The 2022 Election Is A Historic Win For First Nations Representation In Parliament
Linda Burney is set to become the first Aboriginal woman to be Minister for Indigenous Affairs.
For the first time in history, the 2022 election saw 10 First Nations candidates elected to the Federal parliament, and most of them are women.
Making history, Labor MP Linda Burney is set to become the first Aboriginal woman to be Minister for Indigenous Affairs. In the Northern Territory, two First Nations women will represent the Territory in the senate. Labor Senator Malarndirri McCarthy is predicted to retain her seat, while Alice Springs Deputy Mayor and Country Liberals candidate Jacinta Nampijinpa Price is set to join McCarthy in the Senate.
The importance of having First Nations voices across the political spectrum cannot be overstated. With Price and McCarthy, First Nations peoples will be given a voice within both major parties.
Labor MP Marion Scrymgour is also set to win the NT seat of Lingiari, after the seat was held for two decades by the Country Liberals. A descendant of the Tiwi Islands and Central Australia Mob, Scrymgour was the first Aboriginal candidate elected to the Northern Territory’s parliament.
Victorian Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe will retain her seat in the Senate. The Greens are on track to holding 12 seats in the Upper House and at least two in the Lower, the most representation the party has had in parliament thus far. In another victory for the Greens, Senator Dorinda Cox will represent Western Australia in the Senate. Cox is a proud Yamatji-Noongar woman, with her win contributing to the historic Greens-slide.
Also retaining her seat in the Senate is proud Mutthi Mutthi and Wamba Wamba woman Jana Stewart. Senator Stewart will continue to represent the Labor Party and the people of Victoria.
The election has resulted in significantly more representation of First Nations women in Parliament and First Nations representation overall. Wiradjuri candidate Gordon Reid is predicted to win the seat of Robertson on the Central Coast, the first Indigenous candidate to do so. Yawuru Labour Senator Pat Dodson will also continue to represent Western Australia in the Upper House
Total representation of First Nations peoples in the Federal Parliament now sits at 4.4 percent, with the majority of First Nations representatives residing in the Upper House. We’ve come far, but there is still far to go.
Photo credit: Matt Jelonek via Getty