Natasha Griggs (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today, I also rise, on behalf of the people of Solomon, to acknowledge the very sad and untimely passing of former Australian of the Year and lead singer of Yothu Yindi, Mr Yunupingu. We just head the minister's very moving contribution and I would like to associate myself with her words. Mr Yunupingu, as we have heard, died at the age of 56, after a long public battle with kidney disease. It is with sadness that I speak of his passing, but it is also with great pride that I am here to talk about Mr Yunupingu's achievements—many of which were firsts for Indigenous Australians.

Mr Yunupingu was a great Territorian. He was admired by so many. I acknowledge the member for Lingiari here, because Mr Yunupingu was one of his constituents. As I said, he was admired by so many and known around the world. He was a leader for his people in that he brought Indigenous issues to the forefront of the national agenda. While I never had the pleasure of meeting him, his music is well known to me and to many Territorians. Music runs in Mr Yunupingu's family, with his nephew Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu also making beautiful music that Territorians can be proud of.

As others have done here, I would also like to acknowledge Mr Yunupingu's amazing achievements. In 1986 he founded Australia's most influential Indigenous band, Yothu Yindi, which was most noted for incorporating Aboriginal language and instrumentation with western rock. It is similar to what his nephew Gurrumul has done. The band, as we have heard, released six major albums from 1988 to 2000. It won eight ARIA awards and was nominated for 14 ARIAs. The most famous was in 1991 for the hit song Treaty, which was made song of the year in 1992.

In 1988 he was the first Indigenous Australian from Arnhem Land to gain a university degree, a Bachelor of Arts (Education) from Deakin University. In 1989 he became assistant principal of the Yirrkala Community School. In 1990 he took over as principal of that school, becoming the first Aboriginal principal in Australia. He held this until he left teaching in 1991 told pursue his career with Yothu Yindi—and aren't we pleased he did that! In 1992 he was named Australian of the Year for his role in building bridges between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities. Yothu Yindi was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2012. In 2012 Mr Yunupingu used his ARIA induction speech to raise awareness of diabetes and kidney disease and he encouraged all viewers to support Aboriginal recognition in the Australian constitution.

In conclusion, the sad passing highlights the terrible truth that too many Aboriginal people die too young, a fact that the Leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott, reminds Australians of so often. We still have a long way to go in improving health standards and life expectancy of our Indigenous Australians, and Mr Yunupingu did a tremendous job in bringing attention to the plight of his people. I would like to echo the words of the Northern Territory Chief Minister, Adam Giles. He said the territory and the nation have lost not only a great artist but also a significant cultural figure. The passing of Mr Yunupingu is a sad day for the territory, Aboriginal culture and Australian music. My condolences to Mr Yunupingu's wife, their six daughters, his people and his many fans. May he rest in peace and may his music live on for generations into the future.

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