A young Indigenous woman has just returned from addressing the United Nations in New York with a very famous new friend.
Hayley McQuire, 22, appeared before the United Nations Special Envoy on Education at the weekend and spoke about the challenges facing Indigenous people.
She was one of 15 young people selected for a panel which included high profile Taliban shooting victim Malala Yousafzai
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Ms McQuire sat side by side with the Pakistani advocate and described the teenager as one of her heroes.
“She's honestly just an amazing person, and after everything happened you just saw the fact that she was still just a 16-year-old girl,” Ms McQuire told NITV News.
“She went and gave her family a hug and she helped look after her little brothers.”
She said the pair had a common message about the importance of education.
“We're calling for all member states to make sure that every child has a place in school, and not just that – there are so many kids that are in school and just aren't learning,” she said.
Ms McQuire also used her first face-to-face meeting with Ms Yousafzai as an opportunity to pass on a message from her dad.
“I was able to lean over and tell her 'you know Malala my dad is very proud of you and thank you for all you've done' and she was like, 'oh thank you'.”
