You have argued that Australia’s federal parliament has ‘no permission’ to be in Australia. What factors informed your decision to enter politics and seek change within a colonial institution that has worked against the interests of Indigenous people?
I’ve been an activist all my life. I’ve seen the destruction of my country, fought mining companies from other parts of the world who’ve tried to destroy my land, stood up and won big fights against these companies. And I’ve been protesting outside parliament, both state and federal, for a very long time also. Because of my activism and standing in the community, I was given an opportunity from the Greens – I ran for a pre-selection and had to convince mainly white people within the party why I would be a good candidate. Then I went to my family. It was a difficult decision to make in terms of how my family and my old people feel about the colonial project, the colonial violence and the ongoing oppression and dispossession of our people. But my uncle Robbie, who’s been a mentor throughout my life, said ‘Lidia, you’re the only one of us that can do it. You have to do it’ (see ‘It’s a Bloody Oath, Mate’, page 36). And as soon as I got that, I was like, ‘Okay, I’m going to do it.’ Yes, I’ll continue to protest on the outside, but if I can infiltrate from the inside and educate this country, I’m fighting for my people.
