Linda Burney, Award Patron

The Hon Linda Burney MP, Minister for Volunteering, Youth and Fair Trading, has been Award Patron since the inception of the Award in 2007.

Linda Burney is a member of the Wiradjuri nation.

In 2003, she became the first Aboriginal woman to be elected to the NSW Parliament, winning the seat of Canterbury. Following the 2007 State Election, Linda was appointed Minister for Fair Trading, Youth and Volunteering. She is also Vice-President of the Australian Labor Party.

Linda started her career as a teacher and spent many years in the education sector, leading to an Honorary Doctorate in Education from Charles Sturt University.

Before entering Parliament, she held the role of Director General for the NSW Department of Aboriginal Affairs.

Linda has an extraordinarily active public life. She has chaired and been a member of many boards and committees at both state and national levels, including the ATSIC National Social Justice Task Force, the National Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, SBS, the NSW Board of Vocational Education and Training and Board of Studies. She was Convenor of the Natural Resources Advisory Council, and represented Australia at meetings in Geneva of the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations.