Indigenous candidates hoping to make a difference

As many as 19 Indigenous candidates are running for both upper and lower house seats at the Federal election on May 13.

High profile candidates include current Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Senator Malarndirri McCarthy and Coalition spokesperson Senator Jacinta Nampijmpa Price, both from the Northern Territory.

Here is our rundown of who is standing State by State:

NSW

Current Labor member for Robertson on the Central Coast is Gordon Reid, a Wiradjuri man, and he is recontesting the seat he won three years ago.

Yuin and Bidjigal man Keiron Brown is the Greens candidate for the southeast Sydney seat of Kingsford Smith, held by Labor’s seat Matt Thistlethwaite. Mr Brown grew up in the electorate at La Perouse.

Uncle Owen Whyman, a Barkindji/Malyangapa community leader from Wilcannia, is running for a senate seat as the founder of the Indigenous Aboriginal Party of Australia.

Lawrence Brooke, a stolen generations man, also originally from Wilcannia, but now residing in Newcastle, is second on the IAPA ticket.

Mr Lawrence told NITV his big concerns were Aboriginal children failed by the mainstream education system and job opportunities.

QUEENSLAND

In the Sunshine State Wayne Wharton is the key candidate for the Indigenous Aboriginal Party of Australia.

Mr Wharton has been a longtime activist and campaigner for land rights and culture.

Marnie Laree Davis is also running on the IAPA Queensland Senate ticket. Ms Davis is a Dharug woman raised on Quandamooka country, currently livinegnon the Sunshine Coast with a strong history of working with domestic violence victims.

TASMANIA

Palawa woman Senator Jacquie Lambie is again contesting election in Tasmania.

Senator Lambie was first elected in 2013 and currently sits as an independent.

VICTORIA

Benson Saulo is the candidate for the Liberal Party in the seat of Macnamara.

Mr Saulo is a Wemba Wemba, Gunditijmara and Papua New Guinean man who has had a successful career in finance and international relations, including a spell as manager of Indigenous investment fund First Australians Capital.

Celeste Ackerley is a Trawlwoolway woman originally from Tasmania, and is standing on behalf of the Sustainable Australia Party in the Senate.

Ms Ackerley’s passion is mitigating environmental damage and using Indigenous thinking to care for country.

* Indigenous Senators, Jana Stewart (Labor) and Lidia Thorpe (Independent) are both halfway through their terms and are not contesting.

NORTHERN TERRITORY

Both Labor Senator Malarndirri McCarthy and Country Liberal Party Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price are up for re-election in the upper house.

In the lower house Labor MP Marion Scrymgour (Lingiari), a proud Tiwi Anmatjere woman, will be challenged by country Liberal party candidate Lisa Siebert, a Larrakia woman and Peltherre Chris Tomlins, an Arrernte man, representing Aboriginal Party of Australia.

This seat is too close to call as Ms Scrymgour won in 2022 with a margin of less than one per cent.

Ms Siebert is a federal police officer and a former chair of the Larrakia Nation Aboriginal Corporation.

Mr Tomlins, from Alice Springs (Mparntwe), is a supporter of closing Pine Gap and an advocate for land rights.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Senator Kerrynne Liddle (Liberal) an Arrernte woman, is halfway through her term in the upper house so is not contesting this time.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

The Indigenous-Aboriginal Party of Australia is active in WA for the 2025 Federal election and has chosen Jason Hunter as its candidate for the seat of Durack.

Like many in the IAPA, Mr Hunter is concerned with environmental issues and real Indigenous representation.

Durack is the largest geographical electorate in Australia, currently held by Liberal MP Melissa Price.

Noongar man Clint Uink is standing for the Greens in the marginal Perth seat of Swan. He was unsuccessful at the recent WA State elections.

Eric Hayward, who also ran in the WA State election, is the Greens candidate for the southern Perth seat of Tangney.

Mr Hayward became the first Aboriginal person from the South West of WA to obtain a law degree from the University of Western Australia in 1991.

Noongar woman Megan Krakouer is the lead candidate for Senator Fatima Payman’s Australia’s Voice party.

Ms Krakouer is a strong advocate for social justice and human rights.

Trish Botha, a Nywaigi woman, is standing on a Liberal Party ticket for the Senate.

Senator Dorinda Cox, a Yamatji Noongar woman, is halfway through her term in the upper house.