It’s been a busy few days for Labor, with a federal ministerial reshuffle and a rowdy NSW state conference, as well as announcements that Jabiluka in the Northern Territory will be protected in perpetuity from uranium mining, and Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney is retiring.
Ms Burney has been at pains to say she’s not leaving because of the defeat of the Voice referendum, perhaps not wanting to give her opponents another scalp, but she was clearly wounded by the response to this proposal, which she championed inside and outside the parliament.
On Thursday she said, ‘It’s time for me to pass on the baton to the next generation.’ As widely anticipated, former journalist and now NT senator Malarndirri McCarthy has since been announced as the new minister. Linda Burney says she won’t be contesting the seat of Barton at the next election.
Although Ms Burney has only been in her ministerial position for two years, she’s had a long and illustrious career in public life, across both the state and federal spheres. Growing up in south-west NSW, she became a teacher in Western Sydney, before getting involved in Aboriginal education policy, eventually becoming director general of the NSW Department of Aboriginal Affairs.
A life of firsts
When she was elected as the ALP member for Canterbury in 2003, Ms Burney became the first Aboriginal person to serve in the NSW parliament, one of many ceilings she’s broken in her career.
In her inaugural speech she said, ‘I am a member of the mighty Wiradjuri Aboriginal nation…
‘Growing up as an Aboriginal child looking into the mirror of our country was difficult and alienating. Your reflection in the mirror was at best ugly and distorted, and at worst nonexistent.’
Rising to deputy NSW opposition leader, she then jumped across to the federal seat of Barton in 2016, becoming the first Aboriginal woman to be elected to the federal House of Representatives.
Linda Burney has had more than her share of tragedy, losing partner Rick Farley (one time CEO of the National Farmers Federation) in 2006, when he was just 53, and her son Binni in 2017, but she has remained an indefatigable fighter for the causes close to her heart, including reconciliation, remote housing, marriage equality, domestic abuse and closing the gap.
Jabiluka’s uranium will not be mined
On the weekend, PM Anthony Albanese described the surprise decision to permanently ban mining at Jabiluka in the Northern Territory, east of Darwin, as a final tribute to Linda Burney, after the NT government confirmed it would not renew Energy Resources Australia’s mineral lease, on federal advice.
The controversial site, which adjoins world heritage-listed Kakadu National Park, has been the site of many protests from traditional Mirrar owners and supporters for decades. It contains extensive archaeological evidence of ancient occupation, including rock art.
Mr Albanese said the government would now work with traditional owners to make Jabiluka part of Kakadu National Park.
‘This means there will never be mining at Jabiluka,’ he said. ‘The Mirrar people have loved and cared for their land for more than 60,000 years. Our government will work with them to keep it safe for all time.’
The prime minister says the Mirrar people have been actively seeking a guarantee that there would be no uranium mining on their land, and that ministers Linda Burney and Tanya Plibersek had been working for some time to secure that outcome.
Traditional owners and conservation groups have both hailed the unexpected win, while noting the site still requires rehabiliation, as does the much larger Ranger Uranium mine site at Jabiru, which has been abandoned since 2021.
Anthony Albanese described Jabiluka as a ‘a fitting, final chapter’ to Linda Burney’s story, saying her political approach had been defined by respect, listening and cooperation: ‘doing things with communities, not to them.’
Ms Burney’s successor as Indigenous Australians minister Malarndirri McCarthy said, ‘She has blazed such a trail. And we all share the responsibility to keep blazing it.’
Unfortunately all this positivity came in the same week that federal Labor quietly approved massive new offshore gas exploration areas off the coasts of South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia, which will accelerate the climate emergency already disproportionately affecting Indigenous Australians. Another case of forwards backwards land from Albo and friends.
Originally from Canberra, David Lowe is an award-winning film-maker, writer and photographer with particular interests in the environment and politics. He’s known for his campaigning work with Cloudcatcher Media.
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