Yanyuwa Senator Malarndirri McCarthy has been appointed as the new Minister for Indigenous Australians, stepping up from the assistant ministry to fill the vacancy created when Linda Burney moved to the backbench last Thursday.
Senator McCarthy, from the Gulf country in the Northern Territory, was sworn in to the ministry in Canberra on Monday.
A former journalist, including with SBS/NITV, Senator McCarthy was first elected as for Labor as one of the Northern Territory's two senators in 2016.
She was elected to the Northern Territory Assembly as the Member for Arnhem in 2005.
During her seven years in the Assembly, she held the portfolios of local government, regional development, Indigenous development, tourism, women’s policy and statehood.
Senator McCarthy paid tribute to her friend and mentor Linda Burney on social media.
It’s been an extraordinary journey and a wonderful privilege to walk beside both her and former Senator Pat Dodson for the last eight years.
Senator McCarthy was named assistant Minister for Indigenous Australians and Indigenous Health in 2022.
In her
she spoke about land rights, her support for the union movement and same-sex marriage and the challenges of walking in two worlds as an educated Aboriginal woman.
