2013

1. 12 November

   Nova Peris (Australian Labor Party) becomes Senator for the Northern Territory and the first Aboriginal woman to enter federal parliament.
   

2. 7 September

   Tony Abbott becomes Prime Minister of Australia. His Aboriginal policy declares that “Australia will, in effect, have a prime minister for indigenous affairs and a dedicated indigenous affairs minister.”

3. 23 July

   The Victorian Government appoints Aboriginal man Andrew Jackomos as Victoria’s - and Australia’s - first Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Youth. The appointment of an Aboriginal children’s commissioner was one of the recommendations arising out of the Protecting Victoria’s Vulnerable Children Inquiry.

4. 27 June

   Kevin Rudd becomes Prime Minister (again).

5. 12 April

   The Western Australian government replaces the word ‘Indigenous’ with the word ‘Aboriginal’ in their official documents, and also changes the “Department of Indigenous Affairs” to the “Department of Aboriginal Affairs”.

6. 14 March

   The Northern Territory Country Liberal Party elects Gamilaroi man Adam Giles (Country Liberal Party) as Chief Minister. He is the first Aboriginal person to head an Australian government.

7. Josephine (Josie) Farrer (Australian Labor Party) is elected to the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, representing the seat of Kimberley in Western Australia. Jacqui Lambie (Palmer United Party) is elected Senator for Tasmania.

2012

1. Several Aboriginal politicians are elected to the  Northern Territory Legislative Assembly:

   • Bess Price (Country Liberal Party), representing the seat of Stuart.
   • Francis Kurrupuwu (Country Liberal Party), representing the seat of Arafura.
   • Larisa Lee (Country Liberal Party), representing the seat of Arnhem.
   • Ken Vowles (Territory Labor), representing the seat of Johnston.

2011

1. November

   Gamilaroi man Chris Bourke becomes the ACT’s first Aboriginal government minister, taking on the portfolios of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, education and training.

2. June

   The Australian Capital Territory gets its first Aboriginal politician when Gamilaroi man Chris Bourke is elected to the ACT Legislative Assembly. Mr Bourke is the son of Prof Colin Bourke, the first Aboriginal person to qualify as a dentist.

3. April

   Benson Saulo from the Wemba Wemba people and raised in Tamworth, is the first Aboriginal person to become Australia’s Youth Representative to the United Nations.

4. 27 January

   Australia appears before the United Nations Human Rights Council’s first Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review. It receives 145 recommendations covering a wide range of human rights issues including the treatment of asylum seekers, Aboriginal peoples, multiculturalism and racism, and the status of Australia’s obligations under international human rights law.

5. 6 January

   Australia’s First Nations Political Party (AFNPP) is registered with the Australian Electoral Commission, entitling it to elect an executive and pre-select candidates for parliamentary elections. The party was founded by Maurie Japarta Ryan, grandson of Vincent Lingiari.

6. Chris Bourke (ACT Labor) becomes the first Aboriginal person elected to the ACT Legislative Assembly, representing the seat of Ginninderra in the ACT.

2010

1. 16 December

   The USA is the last country to sign up to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Canada joined on November 12, 2010.

2. 28 August

   The UN Committee on the Eliminiation of Racial Discrimination (CERD) delivers a damning report on Australia’s failure to meet international commitments on eliminating discrimination.

3. 21 August

   Noongar man Ken Wyatt becomes the first Aboriginal member of the House of Representatives in the federal parliament when he wins the Perth seat of Hasluck for the Liberal Party.

4. 24 June

   Julia Gillard, previously Deputy Prime Minister, becomes the first female Prime Minister of Australia after Kevin Rudd lost the confidence of his party. Rudd served the shortest period of any Prime Minister so far.

5. May

   Aboriginal academic Megan Davis becomes the first Aboriginal person appointed to a UN body when the Australian government nominates her for the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

6. 19 April

   New Zealand signs the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, leaving only the USA and Canada rejecting it.

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