“Anthony Albanese has returned to the Garma festival – a hub of excitement a mere 12 months ago around the referendum on an Indigenous voice to parliament – telling his hosts he did as he promised but the nation did not agree.
Still received with honour at the annual Indigenous festival in north-east Arnhem Land on Friday, Albanese faced gratitude that the proposed constitutional change was put to the people as promised, but grief that it was also overwhelmingly rejected.
In a speech to be delivered at Garma on Saturday, the prime minister acknowledges the result and seeks to address the disappointment at what festival organisers have described as “the great silence” on Indigenous advancement from his government in the 10 months since the vote on 14 October last year.
“Together, we gave our all and we fell short,” he says, in a draft copy of the speech seen by Guardian Australia. “I understand, particularly for those who had dedicated years of their life to this cause, the pain is still raw.”
Albanese says he “accepted the result, respected the decision and took responsibility”.
“I have not returned to Garma today to talk about what might have been,” the speech says. “I have not come back to this place of fire to rake through the ashes. I am here because my optimism for a better future still burns.”
The prime minister wants to turn the focus to economic empowerment in Indigenous communities, indirectly referring to this week’s news from the Productivity Commission that key indicators of Indigenous disadvantage are not improving.
“We can confront the legacy of dispossession and tackle the realities of disadvantage,” he says. “We can close the gap. These aspirations for a better future did not end last October, and nor did the respect, understanding and cooperation that will take us there.”
But his new minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, accused Peter Dutton of showing no respect, with comments the opposition leader made on Friday about reconciliation, in which he also rejected another ambition outlined in the Uluru statement from the heart.
“Under a government I lead, there will be no Makarrata,” Dutton said in a stopover in Perth, on return from a visit to Israel. “There will be no revisiting of truth telling and the $450m the government wasted on the voice was an outrage.”
McCarthy was asked about the remarks during a panel discussion at Garma.
“Well, it just shows what I’m up against to reach out across the political divide,” McCarthy said.
“What we don’t want to see in this country is the hatred and hurtfulness that occurred throughout the referendum. And I, for one, will not accept that.”
Dutton’s comments pre-empted an assurance Albanese will give that he remains committed to a truth-telling process as described in the Uluru statement, but without providing any detail or timeline.
“We remain committed to Makarrata, that powerful Yolŋu word gifted to the nation, for a coming together after a struggle,” Albanese will say. “And we will continue to engage in good faith with leaders and communities to decide what the next steps should be at a national level.”
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The prime minister is set to announce a new economic partnership with the coalition of peak Indigenous community-sector bodies aimed at generating economic security at the local level.
He will commit $20m to build a new tertiary education and vocational centre, to be owned and run by the Yolŋu people and named the Garma Institute.
And, as part of his Future Made in Australia agenda to fund the innovation and development of clean energy technology, he will vow to create a hub to connect traditional owners with would-be investors in heritage protection endeavours.
In an attempt to similarly empower city-based and regional communities, Albanese will say his government will boost the “investment, borrowing and lending power” of Indigenous Business Australia, to drive higher rates of home ownership among Indigenous Australians.
“We know this has not been tried before on a national scale – we understand this is a new approach,” Albanese will say, describing that as a reason for optimism, not concern.
“We know where the old models take us, we know where the old road leads. We have to make a new path – and walk it together.”
Ahead of the speech, due on Saturday morning, the prime minister attended the ceremonial Garma opening bungul, or dance, on Friday afternoon, at which members of the host Gumatj clan lunged at him in a traditional faux challenge, brandishing a painted ganiny, or sacred sceptre.
They then presented it to him as a gift, telling the prime minister it symbolised restoring the fire to whoever receives it.