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| Senator Nova Peris delivers her maiden speech in the Senate. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen |
She is one
of Australia's most decorated indigenous athletes, yet Nova Peris says she
would give up the medals and accolades ''in a heartbeat'' to see Aboriginal
Australians free, healthy and participating fully in all this country - their
country - has to offer.
Peris
(below) also says her sporting achievements are ''virtually meaningless'' when
compared with the triumph over adversity of both her mother Joan and
grandmother Nora. Australia's first indigenous female to be elected to the
Federal Parliament told their stories in an emotional maiden speech in the
Senate on Wednesday, her face painted with ochre from an ancient site in the
Northern Territory.
Wearing a
dress of gold silk fabric, Peris urged her fellow MPs to become champions of
the push for recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the
constitution.
She also
vowed to expose those ''totally unscrupulous people'' who try to use the misery
of some indigenous people to promote their own agendas. With her mother and
other family members watching from the public gallery, Senator Peris told how
Nora Peris, a proud Giga woman, was torn from her mother's arms and lived on
the mission of Moola Bulla in the east Kimberley.
''When the
Second World War hit, the kids were released from the mission and for two years
she walked and lived off the harsh Eastern Kimberley land,'' she said.
It was
there she met Johnny Peris, a Yawuru man. They had 10 children, four of whom
were taken away and sent to Garden Point Mission on the Tiwi Islands.
''One of
the four children who was taken and is here today is my mother, Joan Peris. She
lived on the mission for eight years, she worked every day and never received a
cent in pay.''
Senator
Peris described herself as a fierce advocate for Aboriginal people being taught
to read and write English, but added: ''Of course, we should never be forced to
renounce our culture … ''
Senator
Peris was overcome with emotion several times during the address, but struggled
the most when she paid tribute to former prime minister Julia Gillard, who lost
some support in the party when she used a ''captain's pick'' to secure Peris a
winnable spot on Labor's NT Senate ticket.
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