Gai Brodtmann (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is with pleasure I rise today to congratulate Dr Chris Bourke on his election to the ACT Legislative Assembly. Dr Bourke is the ACT Legislative Assembly's first Indigenous member and, in wonderful timing, was elected during Reconciliation Week.

Dr Bourke brings with him a wealth of experience in business, government policy development and Indigenous health. He graduated from Melbourne University in 1982 as Australia's first Indigenous dentist and went on to run a successful private dental practice for 16 years. He served the community delivering pro bono dental services to the public dental clinic in Queanbeyan. He is also the president of the Indigenous Dentists Association of Australia.

Dr Bourke lives in the Ginninderra electorate and has been actively involved in his community over 25 years. His community interests include the Closing the Gap campaign for Indigenous health equality and the Capital Region Area Consultative Committee that advises the federal govern­ment on a range of regional development issues. Dr Bourke was also Chairperson of the ACT Indigenous Education Consultative Body, Treasurer of the ACT Branch of the Public Health Association of Australia and President of the Aranda scout group. He is a strong supporter local of Canberra artists as a member of the Capital Arts Patrons Organisation.

Dr Bourke will be an excellent represent­ative of his community and I wish him all the very best in his new role in representing the people of Ginninderra.