First Nations

First Indigenous woman senator

07 September 2013

Nova Peris is the first Indigenous woman to be an Australian Senator.

Nova Peris OAM, a descendant of the Kiga, Yawuru and Muran/Iwaidja peoples, was elected to the Senate at the 2013 election. She was the first female Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander member of the Australian Parliament.

Senator Peris is the child and grandchild of members of the Stolen Generation. She is well known for her community work and sporting success, in particular for winning the first Olympic gold medal by an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person.

Aboriginal Australians are symbolic of triumph over adversity. We represent knowledge and wisdom held in land and country, because in our hearts we know that we do not own Mother Earth; the Earth owns us … I say this to all my Indigenous brothers and sisters and to all people: within every one of us lies the ability to reach deep inside ourselves and draw upon our inherited strength that our ancestors have given us.

Senator Nova Peris, first speech, 13 November 2013

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