DAN BOURCHIER, HOST: And for more on this news this afternoon, we're joined by the Minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney. Minister Burney, thank you for joining me. How do you reflect on the passing of Lowitja?
MINISTER FOR INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS, LINDA BURNEY: It's such a sad day for Australia, especially for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in this country. But for many people, when I think about Lowitja, and I've known her for many, many years, it is not just those really big battles that she fought. Native Title, the Chairperson of ATSIC, which was basically a council of blokes, but also the grace, the directness and the kindness that she showed younger women and men, including myself. There are many lessons many of us take from the life of Lowitja. And most importantly, of course, you learnt the truth, and Lowitja's life was a story of the truth that this nation needs to come to terms with.
BOURCHIER: You mentioned that you've known Lowitja for a very long time. I think you worked probably most closely around 1997 when you were appointed to the National Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation. How do you remember and reflect upon that particular time where your stories most prominently intersected there?
LINDA BURNEY: The membership of Lowitja on the Council was ex officio because she was the Chairperson of ATSIC. And I just remember her so clearly. You would listen, you would watch, and you minded your p's and q's, I can assure you, around Lowitja. But it's really her role in the Bringing them Home report, the Stolen Generations, and subsequently the Apology. And of course, that was her life. She met her mother after meeting by chance an aunt and uncle at Coober Pedy, and her mother waited for days for her to arrive in Oodnadatta. And Lowitja's own words were, we couldn't communicate because of language barriers, but we could talk with our eyes. And the fact that she was so determined to become a nurse when she did. And her life is a life of firsts. But I think Lowitja, more than anyone that I know, held a moral authority that was insurpassable.
BOURCHIER: And you mentioned some of those firsts, she said at a time reflecting on her own life, I felt that because I was the first Aboriginal nurse there, I always had to show that Aboriginal people are as good as everyone else. Every time I read that, it feels jarring.
LINDA BURNEY: But it's true.
BOURCHIER: Exactly.
LINDA BURNEY: And I can attest to that as well. Very often when you're the first Aboriginal person to do something or you're the only Aboriginal person in the room or on that council, then you work very hard to make sure that you've read the papers, that you've done all the homework. And I remember myself Dan, when I became the Member for Canterbury in 2003, I made it very clear that I wasn't in the NSW parliament to be the Aboriginal person. I was there to prove that Aboriginal people could do many, many things.
BOURCHIER: And amongst some of those first, the first Aboriginal person to train as a nurse at Royal Adelaide Hospital, then eventually progressing to Charge Sister, a campaigner for the 1967 referendum for the recognition of Aboriginal people. Later Regional Director of South Australia Department of Aboriginal Affairs. In 1977, appointed the founding Chairperson of the National Aboriginal Conference. You mentioned as well the inaugural Chair of ATSIC, the first Aboriginal person to speak before the General Assembly of the United Nations, 1984 Australian of the Year. You mentioned that truth, and telling the truth was one of the key cornerstones of the life legacy of Lowitja O’Donoghue. How do you see that as one of the threads that's run through her life? And what message does that send now?
LINDA BURNEY: Well, she was a member of the Stolen Generations. She, like I said, did get to meet her mother and she knew the anguish of what being removed meant. But she was not bitter. She was able to see things from all people's life experience, which was so unique about Lowitja. I've gotten to know one of her nieces quite well, and that's Deb, and was also able to support getting the Foundation going, and you know, Lowitja would expect nothing from anyone. The outpouring of love and grief and the understanding that we've lost an absolute giant in our nation, who was there at so many pivotal points is something, that is something that we can be grateful for.
BOURCHIER: And just finally, Minister Burney, what do you think the legacy of Lowitja O'Donoghue will be for Australians, Aboriginal, and Torres Strait Islander people, all Australians going forward?
LINDA BURNEY: I think it's almost impossible to say, Dan, when you read out the many things that Lowitja had done with her life, but also the person she was, the gracious, tough and magnanimous person, will be her legacy. And the fact that we are a nation that knows itself now better than at any time in the past is a lot to do with Lowitja O'Donoghue. And it is a very, very sad day and my love and condolences to her family.