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

Well, the answer to that is no, Senator Thorpe. We don't just give up. We don't just roll over and say no. We have 80 organisations. Over 800 members in those organisations are part of Closing the Gap. This is First Nations people at the grassroots level, Senator Thorpe. It is grassroots people who are fighting hard to close that gap. What I have to do is keep working with the state and territory ministers, not just First Nations ministers but also every single minister around the cabinet table, which includes here at the Commonwealth. That's every single minister, because every jurisdiction has signed up to this, Senator Thorpe. We don't roll up and roll away. We stand there and fight to improve the lives of First Nations people. Just because it's hard, just because it's difficult, it doesn't mean we give up.