It's been more than 50 years since Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were given the right to vote in Australian federal elections.
But there have been very few Indigenous members of parliament since.
A record number of Indigenous candidates are standing at this year's election hoping to change that.
Six of them are from Western Australia.
"Bring on the republic, bring on changing Australia Day, bring on changing the flag, the national anthem, all of it. We need our own identity and one that is sensitive to all Australians."
Labor's candidate for Swan, Tammy Solonec, has a long wish list if she gets elected.
She's one of Labor's four Indigenous candidates.
She says that Australia Day should no longer be celebrated on January 26: the date the first fleet sailed into Sydney Cove and British sovereignty was claimed over a supposedly unoccupied land.
"Australia Day is such an offensive and insensitive day for Aboriginal people. Aboriginal people have been protesting against it since the 1880s. And every year it brings up enormous emotions for Aboriginal people and it's divisive for the whole community."
The human rights lawyer says Wattle Day on September 1 would be the best time to celebrate Australia as a nation.
"The history of the Wattle Day movement is full of botanists and environmental enthusiasts and it's about celebrating the beautiful native flora and fauna of Australia. It's not about people, it's not about colonisation, it's not about the British, it's about this beautiful place that's called Australia that everyone loves. I really believe that if we could change the date to embrace the green and gold and the Wattle, that could be a very unifying thing for all of Australia."
The man known as the father of reconciliation, Pat Dodson, disagrees.
He's replaced Labor senator Joe Bullock in the upper house and will be top of Labor's Senate ticket at the July election.
He says it's not dates that should change, but people's hearts and minds.
"That's not an easy task. But I think more Indigenous people in the parliament would help that debate along, and give insights into why some of the significant landmark dates within the mainstream society we find difficult to swallow or accept. As a nation we've got to find common ground around this and work out how we can celebrate as a unique group of people who are the Australian people."
Pat Dodson says it's pleasing to see that the major parties are approaching or inviting Indigenous candidates of high quality to stand.
"Hopefully as we craft policies, as we legislate, as we interact on committees with other people on the other side, greater respect for the dignity of Indigenous people will flow. But also a greater enhancement to the nation in appreciation of the richness of Indigenous heritage and culture."
Australia's first Indigenous federal minister Ken Wyatt says any politician must represent their constituents first.
"But any Indigenous member still has the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community of Australia as a constituency because people still come to us and will expect us to be champions on issues that impact on them. At the same time, we have the incredible privilege of influencing thinking and approaches in respect to government programs, services and support in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities."
The Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care agrees with Pat Dodson that important dates should remain on the Australian calendar.
"They are part of the character of this nation, and you don't tear down the character of a nation to suit any individual group. These have been forged through time, through history, through our involvement in international events and they mean something to everybody and it's become important in their lives. So none of us should ever advocate to tear those down because they're the things that are iconic in what it means to be an Australian."
Joining Ken Wyatt on the conservative side of politics is Kado Muir for the Nationals.
The Aboriginal elder and anthropologist from the West Australian goldfields region is a former Greens candidate and a vocal opponent of uranium mining.
He says the party came to him and they were aligned over getting the best deal for all regional people even if they disagreed over uranium mining.
Rounding out the Labor candidates is Carol Martin - the state's first female Indigenous member of the state parliament.
She's contesting the seat of Durack, which is the largest in the country.
And recently announced for the metropolitan seat of Canning is Barry Winmar -- a former police officer who now works with former prisoners to find them employment.
All Indigenous candidates and all with very different points of view, but united in their quest to increase the diversity of a parliament that has seen very few representatives from the nation's first peoples.
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