A promised Makarrata commission has not been abandoned, the Indigenous Australians minister says.
The prime minister appeared to have ditched Makarrata in an interview at the Garma Festival on the weekend.
What's next?
Malarndirri McCarthy says the government must take steps to consult with Indigenous Australians, but remains committed "in principle" to the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
The newly minted minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, says the federal government has not ditched its promise to establish a Makarrata truth commission.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese triumphantly declared on election night that the government would implement the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full, which included a promise for a Makarrata commission — a formal process for agreement-making and truth-telling.
But at the Garma Festival in the Northern Territory this weekend, Mr Albanese appeared to back away from that commitment, saying that was not what his government was proposing.
Senator McCarthy told the ABC this morning his words had been misinterpreted, and the government was holding firm on Makarrata.
Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy says the government is not abandoning its commitment to a Makarrata commission. (ABC News: Jayden O'Neill)
"When I was at Gulkula in Arnhem Land beside the prime minister, that's clearly not what I heard," Senator McCarthy said.
"I would caution everyone to just calm down. This has been a significant weekend at Gulkula … We are not moving away from our commitment to the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
"The prime minister made that commitment on election night … I'm saying that the interpretation of what the prime minister said has been taken completely further than what it was meant to."
Senator McCarthy said the Garma Festival had been the government's first chance to discuss next steps on Indigenous reform since the failed referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
She said the government wanted to canvass the opinions of Indigenous Australians, including in consultation through a senate inquiry, and that the government remained committed to implementing the Uluru Statement in full.
Senior Indigenous advocate Pat Anderson, a co-chair of the Uluru Dialogue and prominent campaigner during the Voice referendum, said Mr Albanese had left the issue in a state of confusion.
"The prime minister's comments are confusing. Is he rolling back on the Labor election commitment to the Makarrata Commission? We understand that a constitutional Voice didn't get up, but the Australian people didn't vote on Truth or Treaty," Ms Anderson said.
"Makarrata is not a vague vibe or a series of casual conversations. The Makarrata called for in the Uluru Statement is a bricks-and-mortar body and it was a clear election promise."
The federal government has been quiet on its plans in the Indigenous affairs portfolio since the resounding defeat of its proposed Voice to Parliament in last year's referendum.
But the government had committed $5.8 million to its establishment in its first federal budget, before the referendum defeat.