Malarndirri McCarthy (NT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Hansard source

President, I thank the senator for this really important question because, in short, it worked. It absolutely worked. Through the week, departmental secretaries faced those questions. For example, it meant Senator Cox asking the Attorney-General's Department about justice reinvestment; Senator Ananda-Rajah asking the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing questions about First Nations suicide prevention; Senator Mulholland asking the Department of Education about First Nations and the Better and Fairer Schools Agreement; Senator Waters asking about perimenopause and First Nations women; Senator Thorpe asking about youth justice; and Senator Liddle—yes, I'm coming to you—asking about income management. Thank you, Senator Liddle! But more than that, because First Nations issues weren't relegated to Friday, it meant questions were even asked when Closing the Gap wasn't on the program—like Senator Dolega asking about Central Australia infrastructure, Senator Hodgins-May asking about Indigenous— (Time expired)