Anthony Albanese's first words as Prime Minister-elect laid down a marker.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
"I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet. I pay my respects to their elders past, present and emerging. And on behalf of the Australian Labor Party, I commit to the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full," he told jubilant supporters on May 21.
It was more than symbolism; as results trickled in, it was becoming clear Australia's 47th parliament would include more First Nations representatives than any preceding it.
Four new Indigenous members had been elected across both houses, while two sitting Green senators were returned for the first time. The influx means Indigenous Australians now account for more than four per cent of parliament's members.
As part of its NAIDOC Week coverage, ACM reached out to a number of these Indigenous Australians to discuss the issues which will animate an historic term of government.
'Do something about it'
For new Labor MP Gordon Reid, working in emergency departments on the NSW Central Coast during the COVID-19 pandemic was the "straw that broke the camel's back".
Even as each wave subsided, a deluge of patients presenting with other chronic illnesses - sidelined by a focus on the virus - kept a buckling system under relentless strain.
"You almost had to schedule to be sick because the waiting lists were so long. People were coming in because they couldn't afford their medication, they couldn't afford food, they were fleeing domestic and family violence. The ambulances were banked back," Dr Reid told The Canberra Times.
"We kept having shifts like that, and then I thought: Well, I can either just complain about it, or I can try and do something about it.
"That led me to put up my hand up to run."
Difficulties accessing healthcare and medication had a disproportionate impact on Australia's most vulnerable, with Indigenous Australians five times more likely to die from rheumatic heart disease.
Labor has pledged 50 urgent care centres - two to be established in Dr Reid's seat of Robertson - which it said would divert those suffering moderate illnesses and injuries away from GPs and emergency departments.
Dr Reid said the government would take a "holistic" approach to Indigenous health. Nationally, the government has pledged traineeship programs for Indigenous health workers and lowered medication prices. On a local level, he pledged clearer lines of communication to Indigenous health providers.
"That was lacking over the last decade. [There] was a breakdown in health communication from those community groups into the public service and into the government," he said.
Steady representation
First Nations representation in the Coalition has remained steady. The outgoing government lost its only Indigenous lower house member - former Indigenous Australians Minister Ken Wyatt - but gained former Alice Springs deputy mayor Jacinta Nampijinpa Price in the upper house.
Senator Price has already demanded outspoken Greens senator Lidia Thorpe be booted from parliament for suggesting the Australian flag, removed from Greens press conferences since the election, has "no permission to be here" and describing parliament as a "colonial project".
"The Australian flag represents Indigenous and non-Indigenous servicemen and women died under that flag for our freedoms. Why is that flag such a terrible thing to be recognised as something that's unifying?" she asked the ABC.
'Honour their lives'
Senator Thorpe has also called for a senate inquiry into missing Indigenous women, a call echoed by Greens colleague Dorinda Cox during her maiden speech to parliament in 2021.
The inquiry was referred in November, but did not hold hearings or receive submissions before the 46th parliament was dissolved. The Greens have received assurances it will commence this year.
Senator Cox, who worked for WA Police for nearly a decade, lost a family member to violence by a male perpetrator three years ago and hoped the inquiry would spark a "sophisticated conversation" on police and media responses.
"We really need to create that sense of urgency through reporting," she told The Canberra Times.
"If the police were really genuine about their own internal agencies, reform around culture and understanding, we wouldn't get comments like: 'That victim gives us good as she gets' or 'She's probably just gone walkabout'.
"Stuff like that, in all honesty, I've heard lots of during my policing career. In a personal capacity, I heard that about my own cousin. It's very distressing."
Senator Cox hoped the inquiry would prove the first step towards a national plan on violence against First Nations women and children, to be introduced within 18 months.
That should go broader than simply law reform, tackling mental health and training police to understand intergenerational trauma, she said.
"What for me is probably the most debilitating for our communities is there's no opportunity for self-determination," she said.
"We know over the previous generations that it hasn't worked ... The system's broken, or the system is working the way that it should, which is keeping marginalised people in a disadvantaged place."
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark canberratimes.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram