Numerous Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia have been notable for their contributions to politics, including participation in governments, and activism. Others are noted for their public service, generally and in specific areas like law and education. The lists of Indigenous Australians in public service, activism, law, education and humanities on this page, can never be complete and are fluid, but serve as a primer.
By 1962–65 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders were granted universal suffrage. Specifically, the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1962 gave all Aboriginal people the option of enrolling to vote in federal elections,[1] whereas the previous Commonwealth Electoral Act 1949 gave Aboriginal people the right to vote in federal elections only if they were able to vote in their state elections. Even with the 1962 ruling, it was not until the Commonwealth Electoral Amendment Act 1983 that voting became compulsory for Aboriginal people, as it was for other Australians.[2][3]
Sir Douglas Nicholls was the first and so far the only Indigenous Australian Governor of an Australian state (Governor of South Australia, 1976–1977).
There have been 52 Indigenous members of the ten Australian legislatures. Of these, 23 have been elected to the Northern Territory assembly, ten to the Australian Federal Parliament, six to the parliament of Western Australia, five to the parliament of Queensland, two each to the parliaments of Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales, and one each to the parliament of South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory assembly. Three have served in multiple parliaments.[4]
As of 2023[update], Indigenous Australian members of the Senate represented 10.5% of the 76 Senate seats, and 1.9% in the House. The total representation is, at 4.8%, proportionally far above the national population of 3.3%.[5]
Of the 52 Indigenous Australians elected to any Australian parliament, 23 have been women.
No-one of acknowledged AboriginalorTorres Strait Islander ancestry has yet been a member of the Norfolk Island Legislative Assembly. Norfolk Island is a part of Australia, formerly occupied briefly by Polynesian seafarers.[6][7]
Ernie Bridge was the first Indigenous Australian to become a minister in a government. Neville Bonner was the first Indigenous man to become a member of the Federal Parliament, when he was appointed to fill a casual Senate vacancy in 1971. In 1972 he was the first Indigenous man to (successfully) run for an election. Pat Eatock was the first known Indigenous woman to (unsuccessfully) run for a federal election, in 1972.[8]
Neville Perkins was the first Indigenous Leader of the Opposition in the Northern Territory, as the leader of the Labour Party from 1977–1981. Aden Ridgeway was elected to the Australian Senate in 1998 and served until 2005, and was the only First Nations person serving in Federal Parliament during this time, serving on a number of parliamentary and Senate committees.[9] He was the first Aboriginal person to be selected as deputy leader of the Australian Democrats, and was in this role from April 2001 – October 2002.[10] Ridgeway was the first Indigenous person to use an Indigenous language in Federal Parliament.[11] On 25 August in 1999 in his first speech to the Senate, he stated:
"On this special occasion, I make my presence known as an Aborigine and to this chamber I say, perhaps for the first time: Nyandi baaliga Jaingatti. Nyandi mimiga Gumbayynggir. Nya jawgar yaam Gumbayynggir. Translated, it means: My father is Dhunghutti. My mother is Gumbayynggir. And, therefore, I am Gumbayynggir."[12]
Marion Scrymgour was the first Indigenous woman to become a minister and has to date been the highest ranked Indigenous woman in a government, when she became Deputy Chief Minister of the Northern Territory from 2007 until 2009. Adam Giles was the first Indigenous Australian to lead a government as Chief Minister of the Northern Territory in 2013. Indigenous minister Kyam Maher was appointed Attorney General of South Australia in March 2022.
Pat Dixon was the first Aboriginal woman elected to local government in Australia.[13]
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price was elected Senator for NT in May 2022 and appointed Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians on 18 April 2023.[14]
This section only includes those who held party leadership positions outside of a parliament.
Warren Mundine was the first Indigenous Australian to become National President of the Australian Labor Party.
There have been various leaders of the Australia's First Nations Political Party, however no candidate from this party has been successful in an election.
| Name | Contribution | Refs |
|---|---|---|
| Harry Allie | Inaugural Indigenous Elder of the Australian Air Force | [15] |
| Ian Anderson | AO, Former Deputy Secretary for Indigenous Affairs PM&C | |
| Pat Anderson | AO, Human rights advocate, Chair – Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education | |
| Robert Anderson | OAM, Chair of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Board 1999–2003 | |
| Ross Andrews | NIAA Local & Regional Co-design Group, and Mayor of Yarrabah Aboriginal Shire Council | [16] |
| Deborah Booker | Indigenous Elder of the Australian Air Force, and Board of the Institute for Aboriginal Development | [17] |
| Bridget Brennan | Indigenous Affairs Editor – Australian Broadcasting Corporation | [18] |
| Jody Broun | CEO – National Indigenous Australians Agency | [19] |
| Peter Buckskin | PSM FACE, Commonwealth Senior Executive Service, Commissioner to UNESCO, ARC Advisory Council, Chair-NATSIHEC | [20] |
| Geoff Clark | Led the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) | |
| Ken Colbung | AM, MBE, Chair of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) 1984–1990 | [21] |
| Edwina Crawford | Director – Aboriginal Services Branch, Dept of Communities and Justice NSW | [22] |
| Tanya Denning-Orman | Director–Indigenous Content NITV | [23] |
| Michelle Deshong | Council Member – Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies | [24] |
| Rodney Dillon | Led ATSIC | [25] |
| Gatjil Djerrkura | OAM, Led ATSIC | |
| Marcia Ella-Duncan | OAM, NIAA Senior Advisory Group, and ATSIC | [26] |
| Duane Fraser | Council of Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies | [27] |
| Mick Gooda | Senior Advisory Group Indigenous voice to government, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner | |
| Steve Gordon | Ombudsman and (ATSIC) commissioner | [28] |
| John Gorrie | First Aboriginal male awarded a Public Service Medal, for his contribution to public service | |
| Stan Grant Snr | AM for service to Indigenous education and language | |
| Jim Hagan | Chair National Aboriginal Conference and UN rep; first Aboriginal person to address the UN and Australian Cabinet | [29][30] |
| Ruby Hammond | PSM, Equal opportunity achievement, Customary law and Sovereignty advocate | |
| Lorraine Hatton | OAM, Indigenous Elder of the Australian Army | [31] |
| Leonard Hill | COO and Deputy CEO of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) | [32] |
| Letitia Hope | Deputy Chief Executive Office for Operations and Delivery at NIAA | [33] |
| Paul House | NIAA Local & Regional Co-design Group, and Ngambri traditional owner Canberra | [34] |
| Jackie Huggins | AM, FAHA, Key figure in reconciliation as well as literacy | |
| Steve Larkin | Chair – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Higher Education Advisory Council (ATSIHEAC) 2009–2012, NATSIHEC, NIRAKN, CEO, Batchelor Institute Council[when?] | [35] |
| Catherine Liddle | Served in Northern Territory Education Department, ABC, NITV/SBS | [36] |
| Jamie Lowe | CEO – National Native Title Council | [37] |
| Getano Lui Jnr | AM, NIAA Local & Regional Co-design Group, Inaugural Chair Torres Strait Regional Authority | [38] |
| Shireen Malamoo | ATSIC Commissioner 1991–1993, NSW Parole Board 1994–2003 | [39] |
| Vonda Malone | NIAA Senior Advisory Group, and Mayor of the Torres Shire Council | [40] |
| Henrietta Marrie | AM, Council of Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies | [41] |
| Tony McAvoy | SC, Acting Part–Time Commissioner of the NSW Land and Environment Court 2011 and 2013, Acting Northern Territory Treaty Commissioner 8 December 2021 to 30 June 2022 | [42] |
| Damien Miller | First Indigenous person appointed to head an Australian overseas mission – appointed Ambassador to Denmark, Norway and Iceland in 2013 | [43] |
| Warren Mundine | Deputy Mayor of Dubbo City, CEO of the New South Wales Native Title Service, and President of the Australian Labor Party 2006–2007 | |
| Roy Mundine | Inaugural Indigenous Elder of the Australian Army | [44] |
| Big Bill Neidjie | OAM, Eminent Gaagudju speaker and central figure in the foundation of Kakadu National Park | |
| Donna Odegaard | AM, Indigenous leader – business, trade and economic development, Indigenous media, National Co design group NIAA | [45] |
| Vicki O'Donnell | OAM, NIAA Local & Regional Co-design Group, and WA Aboriginal Advisory Council | [46] |
| Lowitja O'Donoghue | AC CBE DSG, Inaugural Chairperson ATSIC | |
| June Oscar | AO, Commissioner Australian Human Rights Commission | |
| Kirstie Parker | Director of Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation Government of South Australia | |
| Noel Pearson | Senior Advisory Group Indigenous voice to government | |
| Charles Perkins | AO – services to aboriginal welfare, named a National Living Treasure (Australia) in 2007 | |
| Alitya Rigney | AO, PSM, pioneering contribution to Aboriginal education | |
| Lester Rigney | UN rep, Australian Ambassador for Aboriginal Education, SA Depts DEEWR; NCVER; AIATSIS; DPC; DECS, ATSIC Research Advisory Committee, ACARA Curriculum Reference Group, Co Chair Ethics council NCAFP | [47] |
| Sally Riley | PSM – Head of Scripted Production at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) | |
| Craig Ritchie | CEO of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) | [48] |
| Benson Saulo | Australian Consul-General to the USA (Houston) & Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner at Austrade | [49] |
| Murray Saylor | Council of Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies | [50] |
| Marion Scrymgour | NIAA Local and Regional Co-design Group, and CEO of the Northern Land Council | [51] |
| Jodie Sizer | Chair at Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Council | [52] |
| Sydney Sparrow | Chair – State Aboriginal Heritage Committee South Australia 2010–2020, Ngarrindjeri Dictionary coauthor | [53] |
| Sonja Stewart | Served as Deputy Commissioner of the NSW Public Service Commission and Deputy Secretary NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet | [54] |
| Russell Taylor | AM, Twice Principal at Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, Senior Executive Service APS, Deputy Chair Batchelor Institute Council, 2018 NAIDOC Male Elder of the Year | [55] |
| Brendan Thomas | CEO – Legal Aid NSW, and Former Deputy Secretary of the NSW Department of Communities and Justice | [56] |
| Roger Thomas | South Australian Commissioner for Aboriginal Engagement, and NAIDOC Lifetime Achievement Award | [57] |
| Pat Turner | AM, Senior Advisory Group Indigenous voice to government, CEO of ATSIC 1994–1998 | |
| Ash Walker | Council of Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies | [58] |
| Eric Willmot | AM, Principal of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies 1981–1984 | |
| Galarrwuy Yunupingu | AM, Senior Advisory Group Indigenous voice to government | |
| Mandawuy Yunupingu | Centenary Medal, Order of Australia ... advancement of education and social justice for Indigenous people ... |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
