Kindness, grace, resilience and integrity are the values Linda Burney says have driven her 21-year political career, and they were on display as she announced her departure as minister for Indigenous Australians on Thursday.
Burney is relinquishing the ministry but will stay on as the member for Barton until the next election. The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said he would announce her successor on Sunday.
Burney wouldn’t speculate on who that might be, but told Guardian Australia: “It’s my place to give them as much support and as much help as possible, and that’s what I’ll do.”
Regarding the choice, she said: “I know the prime minister will do the right thing.
“And when you think about the Aboriginal people in [Labor’s Indigenous] caucus, they’re a very impressive group of people. The most important thing is that Aboriginal affairs is every minister’s responsibility. There are aspects in every portfolio that have an Aboriginal component, and that’s the way in which we’re operating.”
Burney said her message to the next minister was: “Listen to people, allow people to get to know you and most importantly, bring people with you.”
Burney carried much of the public weight of last year’s voice to parliament referendum, even as she was battling health challenges. But she said the referendum defeat was “absolutely not” the reason she was stepping down.
“I think there were some really important silver linings in the referendum – the high vote amongst Aboriginal people, the six-and-a-half million Australians that stood with us, and of course the fabulous rise of a young Aboriginal leadership who understand this fight for justice is everyone’s fight.”
Burney spent decades in leadership roles in the Aboriginal community, particularly as a strong advocate for Aboriginal education, before taking on a career in politics.
She cut a dignified path through the rough terrain of NSW politics as the member for Canterbury from 2003 to 2016. She was later the minister for community services in the Keneally Labor government. In 2016, she became the first Aboriginal woman – “a member of the mighty Wiradjuri nation”, as she said in her inaugural speech – to be elected to the federal House of Representatives. In 2022, she became the first Aboriginal woman to be minister for Indigenous Australians.
Albanese said: “Anyone who has the honour of calling Linda a friend understands the great strength behind her warmth, and the courage that is the essence of her grace.”
The PM praised her as a colleague and longtime friend and alluded to the great personal losses she had suffered during a life of service.
“The discrimination, hardship and loss she had to overcome in her life is more than most of us can comprehend. Linda was born into an Australia where she was treated as a second-class citizen, and indeed was not recognised. Yet her life is a record of profound firsts,” Albanese said.
“This is remarkable proof that what Linda has drawn from everything she had to endure is not bitterness or despair – it is positive. It is one of hope and one of optimism for our nation.”
The chief executive officer of Reconciliation Australia, Karen Mundine, described Burney as “direct and fearless”.
“I have known her for most of my life and my entire reconciliation career and know first-hand her dedication and belief in this work.
“Her legacy will be marked by her resilience, intelligence and integrity, shining a light on the pathway to reconciliation and justice.
“As a friend to, and advocate for, Reconciliation Australia, and an ‘aunty’ in all the best ways to myself and countless others, we owe a debt of thanks to minister Burney and wish her all the very best for a well-earned break as she starts the next stage of her journey.”
Burney told Guardian Australia she wasn’t sure where that resilience had come from, “except to say that there are challenges for everyone in life, and that’s why a wise person looks at those challenges, takes counsel from them and, most importantly, finds a resilience in them”.
After the election, she said, “I’m going to have a rest. I’m going to get my garden back into good shape, and I will see what the universe delivers.”
