The Hon. Linda Jean Burney MP (b. 1957), a Wiradjuri woman, is the first First Nations person elected to the New South Wales parliament, and the first First Nations woman to serve in the federal House of Representatives. Born in Whitton in south-west New South Wales, she attained a Diploma of Education from Mitchell College of Advanced Education (now part of Charles Sturt University) in the 1970s, thereby becoming the institution's first Aboriginal graduate. She began her teaching career in western Sydney in 1979 and later worked as an education policy advisor before being appointed Director General of the NSW Department of Aboriginal Affairs. She was elected Member of the Legislative Assembly for Canterbury (NSW) in 2003, subsequently becoming Deputy Leader of the Opposition and holding shadow portfolios including Family and Community Services, Aboriginal Affairs, and Sport and Recreation. In 2016 she resigned from her state post to contest the federal seat of Barton. She was sung into parliament for her inaugural speech, in which she stated that 'recognition of first people in our nation's constitution is the next step … towards a country that can look itself in the eye knowing that we have come of age'. As a member of the shadow ministry between 2016 and 2022 she held the portfolios of Human Services, Families and Social Services, Indigenous Australians, and Preventing Family Violence. She made history again on being sworn in as Minister for Indigenous Australians in June 2022, becoming the first First Nations woman to serve in federal cabinet. Burney has been a member of the National Social Justice Task Force of ATSIC and the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, and has represented Aboriginal Australians at the United Nations. She holds an honorary doctorate from Charles Sturt University and has served on a number of boards including those of SBS, the NSW Anti-Discrimination Board and the NSW Board of Studies.
