Aunty Shirley Peisley AM

The Hon. J.E. HANSON (14:37): My question is the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. Will the minister inform the council about the funeral held yesterday for the beloved Aboriginal elder Aunty Shirley Peisley?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (14:37): I thank the honourable member very much for his question. It was a poignant occasion yesterday afternoon when many of us gathered to pay our respects at the funeral of Aunt Shirley Peisley, a beloved Ngarrindjeri and Boandik elder, known by many as a giant of the movement. Aunt Shirley passed away at the age of 83 leaving behind a powerful legacy of strength, determination, and fighting for justice and equality for her Aboriginal brothers and sisters.

Born in 1941, Aunt Shirley lived a full life as a trailblazer having played a central role in Australia's most successful ever referendum to include Aboriginal people in the Census. Her lifelong dedication to advocating for Aboriginal rights began at the age of just 25 when she rose as a key leader in the 1967 referendum and continued her lifelong fight for justice in the ongoing reconciliation movement in Australia. One of the most well-known images from that 1967 referendum was a picture with the 'vote yes' for Aboriginal people being held up by Shirley Peisley and South Australian Senator and Whitlam-era minister Reg Bishop urging people to vote yes.

Her influence and prominence in the 1967 referendum were highlighted to me a few years ago at a function in Melbourne that was paying tribute to the efforts of people 50 years on—this was 2017—who campaigned for the 1967 referendum. The then Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, singled out Shirley Peisley amongst all South Australian Aboriginal activists as playing a critical role in that referendum.

Throughout the 1960s, Aunt Shirley was an active member of the Council for Aboriginal Women of South Australia—along with other formidable leaders like the late Gladys Elphick, the late Faith Thomas, the late Maude Tongerie and the late Dr Lowitja O'Donoghue—which successfully lobbied for a variety of essential services and recognition for South Australian Aboriginal women and Aboriginal people.

In the 1970s, she was the first Aboriginal female probation and truancy officer, who did incredibly important work with youth and children in the Children's Court and working with Aboriginal children generally. In 2000, Aunt Shirley received the distinguished Order of Australia medal for her lifelong services to the Aboriginal community across the areas of culture, heritage, legal, health, welfare, library services, the church and reconciliation.

As part of this continued work Aunt Shirley later served as the first co-chair of the City of Adelaide Reconciliation Committee between its forming in 2002 and 2005 and used her contagious sense of humour, her fiery spirit and her good nature to continue change there. Her faith was a significant part of her life, and in 2010 she received a papal blessing from Pope Benedict XVI for her significant contributions to the Catholic Church. Aunt Shirley was also a dedicated member of the advisory panel advocating for the recognition of Aboriginal peoples in South Australia's constitution when this historic reform passed in March 2013.

Aunt Shirley's was a life lived to the full and wholeheartedly committed to ensuring Aboriginal people receive the acknowledgement and treatment that they deserve. She is one of those Aboriginal leaders, like others mentioned—Faith Thomas, Maude Tongerie and Lowitja O'Donoghue—who forged the path for many Aboriginal activists and leaders to follow. I recognise the significant loss of these leaders in recent months, their advocacy and the legacy they leave behind.