP, and I understand why it is they're doing it. But I also understand that there is, you know, questions around why this has to be the case.
NADIA MITSOPOULOS: Okay. That was the Indigenous Australians Minister Senator Malarndirri McCarthy. She was speaking to me a little earlier this morning.
