Minister for Indigenous Australians
Ashleigh Gillon: Minister I appreciate your time. You are obviously following this debate very closely about vaccination mandates and your current role, obviously this is a very important issue. Your background before entering politics is in Aboriginal health as well. Are you disappointed in your coalition colleagues who are spreading these anti-vaccination messages, those who are fighting these vaccination mandates, are they only contributing to the hesitancy we’re seeing in some pockets and in particular in some of our Indigenous communities?
Minister Wyatt: No, they’re not. What they’re doing is exercising their right as a member to advocate for people who’ve spoken with them. In the Indigenous community, the hesitancy was right there from the beginning, partly because of social media and partly because the story of how the vaccine works and its value had not been talked through, plus closed borders and closed communities were front of mind for Indigenous Australians. And in WA I’ve heard our people say our Premier has kept the border closed, so we protected. But what’s happened in the Northern Territory now has seen an absolute, absolute increasing numbers of people being vaccinated whilst the numbers were low initially. They now are in the 60s and we’re seeing more and more people coming forward to be vaccinated to protect themselves, their families and their community. So, no, my colleagues are not a factor at all. They’re just exercising a position in which they are arguing for those who are likely to be, in their view, discriminated against in the workplace because they’re not vaxxed. And they’re also putting a point of view that individuals make choices. And that’s the position that I’ve heard them articulate.
Ashleigh Gillon: You were deciding the broader Northern Territory vaccination rate so far, but I understand in some Indigenous communities the numbers are well below that 60 per cent mark, in fact, below the 50 per cent mark in some of these communities. Should the Northern Territory government be delaying their reopening plans, I see several Indigenous health groups are calling for that.
Minister Wyatt: Well, they might be. But let me say that in working with Pat Turner, who heads the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation and working with Danila Dilba, AMSANT, and Northern Territory Health, and the deployment of ADF personnel within a number of those communities, we’re optimistic that we will see communities make the decision now to come forward to vaccinate. We have been doing door to door. We have been out in those communities talking to people and even in WA, I engage Ernie Dingo to go and travel through the Pilbara. One of the unfortunate things is poor Eddie is being bombarded with some of the most vile emails and messages because he’s doing that because the anti-vaxxers are trying to make a point that he’s selling out his people. In fact, he’s not, he’s trying to save them through an act of love and make sure that we are protected. So right across the territory. The combined efforts of Minister Hunt, Ministers Natasha Fyles and the Chief Minister, along with all of our organisations, including the land councils, are working steadfastly to increase the vaccination rates and protect our people.
Ashleigh Gillon: And well, in WA, I think it’s about just over a third of all Indigenous people over the age of 16 are fully vaccinated, as there’s clearly a long way to go in that state. There are another couple of matters I want to ask you about. One of them. What is the timeframe now for introducing legislation for an Indigenous voice to Parliament? Is that going to be happening in the final sitting fortnight of the year? Will this be all full steam ahead before the election?
Minister Wyatt: Actually, what we’re doing is going through a government process, but it’s a report that I’m immensely impressed with. It’s been consulted on with over 9400 people across the nation. There’s three reference groups have been very deliberative in their considerations. They have given government a range of options and the process is proceeding. As I indicated on Reconciliation Australia, when I was asked, what would your vision be for the next 20 years and I made the comment that a Voice would be in place, that we would have achieved against the targets of Closing the Gap measures, that states and territories would have made substantial strides forward in Closing the Gap and Aboriginal people would be in every field of endeavour and experiencing…
Ashleigh Gillon: So, Minister, just to clarify, have you taken the final report from the co-design panel to Cabinet? Will this be raised in the Parliament in the next couple of weeks or a week and a half left of sittings?
Minister Wyatt: It’s always a complex process because you’re working through the various concepts within that report. And certainly there is strong favourabilities, so I will continue the process of working it through. And when I achieve that outcome, then we will make the announcement at the relevant time. But I don’t want to rush this because I want to get this right. I was part of ATSIC at the regional level, and it was a great…
Ashleigh Gillon: Apologies Minister but there is a bit of a rush here, isn’t there, because we have an election happening this year. This is a commitment that you wanted to get this legislation into the Parliament. Time is running out.
Minister Wyatt: No, we don’t have an election this year, we still have time.
Ashleigh Gillon: No clearly but the expectation is it will be early next year. So the time frame is running out. There is certainly a bit of a rush on here.
Minister Wyatt: Look, I think we are better off doing this properly with the support of all within the Parliament; there are certainly groups external to the Parliament who’ve been raising issues about the Voice not being their preferred model. So part of that process is engaging with them as well. But the work that Tom and Marcia have done with Indigenous and non-Indigenous people through the three reference groups has been outstanding and in my discussions with my colleagues, we are reaching a point at which we will proceed. But I want to take my time on this. I don’t want to wish to rush it and make mistakes and not have it done properly.
Ashleigh Gillon: Speaking of the next election, Labor I know has its eye on your West Australian seat of Hasluck. Can you confirm that you will be running again for that seat in the next election? And if so, how confident are you that you will be able to hold it for the Coalition?
Minister Wyatt: Ashleigh, they write me off every time. They imply that I won’t be re-elected, and each time the people of Hasluck have put their faith in me and have appointed me to the position to represent them in the Federal Parliament. So, look, it’s always hard work. I engage with the community. I fight for the issues that are important to them. And I was looking at how much I’ve obtained in infrastructure for them since 2013 and it’s $1.9 Billion in new infrastructure that makes their lives safe.
Ashleigh I have to go.
