Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been accused of breaking an election promise to establish a First Nations truth-telling and treaty body — the Makarrata Commission.
Establishing Makarrata is part of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, alongside the Voice to Parliament and Treaty.
The Government had previously committed to implementing the Statement in full.
However, speaking to the ABC’s Insiders program from the NT Garma Festival this weekend, Anthony Albanese indicated the Government has no plans to establish a Makarrata Commission.
Uluru Statement
The Uluru Statement from the Heart was created and endorsed by 250 First Nations leaders in May 2017.
It outlines a path towards Constitutional recognition of First Nations people.
Makarrata, a Yolŋu word from Arnhem Land, means “coming together after a struggle”.
Part of the Statement includes plans for a ‘Makarrata Commission’ — a body supervising treaty negotiations and truth-telling between governments and First Nations communities.
A treaty is an agreement between sovereign groups, often signed after a conflict, which sets out terms and conditions for peaceful co-existence.
Some colonial powers signed treaties with those they colonised, but British colonisers in Australia did not sign treaties with First Nations groups. First Nations people have long sought treaties, seeing them as a way to recognise First Nations sovereignty.
An example of truth-telling is the Victorian Government’s Yoorrook Commission, set up to “recognise the impacts of colonisation and address historic and ongoing injustices“ experienced by First Nations peoples.
Election promises
On the night of his election victory in 2022, Albanese vowed to implement the Uluru Statement in full. This included plans to enshrine an Indigenous Voice to Parliament as well as launch the Makarrata Commission.
After the Voice referendum failed in October 2023, the PM said he intended to continue to do what the Government could to close the gap between First Nations and non-Indigenous Australians, and advance reconciliation.
However, he did not specify whether that included launching Makarrata.
Albanese’s comments on Makarrata Commission
On Sunday, Albanese was asked about Makarrata. He did not indicate any formal plans to establish the commission. Instead, he told Insiders that Makarrata is “a process”.
When asked what that meant, Albanese said the process includes engaging with relevant stakeholders, such as the Land Councils and Native Title Tribunals.
“It means engaging with First Nations people right around the country… What it means is listening to and respecting First Nations people and then responding,” he told the ABC.
Labor Government
Speaking to ABC radio on Monday, the newly appointed Minister for Indigenous Australians defended the Prime Minister.
Senator Malarndirri McCarthy said the Government remains committed to the values of Makarrata.
“People are still recovering from [the referendum]… 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 there in 2017,” Senator McCarthy said.
The Uluru Dialogue
Pat Anderson, one of the key figures behind the Uluru Statement, told media that Makarrata “is not a vague vibe or a series of casual conversations”.
She called Albanese’s comments “confusing”.
“Is he rolling back on the Labor election commitment to the Makarrata Commission? We understand that a Constitutional Voice didn’t get up but the Australian people didn’t vote on truth or treaty,” Anderson said.
Opposition
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton raised concerns over a lack of clarity about the Government’s path forward with the Uluru Statement.
It also questioned the potential impact on taxpayers. He criticised the Government for allocating $5.8 million in 2022 to establishing a Makarrata Commission.
Dutton said Albanese “is treating people as he did through the course of the Voice, by starving them of the detail that they need to get a better understanding of what he’s proposing.”
In a post to X, Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe criticised both party leaders and called on the Prime Minister to recommit to establishing a truth-telling commission.
“This broken promise shows Albanese and the new Minister for Indigenous Australians still refuse to listen to First Peoples. They’re more interested in listening to Peter Dutton. Enough lies,” Senator Thorpe said.
On Monday afternoon, Greens Senator Dorinda Cox told the ABC First Nations leaders “have always called for Makarrata to be bricks and mortar”, and that the Prime Minister was “walking away” from a commitment.
