Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

So-called solutions conceived in Canberra and imposed on communities without consultation are more likely than not to end in expensive, ineffective and even counterproductive failure. This is what the Prime Minister said today. But when a government listens to people with experience, with earned knowledge of kinship and country, and of culture and community, and when we trust in the value of self-determination and empowerment, then the results are always better. At its core, the Closing the gap report asks us if we're going to continue to do the same thing whilst expecting a different outcome.

The Uluru Statement from the Heart had a humble request at its core: we seek to be heard. It is the same message that we see in this report today and why it is so important for that hand outstretched, which is the Uluru Statement from the Heart, to be met generously by all Australians.