Indigenous policy is at one of its lowest points, according to Uluru Dialogue co-chair Pat Anderson AO, who has called for generational renewal and a shift in who leads national conversations on Aboriginal affairs.

Speaking at the 2025 AIATSIS Summit on Wednesday, Ms Anderson urged Elders to "step aside" to "make room for the next generation."

"In our formal engagement with the state, whether federal or state or territory, something becomes painfully clear: the same names keep appearing," Ms Anderson said. "Especially at the Federal level."

"The same people have spoken for Mob — both in transparent and non-transparent ways — and have been the designated drivers of various policy agendas for 30, 40 years."

While acknowledging the importance of policy expertise, Ms Anderson emphasised the need to include more grassroots leaders in decision-making.

"We need leaders in communities who are often ignored—who know what will actually work and what will actually bring change," she said.

"These people need a say in the efficient direction of Government resources to actually deliver results.

"For them, it's not a theoretical exercise. They're living the issues, and they can help. Better information going in will always lead to better laws and policies."

Her comments come after Labor's decisive federal election win last month — a result some interpret as a public rejection of the Coalition's culture war rhetoric and resistance to Indigenous self-determination as a means of closing the gap.

Ms Anderson said she had been "contemplating for some time" the issue of succession — specifically, who is leading debates and shaping Indigenous public policy.

"We can't have the same people doing the same things and expect different results," she said.

"Elders must step back—without disappearing. We must leave the next generation not only our stories but also our strategies. Succession is not retirement. It is renewal."

The Alyawarre woman reaffirmed her belief in the Uluru Statement as a roadmap for effective reform, calling it an idea "whose time will come". She warned that without a Voice or national coherence, there is no structure to "elevate the next generation".

She also criticised some of those who campaigned against the Voice to Parliament, arguing their opposition was rooted in self-interest.

"Some people opposed the Voice because it would disrupt their unchecked access to power and resources," she said.

Following the failed Voice referendum in 2023, Ms Anderson argued Labor has maintained the status quo. She said the updated Closing the Gap framework — now linked to an "economic empowerment" agenda — remains "opaque in substance and delivery".

She added that wealth creation is "known only to the exclusive few the government now consults".

Her criticism comes after last year's Productivity Commission findings, which pointed to government reluctance to share power and the persistence of a "government knows best" mindset.

In response, the Prime Minister acknowledged past failures and said governments needed to make decisions in genuine partnership with First Nations communities.

Still, Ms Anderson and Uluru Dialogue co-chair Professor Megan Davis AC have maintained that the Closing the Gap approach is fundamentally flawed because it avoids confronting root issues — especially the lack of self-determination.

On Wednesday, Ms Anderson posed a pointed question to the summit audience: "Who is influencing governments and bureaucracies on the matters that shape our lives? Who is in the room? The concern many of our people have is that the people in the room have no connection or accountability to the people they are speaking for."

She argued that these questions are central to understanding the current state of Indigenous affairs in Australia.

"There is no doubt in my mind that this moment is one of the lowest points for Indigenous Policy — ever," she said.

"I appreciate this is a big statement to make, but it has been made by many significant leaders about our situation when it comes to government policy, and especially federal policy."

She also reflected on a 2014 statement by former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Mick Gooda, who condemned the rollout of the Indigenous Advancement Strategy, the closure of remote communities in WA, and the defunding of Aboriginal organisations in favour of non-Indigenous ones, arguing it was one of the lowest points in Indigenous history.

"Nothing has fundamentally changed since Mick made that statement," Ms Anderson said.

"Nothing at all."

In a final warning, she suggested governments are now replacing justice-oriented reforms with softer policy language.

"There is a paradigm shift taking place," she said. "From discussions around self-determination, we now hear 'place-based,' 'co-design,' 'partnerships,' and even governments seeking philanthropic co-funding of public policy."

"But hear me clearly: this shift risks delaying — or even replacing — justice-oriented reforms like treaty, constitutional recognition, and reparations.

"It moves us away from structural change and toward service delivery."