Wong tells Garma Festival Australia is 'not a monoculture'
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong used the second day of the Garma Festival to underline the strategic importance of ties between First Nations peoples and Australia's Pacific neighbors. Wong said the country has never been a monoculture.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong used a speech on the second day of the Garma Festival in northern Australia to highlight the strategic importance of ties between First Nations peoples and Australia's Pacific neighbors.
"We are not a monoculture and never have been," Wong said, stressing the role of the country's multicultural identity in its foreign policy. She said Indigenous communities' historical and cultural links to the Pacific region give Australia's regional diplomacy an advantage.
The remarks followed a media panel at the festival that also touched on debate over Indigenous affairs. Panelists reflected on the state of public discussion on Indigenous issues since the referendum.
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