Acknowledging the history of injustice against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is a good idea but it is important to celebrate the community's successes, the prime minister says.
Northern Territory Police Commissioner Michael Murphy on Saturday apologised for the harm done by officers throughout the force's history, conceding they had made mistakes and committed injustices against Indigenous people.
Asked if such comments reflected the federal government's steps towards truth-telling, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said "absolutely".
"It's a good idea to acknowledge history and to acknowledge that why we are here today is because of that history," he told the ABC's Insiders program on Sunday.
Mr Albanese says it's up to other police chiefs whether they apologise to First Nations people. (Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS)
"What I want to do as well is celebrate the successes.
"We need to be optimistic if we're going to move forward."
Asked if other police commissioners should make similar gestures, Mr Albanese said it was "up to them".
After leading Labor to a federal election win in 2022, Mr Albanese committed to adopting all three pillars of the 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart - voice, treaty and truth.
But a proposal to enshrine an Indigenous voice in the constitution was rejected by voters in an October referendum, and the prime minister has deferred treaty responsibilities to the states.
A report released on Thursday revealed significant rifts remain between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's socio-economic outcomes and those of non-Indigenous Australians.
Only five of the government's 19 Closing the Gap targets were on track to be met, the report showed.
Indigenous groups say the NT police commissioner's apology is an important step towards healing and a catalyst for change.
"I am deeply sorry," Mr Murphy told Australia's largest Indigenous gathering at the Garma Festival at Gulkula, in northeast Arnhem Land, on Saturday.
Although the senior officer accepted he could not change or undo the past, he vowed to hold NT police accountable for harm inflicted in the past 150 years.
Mr Murphy said he would work to transform relations between police and Indigenous Australians and use his position to "make every effort to eliminate racism in the Northern Territory Police".
"I acknowledge this challenge will be hard … but the alternative is unacceptable," he said.
The Northern Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency welcomed Mr Murphy's apology as an important step towards the healing that needed to take place in the Territory.
"We are hopeful that these positive words are a catalyst for positive action to improve justice outcomes in the NT," an agency spokesperson said.
Mr Murphy also addressed the "profound and ongoing intergenerational impact" of colonisation and the "cruel and inhumane" decades-long practice of removing children during his address.
"Those impacts play a critical role in what causes disengagement, anti-social behaviour, offending and violence today," he said.
NT Police Commissioner Michael Murphy delivered an apology to the Indigenous community on Saturday. (Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS)
Mr Murphy, who took part in a Yolngu ceremony at the bunggul grounds following his speech, acknowledged the way forward could only be in partnership with Aboriginal Territorians and community-led organisations.
"I intend to develop a new relationship built on mutual respect, trust and human rights," he said.
A separate apology will be delivered to the remote community of Yuendumu, where Warlpiri man Kumunjayi Walker was shot dead by then-constable Zachary Rolfe in November 2019 during an attempted arrest.
The death sparked a murder inquiry and put the NT Police Force under scrutiny when evidence of racism was uncovered at a coronial inquest.