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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-02-06 Daily Xml
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Ministerial Statement

O'Donoghue, Dr Lowitja

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (14:06): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: It is with deep sadness that I rise to speak today on the passing of Dr Lowitja O'Donoghue AC, CBE, DSG, who died peacefully with her family by her side on 4 February.

Determined, strong, thoughtful and deeply compassionate, Dr Lowitja O'Donoghue dedicated her life to the service of others and leaves her proud legacy of improving the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people throughout the nation. On behalf of all South Australians, I extend my deepest sympathies to Dr Lowitja O'Donoghue's family and her friends.

I can advise the house that following discussions with the family of Dr O'Donoghue they have accepted the state government's offer of a state funeral that will honour her extraordinary life. Further details regarding the funeral will be released in the near future. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked for donations to the Lowitja O'Donoghue Foundation in memory of Dr O'Donoghue.

The family have also asked to be present when the parliament moves a formal condolence motion, which will occur in the coming sitting weeks, providing all members the opportunity to talk about this truly remarkable woman.

Dr Lowitja O'Donoghue's life story is an extraordinary one. Born in 1932 at De Rose Hill in the remote north-west corner of South Australia, she was removed from her mother at the age of two, along with two of her older sisters. Dr O'Donoghue and her sisters were the survivors of a harrowing time in Australia's history when Aboriginal children were being removed from their families. She did not see her mother again for more than 30 years.

Employed as a domestic servant at the age of 16 years old, Dr O'Donoghue was encouraged to work as a nursing aide at the Victor Harbor Hospital. When she applied to complete her nursing training at the Royal Adelaide Hospital she was refused the opportunity because of her Aboriginal heritage.

In the stoic fashion for which she would come to be known, Dr O'Donoghue fought that decision, which included personally seeking support from the then South Australian Premier of the day, Sir Thomas Playford. The decision was eventually overturned and in 1954 she became the first Aboriginal person to train as a nurse at the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

After completing her training, she worked at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, eventually progressing to the position of Charge Sister, despite ongoing experiences of racism, and remained working there for 10 years. During the 1960s, Dr O'Donoghue travelled to India to nurse with the Baptist Overseas Mission, gaining a broader perspective on Indigenous cultures worldwide and cementing her determination to fight for the rights of Indigenous people.

Dr O'Donoghue's leadership, tenacity and integrity were her strengths during decades of significant change in Indigenous affairs. She articulated the yes case for the 1967 referendum. She drove the negotiations for native title legislation that followed the Mabo High Court ruling and she was the inaugural chairperson of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission. In 1992, Dr O'Donoghue was the first Aboriginal person to address the United Nations General Assembly during the launch of the United Nations International Year of Indigenous Peoples.

She was awarded numerous honours in recognition of her contribution to promoting Aboriginal rights, including the membership of the Order of Australia in 1977 (the first Aboriginal woman to become so), Australian of the Year in 1984, Australian National Living Treasure in 1998, a papal honour from Pope John Paul II and investiture as a Dame of the Order of Saint Gregory the Great in 2006, and the NAIDOC Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009.

She was also invested as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1983, a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1999 and has received an extraordinary list of honorary doctorates from universities around Australia, the most recent received from the University of Adelaide in 2021.

Taking pride of place amongst the honours is the honorary fellowship awarded to Dr O'Donoghue by the Royal College of Nursing in 1995 and the honorary fellowship from the Royal Australasian College of Physicians in 1998.

We mourn the loss of Dr O'Donoghue. History will regard Dr O'Donoghue as a pre-eminent and persistent force in improving the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. She helped deliver significant outcomes in health, education, political representation, land rights and reconciliation. She was a formidable leader who was never afraid to listen, speak and act.

It was her wish that future generations would learn and prosper from the pathways that she had created. It is now our duty and of all the people we represent to ensure that Lowitja O'Donoghue's name is long remembered as we work to build on her legacy for the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Vale, Dr Lowitja O'Donoghue.

The SPEAKER: The leader, on indulgence.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS (Black—Leader of the Opposition) (14:12): On indulgence and on behalf of the opposition, I would like to make the briefest of remarks following the sad passing but at a great age of Dr Lowitja O'Donoghue, who was well known by many Australians as being not only a great Australian and a pioneer for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people but particularly a pioneer for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and a very significant matriarch in her family and a friend to many across racial divides.

The opposition expresses our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Dr O'Donoghue. There will be a much more fulsome opportunity when we have the parliament's condolence motion to make more detailed comments from both sides of the house and the crossbench in front of her family and friends.

Today, I simply want to recognise Dr O'Donoghue's leadership from the humblest of beginnings, her tenacity to pick herself up as a member of the stolen generation, to advocate for other members of the stolen generation, to fight for her own career opportunities and then blaze a path for hundreds, if not thousands, of other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders across our nation. In fact, it could be said that she blazed a path for many Indigenous peoples across the world and being the first person of Aboriginal descent to address the United Nations General Assembly certainly demonstrates the significant international legacy that Dr O'Donoghue had that extends beyond our shores.

Dr O'Donoghue was someone who had career achievements and also led her people in the most admirable and, in many ways, humble fashion. Those I have spoken to who knew her speak of her character as being tenacious but humble, wanting to bring people together rather than divide them but, equally, not afraid to be direct and blunt in her delivery of home truths.

There will be significant opportunity over the coming days and weeks for South Australians and Australians to provide their comments and their reflections on Dr O'Donoghue's life, her legacy, her achievements, her love for her family and her love for her friends. I am delighted that her family have accepted the state government's offer of a state funeral. For now, I want to finally reflect on Dr O'Donoghue's contribution as a formidable leader, a devoted family member and a beloved matriarch, and I look forward to this house sharing more of her stories and her achievements when the condolence motion is presented in the coming weeks. Vale, Dr Lowitja O'Donoghue.

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