Emma Garlett: It’s time for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to make good on promise to Indigenous Australians

Anthony Albanese’s Labor Government has won a second term, this time with an increased majority. So it’s time the Prime Minister made good on his promise to support reconciliation and improve the lives of Indigenous Australians. Mr Albanese’s landslide win is, on the whole, a positive thing for First Nations people in this country. Certainly far better than if Peter Dutton, who waged a campaign culture war by declaring he would never give an address while standing in front of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags and saying Welcomes to Country were “overdone”, were prime minister today. However that doesn’t mean Mr Albanese’s re-election is a cause for optimism that we will finally see the crevasse between outcomes for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians close. This has been the first campaign I can recall that in which Aboriginal affairs was more or less entirely absent from the discussion. The only time it really came up was when Mr Dutton, in a final desperate act, mistook the disrespectful actions of a handful of neo-nazis at Anzac Day Dawn services as evidence of a rejection of Indigenous inclusion by the mainstream. But there has been next to no discussion about policies which will actually affect us. No plan to improve life expectancy. Nothing to lift economic participation. Mr Albanese’s acknowledgement of Indigenous Australians on Saturday evening earnt him a loud round of applause from those who had gathered there to hear his victory speech. There’s a desire within his party to do better, just as there is a desire among Australians generally. Commitments made by Labor during the campaign include funding for Indigenous rangers programs and two new mental health services in remote communities. Labor has also pledged to help close the gap by reducing the cost of essential products in remote stores, and providing funding for services to address family, domestic and sexual violence in high need First Nations communities. These are important and worthy initiatives. But it’s a drop in the bucket of what’s needed to address centuries of neglect and systemic racism. In 2022, Mr Albanese started his first term by pledging on election night to commit to the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full. That statement had three pillars: Voice, Treaty, Truth. Australian people rejected the Voice and Mr Albanese has said he respects that outcome and will not revive the push in his second term. But we still have unfinished business. Treaty and Truth remain and I hope that this term of Government will see those commitments come to fruition. It will lead to a stronger, better Australia for us all. Emma Garlett is a legal academic and Nyiyaparli- Yamatji-Nyungar woman