Ideals behind the Uluru Statement are still guiding the federal government – despite the Voice referendum defeat

Ideals behind the Uluru Statement are still guiding the federal government, the Indigenous Australians minister says, despite the prime minister effectively ruling out a formal treaty and truth-telling commission.

While setting up a Makarrata commission, or truth-telling body, was one of the cornerstones of the 2017 statement, Anthony Albanese has backed its ideals, but moved away from setting up a formal body.

Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy said the government was still committed to improving outcomes for First Nations people.

‘We are not moving away from our commitment to the Uluru Statement from the Heart in terms of our love and our support for all of those who gathered (at Uluru) in 2017,’ she told ABC TV on Monday.

Senator McCarthy said Indigenous Australians still needed time to come to terms with the loss of the voice referendum in 2023.

Setting up an Indigenous voice to federal parliament was one of the three elements of the Uluru Statement, along with a Makarrata Commission and treaty.

Ten months on from the referendum defeat, Senator McCarthy said bipartisan support was needed for advancing outcomes for Indigenous people.

‘This was clearly a soul-shattering event … people are still recovering from that,’ she said.

Mr Albanese said talking with Indigenous organisations and people was the best way to engage with First Nations people.

‘It was deeply traumatising for First Nations people who largely voted “yes”, especially in the northern parts of the country.’

Mr Albanese said talking with Indigenous organisations and people was the best way to engage with First Nations people.

He said at the Garma festival, Australia’s largest Indigenous gathering, he was focused on finding ‘new ambition, energy and determination’ to work with the Indigenous community, rather than ‘rake through the ashes’ of the failed vote.

‘We do this understanding that the change so many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been seeking and advocating for years, decades, even lifetimes was not defined or determined by one day,’ he said.

‘It has always been about positive, practical and lasting change in people’s lives and in the life of our nation.’

It comes as Race Discrimination Commissioner Giridharan Sivaraman said an historic apology at the festival for Northern Territory police injustices inflicted on First Nations people would lose its significance if not matched by a cultural shift within the force.

Mr Sivaraman acknowledged it was a vital step towards improving police relations in the territory, but added ‘words can only go so far’.

‘Change must now be embedded throughout the entire police force and the structures set up within it … I hope this cultural shift is being driven by the very top of the police force,’ he said.

A commitment must be made to independent investigations of recent actions by serving members of the NT Police, such as the coming review into systemic racism by the NT’s Anti-Discrimination Commission, Mr Sivaraman said.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Katie Kiss agreed the apology was ‘necessary and symbolic’, but said the force also needed to reckon with the injustices that continued ‘to this day’.