Marion Scrymgour (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is with a heavy heart that I rise to speak about the passing of my good friend and longtime Northern Land Council chairman, Dr Bush-Blanasi. He was surrounded by members of his extended family when he passed. Dr Bush-Blanasi was a Yolngu man with country in the Blue Mud Bay region of eastern Arnhem Land, and was a claimant in the High Court case of that name. This resulted in traditional owners taking ownership of 85 per cent of the Northern Territory's intertidal zone. He was a long-term resident of the Wugularr or Beswick community, east of Katherine.

Dr Bush-Blanasi made an enormous impact on Aboriginal politics, serving as the chairman of the Northern Land Council for four terms and as a Northern Land Council member since 1989. In recognition of his long period of service to our community, he was named the 2023 Northern Territory Australian of the Year. Dr Bush-Blanasi's work had a deep impact on our communities across the Northern Territory and the Top End. Anyone who worked closely with Dr Bush-Blanasi would know that he had the most extraordinary knowledge of and memory for Aboriginal families, connections and history. His own extended family was extensive, with relatives spread across Arnhem Land from Blue Mud Bay to Wadeye and further south at Wugularr.

But Dr Bush-Blanasi's encyclopaedic knowledge extended far beyond his own family and country to everyone's family throughout the entire Northern Land Council area and beyond, including Groote Eylandt and my own home on the Tiwi Islands. He could tell stories about significant characters, going back to times of upheaval and forced shared accommodation in camps for Aboriginal people established in the Second World War—stories which family members of individuals concerned hadn't even known. This kind of knowledge contributed to making him a formidable player in Aboriginal politics. More importantly, it assisted him in maintaining a complex and organic sense of collective identity which connects Aboriginal families to country and was part of what made him so passionate about recognition of that through the recognition.

I had the privilege of working with Dr Bush-Blanasi when I was CEO of the Northern Land Council. One of the things that I will hold closely to my heart is his role, particularly in supporting women in Aboriginal communities. He was and will always be remembered as a change-agent for women, particularly Aboriginal women in the workplace. Not only was he instrumental in allowing me to be the first female CEO of the Northern Land Council but he was also tireless in promoting women in all sorts of fields and endeavours, including the Ranger program and women's football. He has contributed so much to the Territory and the nation. He will be sorely missed.