By PETER ROWE

Opposition Indigenous Affairs spokesperson Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has lashed out at Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in an opinion piece in The Australian newspaper, accusing him and Labor of having nothing to be proud of when it comes to Closing the Gap.

Senator Price wrote: “…Albanese took the establishment of a Makarrata commission as a clear promise to the last Federal election, yet at Garma he denied any intention of doing so.

“Albanese’s new Minister for Indigenous Australians, Senator Malarndirri McCarthy tried to calm the uproar by claiming the Prime Minister had been misinterpreted about Makarrata.

“Yet just this week in question time, the minister told the Senate that the Labor government would not be pursuing the establishment of a Makarrata commission without Coalition support.”

Senator Price accused the Albanese government of distorting all of their promises at the last election as “conditional on Coalition support.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the recent Garma Festival in Arnhem Land.

She also wrote that Labor had consistently voted against Senate motions to assist the Closing the Gap process, including her requests for an audit into Aboriginal corporations and authorities to ensure funding goes to where it is most needed.

Accusing the Prime Minister of not listening to the Australian people, she added in her comment piece: “Anthony Albanese doesn’t bother to listen. On the contrary, he has shown complete disregard for the actual crises facing Indigenous Australians right now.”

Senator Price also highlighted the fact that despite his speech at the recent Garma Festival in the Northern Territory, he forgot about the government’s action in the High Court in Darwin against payment of native title compensation to First Nation communities.

“He (Albanese) really needs to accept the democratic process, I suggest we see far less self-interest policy and far more focus on measures tat actually help Indigenous Australians.”