Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has defended his decision not to attend this year’s Garma Festival, despite promising at the 2025 gathering that he would return every year while serving as Australia’s leader.
The four-day festival will begin on July 31 at Gulkula in north-east Arnhem Land. Albanese confirmed he would not be present, saying he had not taken a day off during the year and would be on leave when Garma was held.
The prime minister said he would still travel to another remote part of the Northern Territory to attend a separate festival in the coming days. He also pointed to his record of attending every Garma gathering held since he became federal Labor leader in 2019.
At last year’s Garma Key Forum, Albanese made a public commitment to remain involved with the festival and attend annually for as long as he remained prime minister. His absence has therefore prompted questions over whether he has broken that promise.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy will represent the federal government at the event. Garma is hosted by the Yothu Yindi Foundation and local Yolŋu people, bringing together Indigenous leaders, families, cultural custodians, politicians and other guests from across Australia.
The Yothu Yindi Foundation responded diplomatically, describing Albanese as a friend of the festival and acknowledging that he had attended every Garma since 2019.
The decision comes amid continuing debate over the federal government’s Indigenous affairs agenda. Albanese entered office in 2022 promising to implement the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full and made the Indigenous Voice to Parliament a central government priority.
The Voice referendum was defeated in 2023. Although Labor had also committed to creating a Makarrata Commission focused on truth-telling and treaty-making, Albanese did not support a broad national truth-telling process during his Garma address last year, instead highlighting work underway in Victoria.
The prime minister has faced other accusations of breaking commitments, including criticism over changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax arrangements and the earlier revision of the legislated stage-three income tax cuts.
Albanese maintains that his absence from Garma should be viewed alongside his long attendance record and his planned visit to another Northern Territory cultural event. However, the decision has renewed scrutiny of the value and durability of political promises made at one of Australia’s most significant Indigenous forums.
