At the last election I committed to spending a week every year in a remote Indigenous community.
This year I have been jointly invited by the Torres Strait Regional Authority, the Torres Shire Council, Torres Strait Island Regional Council and the Northern Peninsula Regional Council to spend a week with their communities.
It’s very important that our national leaders focus on the whole of our country, including its most remote parts – so for a week in August the centre of government will move to the Torres Strait Islands and Northern Peninsula Area.
During this week, this region and its people will be the focus of my attention. I will be accompanied by a number of ministerial colleagues and senior government officials.
This will be the first visit to this region by an Australian Prime Minister for some time.
The Government has already made progress in getting children to school, adults into work and making communities safer.
There is more work to be done, and this visit is an opportunity to review progress in delivering on these priorities.
5 July 2015