6 November 2026
Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Steve Edgington has represented the Territory at today’s meeting of the Joint Council on Closing the Gap.
The meeting focused on practical progress, including what is working on the ground and where things have stalled.
The Territory Government will keep pushing for national arrangements that reflect the realities of remote and regional communities.
Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Steve Edgington today joined Commonwealth, state and territory ministers, the Coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peak Organisations and the Australian Local Government Association at the Joint Council on Closing the Gap.
The meeting was held in Canberra and co-chaired by Senator the Hon Malarndirri McCarthy, Minister for Indigenous Australians, and Coalition of Peaks Lead Convenor Donnella Mills. Minister Edgington joined online from Darwin.
Minister Edgington said the Territory had a big stake in getting Closing the Gap right.
“Around one in four Territorians is Aboriginal, and many live in remote communities where national decisions land very differently to how they land in the cities,” Minister Edgington said.
“I want to see less process and more results. That means kids at school, people in jobs, safer communities and services that actually reach people in the bush.”
Joint Council considered the Languages Sector Strengthening Plan, developed by First Languages Australia following national consultation. The Northern Territory Government was a member of the working group that guided the Plan’s development.
“More than 100 Aboriginal languages are spoken across the Territory, and for many people English is a second, third or fourth language,” Minister Edgington said.
“We’ll look at how the Plan’s priorities fit with the work already happening through the Aboriginal Interpreter Service, our schools and Library & Archives NT.”
Members also considered Terms of Reference for the next Independent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led Review of the National Agreement, along with work to strengthen place-based partnerships and community data projects.
The next Review will place a strong focus on practical lessons from implementation and on building the local government and community-controlled sector, using case studies from across the country to show where progress is being made and where it has stalled.
“That’s the right approach. Territorians want to know the money being spent is making a difference, and they want people held to account when it isn’t,” Minister Edgington said.
“There is more work to do, and I’ll keep making the case for Territory communities at the national table.”
