Garma festival cancelled over COVID fears in 'big blow' to local communities

Garma Festival, Australia's premier forum for the discussion of Indigenous affairs, has been cancelled due to COVID-19 safety concerns. Key points: Festival organisers had hoped their safety plans would be approved by health authorities The Garma Festival site is near many remote Indigenous communities The festival was also cancelled in 2020 The decision comes after the Northern Territory's Chief Health Officer decided the event's remote location in north-east Arnhem Land posed too great a public health risk in the event of a COVID-19 outbreak. The Yothu Yindi Foundation said it had "worked extremely hard in partnership with the relevant authorities" to plan an event that would meet the approval of the Chief Health Officer. "Unfortunately, the NT’s Chief Health Officer has determined that Gulkula’s remote location poses too many logistical and safety challenges in the unlikely event of a COVID incident, such as the difficulty of evacuating people from the site, and the unsuitability of quarantine facilities in north-east Arnhem Land," they said. The cancellation of Garma Festival will be a significant emotional and economic blow for the Yolngu people, the traditional owners of north-east Arnhem Land, the Yothu Yindi Foundation said.