Dorinda Cox (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Indigenous Australians, Senator McCarthy. Northern Australia has been experiencing successive and compounding natural disasters this wet season. It has disproportionately affected First Nations Australians living in remote communities. Many communities across north Australia have been cut off and entire communities remain in evacuation centres. What support is the Albanese Labor government providing to affected remote and First Nations communities, and how are the initiatives of the government supporting those communities dealing with the effects of these natural disasters?

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

Thank you, Senator Cox. I know you understand Western Australia very well, and I'm looking forward to being with you on the weekend over there in WA as well.

It's certainly been an incredibly difficult wet season, and we can certainly see where Tropical Cyclone Narelle is now in Western Australia. Across northern Australia we've seen its pathway. We've faced successive natural disasters—cyclones, flooding and now renewed river rises—following on from Cyclone Narelle. Our focus is on keeping people safe and making sure no-one is left behind.

More than 1,000 people have been evacuated from remote communities in the Northern Territory, like Numbulwar, Nauiyu, Daly River, Jilkminggan and Palumpa—many for the second time in just a matter of weeks. Jilkminggan, near Mataranka, and Beswick, near Katherine, have also gone under, and also Katherine.

I want to acknowledge, too, the communities in Far North Queensland, from Coen to Aurukun, who've been impacted, and those in Western Australia who are now preparing for the re-intensified Cyclone Narelle. This has been an incredibly distressing experience for these communities—to be forced from your home and to not know what you will return to—and that takes a real toll on people's lives.

I also want to recognise the extraordinary efforts of the Australian Defence Force. ADF personnel have been on the ground and in the air evacuating communities and helping move people to safety. Alongside them are volunteers, emergency services and local workers who have shown incredible care and commitment. In Katherine, we've stood up a 24/7 AUSMAT field hospital to ensure people have access to emergency and essential health care, and that includes a fully operational emergency department and maternity services making sure care continues. At the same time, we're supporting communities not just through the immediate response but through resilience.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Cox, first supplementary?

Dorinda Cox (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This wet season has shown the challenges of life in remote communities, particularly in relation to food resilience. What measures has the Albanese Labor government put in place to support First Nations communities in remote Australia to ensure continued access to food supplies?

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

Thank you, Senator Cox. Well, our resilience packages have meant more funding for remote stores across the country to upgrade things like storage and refrigeration and to install solar panels. These resilience packages are having an impact, but don't take it from me. Dion Kelly, chair of the Lajamanu Progress Aboriginal Corporation, said: 'The food resilience grant has made a real difference for our community of Lajamanu this wet season. For the last three years, we've had to fly all of our goods in from Darwin during the wet season. Now that the store has a larger warehouse and new freezer, we can hold up to 10 weeks of stock. This keeps our food security strong during the toughest months of the wet season.' I'm proud we've announced that 75 additional remote stores right across Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Queensland and South Australia will now be able to apply for these improvements.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Cox, second supplementary?

Dorinda Cox (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What role are participants in the Albanese Labor government remote jobs program playing in supporting our communities during this wet season while building greater resilience in remote communities?

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

Our jobs and rangers programs are central to building more resilience in remote communities. During Cyclone Fina in Warruwi, the RJED workers, with the Yagbani Aboriginal Corporation, were out with the chainsaws in the clean-up. Likewise, during Cyclone Narelle, the Nyirrunggulung-RISE participants were assisting the Roper Gulf Regional Council in recovery efforts. Our Commonwealth funded Yirralka rangers have been clearing the road to Garrthalala in Arnhem Land in the last few days. Our RJED Vic-Daly night patrol workers have partnered with the Larrakia nation in Darwin to provide extra patrols around the evacuation centres. This is happening now, on the ground—workers in jobs, rebuilding and supporting their communities and assisting everyone in these times of absolute crisis during these floods. These policies that our government has implemented are working, and I'm so proud that we're doubling the number of jobs that we're providing in remote communities to an incredible 6,000 jobs by 2030, backed by a $299 million investment. (Time expired)