For the first time, there are 10 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander politicians in the federal parliament. That's a 67 per cent rise compared to the last parliament, where only six members of parliament were Indigenous.
Senator Jana Stewart, an Indigenous Australian of the Muthi Muthi and Wamba-Wamba peoples and Senator Fatima Payman, who is an Afghan-born Muslim spoke with SBS News about their aspirations.
Senator Jana Stewart is a former ministerial advisor and senior public servant in the Victorian Government.
She says she's proud to be part of the most diverse Labor government and wants to ensure all women of colour are visible and represented.
"For me, I talk a lot about how important diversity is in everything that we do. One of the absolute priority areas for me is thinking particularly about not just First Nations women or First Nations people, but for women on colour as well and how we can increase visibility and representation in everything that we do. So, I am incredibly proud to be part of one of the most diverse Labor teams. And there is also six First Nations people as part of the Labor caucus as well, which is incredible. One of the things I will always say is I'm really looking forward to a time, where this doesn't make the news, because this is just the make-up of our parliament, it's just everyday business."
27-year-old Senator Fatima Payman from Western Australia says seeing the Labor Government deliver a multicultural government makes her proud to be Australian.
"The highlight of this election right, to see that the Labor government was able to deliver that, something that we've just been talking about multiculturalism and the importance of it, but now that we see it, it's really that sort of proud moment of calling yourself an Australian. You can't be what you can't see, and so we're seeing a diverse representation from all walks of life and it's going to be such an interesting Parliament to have those different perspectives at the table."
