Supporters of the promise of a Makarrata Commission fear Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will roll back support for the Indigenous initiative.
The term “Makarrata” comes from the 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart and refers to a “truth-telling” process and a subsequent treaty between the Australian government and Indigenous people.
The “truth-telling” process involves setting up a commission to investigate alleged historical injustices committed against Aboriginal Australians.
Late last year, another part of the Uluru Statement—setting up an Indigenous advisory body within the nation’s parliament—was put to a referendum.
Yet the constitutional change was voted down with suburban and regional voters choosing overwhelmingly to reject the proposal.
On Aug. 4, Prime Minister Albanese said his government was “talking through” what a Makarrata process could entail. He said there was still more to be done, but he stopped short of detailing any path to an actual commission, a former promise made by the government.
Albanese’s comments to ABC Insiders at the Northern Territory Garma Festival, stoked concern among advocates for a Makarrata, who felt the leader had danced around the issue.
Albanese told the program his government supported truth-telling but stopped short of committing to the Makarrata Commission.
When the host asked him to clarify his stance, Albanese said the Makarrata process involved Australians coming together through engagement.
“The forums that are held by different bodies, including the body led by (Uluru co-chair) Pat Turner, made up of a coalition of peaks,” he said. “It means engaging with land councils. It means engaging with Native Title tribunals.”
“It means engaging with First Nations people right around the country.”
Albanese said the government had not proposed a truth and justice commission.
On Aug. 5, Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy clarified that the government was still committed to improving outcomes for Indigenous people.
Indigenous Groups Fear Ambiguity
The perceived lack of commitment led Uluru co-chair Pat Anderson to release a statement challenging Albanese to clarify his support for a Makarrata.“Makarrata is not a vague vibe or a series of casual conversations,” she said.
“The Makarrata called for in the Uluru Statement is a bricks and mortar body and it was a clear election promise.”
Indigenous rights campaigner Dean Parkin was also critical, accusing the leader of backsliding on support for truth-telling.
“We’re talking about a thing that would oversee, as the Uluru Statement says, the process of agreement-making between First Nations and truth-telling about our history,” Parkin said on Aug. 3 during a panel at Garma.
“If we start talking about it as a concept, it gets left open to whatever it may be.”
Albanese said the federal government had not outlined a path to a treaty before the October referendum, and that position had not changed.
Instead, treaty processes were taking place through states and territories.
“Australia, as a nation, will benefit from being more united, more reconciled with our history, and that’s important for all of us, but it’s also important for how Australia is seen in the region and the world,” he said.
