Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Rhoda Roberts, a proud Bundjalung woman of the Widjabul and Wia-bal clan, was one of the most influential and transformative cultural leaders our country has ever produced. Her career was marked by moments that didn't just contribute to Australian culture; they helped redefine how Australia presents itself to the world.

One of the most powerful of those moments came during the opening ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. It's difficult to think of a time when more international interest was directed towards Australia in a single moment. It was an unprecedented opportunity for Australia to show the world who we are. It was because of Rhoda's inspired work on the stunning Indigenous element of that ceremony that we told a story that celebrated and was grounded in the world's oldest living culture. I was fortunate to be at the rehearsal for that opening ceremony, and the night itself was a moment of immense national significance—a moment where First Nations culture was positioned at the very centre of our national identity. It was a powerful statement about who we are—a nation whose story began tens of thousands of years ago and continues today. It remains one of the defining cultural moments in Australia's modern history.

That level of prominence for Aboriginal culture in a public ceremony was unprecedented at the time, but it has now become a baseline expectation. That is as it should be, and it's because of Rhoda's efforts that it is. She set a new benchmark for how Australia presents First Nations culture on the world stage. That accomplishment reflects so much of what made Rhoda Roberts the extraordinary cultural leader that she was. She ensured that the representation of First Nations culture was not superficial or symbolic in the narrow sense but meaningful, respectful and engaging to the broadest possible audience.

Her contribution to the opening ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympics is just one part of a much grander legacy. As head of Indigenous programming at the Sydney Opera House, Rhoda brought that same clarity of purpose to one of our most important cultural institutions by embedding First Nations voices into its programming and identity. As director of the Dreaming festival, she created a space where Indigenous culture could be celebrated on its own terms—dynamic and contemporary, but deeply rooted in tradition. In no small measure, it's because of Rhoda Roberts that welcome to country is now part of our civic culture.

I worked with Rhoda in her role as creative director at Sydney for the New Year's Eve celebrations. Whether it was in her work as a curator, a producer or a mentor, she continued to open doors for other First Nations creatives, ensuring that the pathways she helped create would not close behind her. The thread that binds all her accomplishments together is a deep belief in the power of culture, a belief that storytelling and representation matter. Perhaps the greatest legacy is her demonstration that, when we tell our stories with truth and with confidence, we become a stronger, more connected nation. Her work empowered us not only to reflect thoughtfully on our past but to think deeply about who we aspire to be. Rhoda did not just help tell Australia's story; she reshaped it.

Today, as we reflect on her life, we see a legacy that is both profound and enduring. It lives on in our institutions, it lives on in the artists she supported and it lives on in the way Australia now better understands and more deeply values First Nations culture. We can best honour her memory by continuing her work of deepening that understanding and respect and by ensuring that the doors of opportunity are always open to ambitious First Nations creatives like her.

To her children—Sarah, Jack and Emily—her partner, Stephen, and the extended Roberts-Field family, and to her friends, her colleagues and the many communities she was part of, I offer my sincere condolences and my deepest gratitude. While Rhoda may now walk in another place, this place has been changed immeasurably for the better by her time here with us.

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