NSW Indigenous MP Linda Burney says Australia Day simply is not a day that unifies all Australians. What does Australian identity mean to her today?
For federal MP and Wiradjuri woman Linda Burney, her culture is something she wears with pride.
But she says that was not always the case.
Ms Burney was raised by her non-Indigenous great-uncle and -aunt in the small country town of Whitton, in south-western New South Wales.
"When you lived in a country town, travelling photographers would knock on your door and take family portraits. And I remember, at the age of 4, this happening and seeing the photograph of myself and four cousins who were all blond and blue-eyed and a very dark little smiling girl at the end of the line, and I knew that I was very different to other children," Ms Burney said.
She says, at the age of 13, she accepted and embraced her Indigenous identity.
And Ms Burney says her cultural identity has been central to her life ever since, including her decisions to run for the New South Wales parliament and then federal politics.
Long-time friend and fellow Wiradjuri woman Lynette Riley says Ms Burney has always remains connected to her Indigenous heritage.
While she says the date of Australia Day means it is not a day of celebration for Indigenous people, she says she is glad it is creating a conversation.
"One of the good things about the 26th of January is it creates a debate that gets people thinking about who we are, how we're perceived and what it means to be Australian."
