Congress co-chair elect Rod Little says treaty a priority on agenda

Congress has elected historian and activist Jackie Huggins as co-chair, along with Nyoongar and Yamaji man Rod Little.

TRANSCRIPT

Natalie Ahmat: Engaging with the First Nations community and staying on the Federal Government's radar; those are the priorities for the new chair of the National Congress of Australia's First Peoples.

Congress has elected historian and activist Jackie Huggins as co-chair, along with Nyoongar and Yamaji man Rod Little.

Myles Morgan has the story.

Myles Morgan: Rod Little has been a director at National Congress for the past few years, and aso leads Canberra's Indigenous representative body.

He'll step into the role of co-chair at the end of the month.

Rod Little, National Congress co-chair elect: First priority from my perspective will be enhancing engagement with our membership and then with the government. That is a critical engagement we need to have: a strong representation for our people

The Turnbull Government says it is willing to engage with Congress but it hasn't happened yet.

Rod Little says the Prime Minister talks a lot about innovation and change... but it hasn't extended to Indigenous Affairs.

Rod Little: I don't think there's been any changes on how we've been engaging with First Nations. We've still got intact the Indigenous Advisory Council, the changes to the program that went into the Prime Minister & Cabinet.

And the issue of treaty versus Constitutional recognition has long been a sore point for Congress' critics.

Rod Little says both debates can happen together.

Rod Little: We've had a membership from day one that has said treaty and sovereignty are key issues we need to speak about. I think we need to facilitate the conversation on where to and how to progress those matters.