Tiwi and Anmatjere woman Marion Scrymgour has today become the first Aboriginal person to chair the House of Representatives Chamber, as a member of the Speaker’s Panel.
Ms Scrymgour, the member for the Northern Territory seat of Lingiari, said in a social media post that it was a huge moment for the Parliament.
"But more importantly, it was a message to young Aboriginal people back home in the NT," she said.
"Aboriginal people deserve to be in every chair, at every table.
"I grew up one of 11 siblings from a working class family in Darwin. My father was a Stolen Generations man who was forcibly removed from his family by the Parliament I sit in today.
"Change happens, it can be slow and it can be painful, but Aboriginal people are strong, we deserve to take our place in this country."
Labor's Milton Dick, the MP for the Queensland seat of Oxley, was re-elected as Speaker last week.
The Speaker’s Panel supports the Speaker of the House of Representatives by chairing debates and maintaining order during parliamentary proceedings.
As Presiding Officer, the Speaker chairs the meetings of the House of Representatives and ensures they are conducted in an orderly manner and according to the provisions of the Constitution and the standing orders (written rules).
Ms Scrymgour was appointed to the Speaker’s Panel in the previous Parliament and has been chairing the Federation Chamber for more than a year.
The Federation Chamber is a secondary venue (previously known as the Main Committee) to the House of Representatives and is used for debate for a restricted range of business, so that two streams of business can be debated at the same time.
Following the re-election of the Albanese Labor Government in May, Ms Scrymgour was appointed as the Special Envoy for Remote Communities.
Before entering the Australian Parliament, Ms Scrymgour was a former deputy speaker and a former deputy chief minster in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly.
She is also the first woman to be the chief executive of the NT's Northern Land Council and has had a long career in the Aboriginal community controlled health sector.
