Provides information about Indigenous Australian federal and state parliamentarians, from the  election of the first Indigenous Australian to federal Parliament.

Summary

This Quick Guide provides information about Indigenous Australian federal and state parliamentarians, from the election of the first Indigenous Australian to federal Parliament—former Senator Sir Neville Bonner—until September 2015.

For the purposes of this Quick Guide, ‘Indigenous parliamentarian’ refers to a parliamentarian identifying as Indigenous or having Indigenous ancestry. This Quick Guide lists the name, party, dates in office, chamber, state/electorate and significant firsts.

The 44th Parliament currently includes four Indigenous parliamentarians—three senators and one member of the House of Representatives. Ken Wyatt AM, MP is the Member for Hasluck (WA), while the Senate includes three Indigenous women from three political parties—Senators Jacqui Lambie (IND), Joanna Lindgren (LIB) and Nova Peris (ALP).

This information is compiled from a range of sources including the Commonwealth Parliamentary Handbook, The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate, state parliaments, political websites and personal biographies. Where available, a hyperlink to biographies has been included.

The Parliamentary Library would appreciate receiving additional information or corrections that may assist in compiling future updates.