First Nations
First Indigenous member of the House of Representatives
21 August 2010
Ken Wyatt becomes the first Indigenous member of the House.
The Honourable Ken Wyatt MP, of Noongar, Yamatji and Wongi heritage, was elected to the House of Representatives at the 2010 federal election. He was the first Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person to sit in the House, 39 years after Senator Neville Bonner was the first Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person to serve in the Australian Parliament. The only other Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person to have served in the Australian Parliament up to that time was Senator Aden Ridgeway.
Despite being one of the most multicultural societies in the world, the representation in the Australian Parliament of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other minority groups has been low. Not having representatives in Parliament can mean communities don’t have a strong voice when laws and policies that affect them are discussed.
When Ken Wyatt was sworn in as a member of parliament, he wore a kangaroo skin coat presented to him by Noongar elders and feathers from a red-tailed black cockatoo, signifying a leadership role in Noongar culture.