What is makarrata and has Albanese broken an election promise?

Anthony Albanese at the Garma festival. He has told ABC TV’s Insiders that consulting Indigenous organisations to address disadvantage fit the definition of makarrata, and that a truth and justice commission is ‘not what we have proposed’. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

There was a lot of talk on the weekend about the concept of makarrata and what it means to the future relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Australia.

It came into sharp focus at the annual Garma festival in north-east Arnhem Land, the first to be held since the failed referendum 10 months ago on enshrining an Indigenous voice to parliament in the constitution, where questions were asked about what the government plans to do to address that unfinished business.