, Malarndirri McCarthy is on track to retain her portfolio as Minister for Indigenous Australians.
In an historic victory, the Labor government has been returned with an increased majority.
Addressing her supporters in Darwin, Ms McCarthy said the stunning victory was a repudiation of the culture wars that had dominated the last week of the campaign.
"Tonight the people of the Northern Territory have joined with all Australians to say we love our country, we do not want to see division in this country especially with our First Nations people," she said.
"And we have been given a mandate tonight to find and persevere through a better way for all Australians especially the First Nations people of Australia."
Claiming victory at the Labor headquarters in Sydney on Saturday night, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese thanked voters for returning his government to power.
“It is with a deep sense of humility and a profound sense of responsibility that the first thing I do tonight is say thank you to the people of Australia for the chance to continue to serve the best nation on Earth,” he said.
, Mr Albanese pointedly said an acknowledgement of Country to rapturous applause from the crowd.
“I acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which we meet, and I pay my respects to Elders past, present, and emerging - today and every day,” he said.
Equally significant is the loss of opposition leader Peter Dutton's own seat of Dickson in Queensland.
An emotional Malarndirri McCarthy watched the Prime Minister's victory speech from Labor camp in Darwin. Credit: Josh van Staden
“We didn’t do well enough during this campaign that much is obvious tonight and I accept full responsibility for that,” Mr Dutton told the party faithful.
With Labor's unexpectedly big win, recriminations and fingerpointing for the Coalition's loss have already begun.
Appearing on the ABC, Shadow Indigenous Australians Minister Jacinta Nampijinpa Price was asked if photos of her in a “Make America Great Again” hat, which made headlines during the campaign, had contributed to the Coalition's defeat.
Senator Price accused the media and Labor of “slinging mud”.
“Donald Trump doesn’t own those four words,” she said.
“Because the media can go through your personal Facebook photos and find a picture that was taken in jest at Christmas time and then smear you with it, that is the problem, that is the issue.”
“Here in Lingiari Aboriginal people are going to continue to be marginalised, the gap is going to get wider, because we take an ideological approach to all these issues and Labor will continue to do that.”
However, Senator Price conceded the Coalition should have released its policies earlier in the campaign.
“Losing Peter Dutton is a huge loss, it’s a huge loss, and the Liberal party will determine what the leadership looks like for their party going forward,” she said.
“We could have provided our policies sooner to the Australians people to have a better understanding of what we wanted to do to support Australians better.”
Election light on Indigenous policy
Throughout the five-week election campaign, focus on Indigenous affairs policy took a back seat.
Minister Malarndirri McCarthy focussed her campaign efforts into visiting remote communities across the Northern Territory and Far North Queensland, before voting early in Milingimbi, a remote community off the north coast of Central Arnhem Land.
Key funding announcements made during the campaign centred on 800 additional jobs for the Indigenous Rangers Program, $5 million for training in remote essential care services, and .
When elected in 2022 the first thing Anthony Albanese did in his victory speech was to reaffirm his commitment to the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
But speaking to the ABC this morning, Mr Albanese would not specify whether the Labor Government has taken Truth and Treaty off the table following the defeat of the Voice to Parliament referendum.
"I'm very committed to practical reconciliation moving forward," Mr Albanese said.
While Indigenous Affairs was also largely absent from the Coalition's campaign, Opposition leader Peter Dutton said the Coalition was focused on "practical" actions for First Nations communities.
The Coalition took three signature Indigenous Affairs policies to the election including a reaffirmed commitment to establish a Royal Commission into allegations of child sex abuse in Indigenous Communities.
The pledge for a Royal Commission has been controversial since the idea was first floated in 2023, criticised by dozens of
Other key promises from the Coalition included an audit of Indigenous Affairs spending and reintroducing compulsory income management via the Cashless Debit Card — a controversial scheme
'It’s a bit of a scary time to be an Aboriginal person'
In the final weeks of the campaign First Nations voters across the country expressed disappointment at a lack of policy promises on Indigenous issues.
First Nations voters at the National Centre for Indigenous Excellence in Redfern told NITV Indigenous rights were key to their vote this election.
"The things that matter to me are Aboriginal rights and just feeling safe in our country,” Biripi and Worimi woman Amarlye Bron told NITV News.
As a first time voter, Ms Bron said she was disappointed to see the debate turn to Welcomes to Country in the final days of the campaign.
“It’s a bit of a scary time to be an Aboriginal person at the moment, [with] the media and everything that’s going on especially after Anzac Day, it’s just been a really tough time for us mob."
Gumbaynggirr and Dhungutti woman Diana Vale told NITV the cost of living was her biggest concern and hopes to see more action by the future government.
“The government are trying to help, they’re doing their best, but sometimes they need to do a little bit more for everybody.”
Policies around health and education for mob were also key to informing her vote.
“Being Aboriginal, I never finished high school, but I want my grandchildren and my great grandchildren when they come along to have a higher education because years ago we couldn’t have that,” she said.
