Indigenous Elders in Arnhem Land emphasize that these aren’t just numbers but young individuals being drawn into the prison system while still in primary school.

Gumatj clan members of the Yolngu people from north-eastern Arnhem Land are set to perform the Bunggul traditional dance at this year’s Garma festival. Source: AAP / James Ross

The NT government did not conduct specific consultations on the new laws but NT Aboriginal Affairs Minister Steve Edgington says these are conversations that have been going on for years, and he makes no apology for a tough-on-crime approach.

It places Garma’s annual political talks under a darkening cloud, with conflict brewing about how to deal with youth crime and incarceration.

‘Where is the accountability?’

As Prime Minister Anthony Albanese arrives at the Bunggul grounds on Saturday to join Gumatj Elders and witness the traditional dances of the world’s oldest enduring culture, there will be mounting pressure on him to take further action.

When he was elected as prime minister in 2022, Albanese committed to the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full.

Kids play Australian rules football on the opening day of this year’s Garma festival. Source: AAP / James Ross

While the referendum for a Voice failed, the statement also included treaty and truth-telling.

“As a nation, we are still coming to terms with the full truth and toll of this exclusion,” he said.

“The sense of belonging that comes from having a stake in the economy, being embraced by society and equal in the law of the land.”

Responsibility to protect the next generation

“It’s something that we need to really do for the future of our people,” he told NITV’s Emma Kellaway.

In the view of so many community leaders, they see the federal government as having a shared responsibility as to what happens next.