Sue-Anne Hunter: New role to close the gap after Garma Festival reveals ‘grim’ statistics on youth in prison

The nation’s first Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children has described the task ahead as “urgent” and statistics around Indigenous incarceration as “grim.”

Sue-Anne Hunter, a Wurundjeri and Ngurai Illum Wurrung woman, social worker and member of Victoria’s truth-telling Commission, was appointed on Sunday night, to be a voice for children and young people.

She said she was honoured.

“I recognise that we are at risk of losing another generation to systems that fail them, to removal, out of home care detention and a bleak future,” Ms Hunter said.

“The work is urgent and the statistics are grim. But our children are not statistics, they are our future. This role will elevate their voices and their concerns. They will be at the centre of everything I do.”

At the annual Garma Festival on Saturday, Anthony Albanese was confronted over the high rate of imprisonment of indigenous youth in the Northern Territory.

“Don’t be here to think your attendance here is enough,” Yothu Yindi Foundation chief executive Denise Bowden told the Prime Minister.

National statistics show Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are more than 10 times more likely to be in out-of-home care and 27 times more likely to be in youth detention.

Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy called the status quo “deeply distressing” and unacceptable.

“Under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap all governments have committed to reducing these rates, and states and territories must redouble their efforts,” she said.