Malarndirri McCarthy (NT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'd like to pay tribute to an amazing woman whose life we celebrated recently in Townsville, Dr Evelyn Scott. A state funeral was held for Dr Scott, and I was able to attend the service along with my colleagues Senator Pat Dodson; Warren Snowdon, the member for Lingiari; and Cathy O'Toole, the member for Herbert, who was very instrumental in supporting the family to make sure that such an amazing woman was farewelled in a wonderful way.

Dr Evelyn Scott certainly inspired women across the country but particularly first-nations people. Her story is really one of humble beginnings. Her grandfather was from Vanuatu. He was enslaved, brought across here to work in the sugarcane fields. She grew up in Townsville and had an incredibly deep sense of human rights and social justice. She was certainly a warrior for her people, an incredible champion for reconciliation here in this country and fearless in every sense of the word. She was a very tall woman whose presence was so commanding. And I remember on so many occasions having the pleasure to meet with her, laugh with her and learn from her.

At the state funeral, we heard from a number of people who gave tremendous reflections on Dr Scott's life, in particular her very close friend Pat Turner, the CEO of NACCHO, who remembered her. She said that Dr Scott's presence was commanding, as was her contribution. I think one of the things that really stood out to me and no doubt stood out to many others who attended the state funeral was hearing about the early days of Dr Scott's life, the strength with which her own family persevered and navigated a way of life in Far North Queensland, and the combination of her Vanuatu heritage and her Aboriginal heritage. Her father instilled in her incredible values with the saying, 'If you don't think something is right, challenge it.' Dr Scott lived with that and challenged things all the way through.

One of the early areas that she stepped into was really the push for the 1967 referendum. Her friends and her supporters were people like Eddie Mabo, Faith Bandler and Joe McGuinness, and they're just a few of the stalwarts of first-nations people in the lead-up to the 1967 referendum, the most successful referendum this country has had. Dr Scott was there at the forefront of all of that and worked behind the scenes to encourage Australians to look at the injustices in our country and to vote yes for first-nations people in this country.

She then went on to become the first-ever general secretary of the Indigenous-controlled Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, or FCAATSI, in 1973. It was an incredible feat not only to be the general secretary of this organisation, which gave so much hope to first-nations people across the country, but to be a woman in this organisation and to stand strong and inspire other young women—in particular, her four daughters, amazing women themselves—and her son.

Dr Scott has left five children and seven grandchildren, all of whom would have felt incredibly proud of the tributes that were given to such an inspiring and very graceful woman. That's something that I recall in my meetings with her. One of the things the Senate may recall is the walk across the bridge for reconciliation. Remember when thousands and thousands of people walked across the Sydney Harbour Bridge? The person who inspired that walk was Dr Evelyn Scott. And to this day I think that when we consider even the images of Australians walking together—again, to bring unity, to bring compassion—it reminds people that we have to find a way within all our differences to walk together. Dr Evelyn Scott not only talked about it; she walked about it, and that walk reflected exactly that.

I think that's something we can always be very proud of, and we must never forget that. I want to say personally from the people of the Northern Territory and in particular from my families in the gulf region—the Yanyuwa, Garrwa, Mara and Kudanji peoples—thank you to Dr Evelyn Scott for her contribution to our country and her contribution in particular to bringing all Australians together.