Finishing the journey of indigenous reconciliation won’t be easy, but it can happen with the spirit of goodwill, Prime Minister Tony Abbott says.

Mr Abbott told the Indigenous Governance Awards in Melbourne that indigenous reconciliation was a tremendous challenge.

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“Our country won’t be really whole … until we make that happen,” he told the audience on Thursday night.

“It’s not going to be as easy as it should be, because everyone has different ideas as to exactly how our country should be constituted.

“But if we talk about it in the spirit of goodwill and brotherhood and sisterhood, I am sure that we can finish this great journey together and then we can march on, on the great journey of our nation together.”

Mr Abbott handed out awards to a Central Australian women’s group and an up-and-coming theatre troupe from country Victoria, who received top honours at the biennial event which aims to identify, celebrate and promote strong Indigenous governance.

Waltja Tjutangku Palyapayi Aboriginal Corporation from Alice Springs and Swan Hill’s The Marruk Project were awarded the best run Aboriginal organisation and project in the country by a judging panel which included the heads of the Business Council and Productivity Commission.

Awards chair, Professor Mick Dodson, said when Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were empowered to take decisions about their lives, and draw on culture as a strength and resilience, anything was possible.

The winners were among 113 applicants from cities and some of Australia’s remotest communities.