Jacinta Nampijinpa Price facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price
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Price in 2023
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| Senator for the Northern Territory | |
| Assumed office 21 May 2022 |
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| Preceded by | Sam McMahon |
| Mayor of Alice Springs | |
| Acting 7 August 2020 – 7 September 2020 |
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| Mayor | Damien Ryan |
| Deputy Mayor of Alice Springs | |
| In office 29 September 2020 – 28 August 2021 |
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| Preceded by | Jamie DeBrenni |
| Succeeded by | Eli Melky |
| Councillor for the Town of Alice Springs | |
| In office 10 October 2015 – 28 August 2021 |
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| Preceded by | Liz Martin |
| Succeeded by | Michael Liddle |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Jacinta Yangapi Nampijinpa Price
12 May 1981 Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia |
| Political party | Liberal (federal; since 2025) Country Liberal (territory) |
| Other political affiliations |
National (federal; 2022–2025) |
| Spouse | Colin Lillie |
| Relations |
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| Children | 3 |
Jacinta Yangapi Nampijinpa Price (born 12 May 1981) is an Australian politician. She represents the Northern Territory as a senator in the Australian Parliament. She became a senator after the 2022 Australian federal election.
Jacinta Price is a member of the Country Liberal Party. This party works in the Northern Territory. It is linked to the Liberal–National Coalition at the national level. In May 2025, she joined the Liberal Party in federal parliament. Before that, she was with the Nationals. Since April 2023, she has been the Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs. She also became the Shadow Minister for Government Efficiency before the 2025 Australian federal election.
Price has both Aboriginal and Anglo-Celtic family roots. Her mother, Bess Price, was also a politician and a Warlpiri woman. Her father is an educator with Irish heritage. Before politics, Jacinta Price was an entertainer. She sang, wrote songs, and hosted a children's TV show called Yamba's Playtime. In October 2015, she was elected to the Alice Springs Town Council. Her mother, who was a minister at the time, oversaw her swearing-in. In the 2019 Australian federal election, she tried to become a federal politician but was not successful.
Jacinta Price often speaks about issues facing Aboriginal communities. She supports a conservative approach to these issues. She talks about the importance of safety and following the law in Aboriginal communities. She believes that relying too much on welfare can be a problem. She did not support the idea of an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. She also thinks that changing Australia Day or the Australian flag does not help Aboriginal people move forward.
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Early Life and Background
Jacinta Price was born on 12 May 1981 in Darwin, Northern Territory. She grew up in Alice Springs. Her father, David Price, is of Anglo-Celtic background. Her mother, Bess Price, was a politician in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly. Bess Price is a Warlpiri woman. Her parents met in Yuendumu in 1976. They both worked at the local school.
Bess Price was also a member of the Country Liberal Party. She served as a minister in the Northern Territory Government. She supported the Howard government's 2007 Northern Territory National Emergency Response. This was a plan to help Aboriginal communities facing challenges.
Jacinta Price has written that her mother was born in a traditional Warlpiri setting. Her first language was Warlpiri. Her grandparents first met white settlers in the 1940s. As a child, Jacinta Price traveled a lot with her family. By age seven, she had visited every Australian state. By age 12, she had traveled around the world.
Her Career in Music and TV
Jacinta Price is a singer, songwriter, and recording artist. She won a NAIDOC Award for her music. As a child, she learned to play the violin. Later, she joined hip-hop groups. She started performing rap and hip-hop with her cousins when she was about 15. In 2001, she sang the national anthem for a special festival. She was also part of a group called Catch the Fly. They sang songs about friendship and fun.
In 2013, she released her first music album, Dry River. This album featured folk, soul, and country music. It was a tribute to her life growing up in Central Australia. Music critics compared her sound to Tracy Chapman. The album was produced by Bill Chambers and her husband, Colin Lillie. Price also helped create the Desert Divas program. This program supports female Indigenous musical talent.
Price also worked in children's television. She was on the show Yamba's Playtime. She played the best friend of Yamba the Honey Ant. She is also a regular guest on Sky News Australia.
Joining Politics
Serving on the Alice Springs Council (2015–2021)
Jacinta Price was elected as a councillor for the Alice Springs Town Council in October 2015. Her mother, Bess Price, who was a minister at the time, oversaw her official swearing-in.
Price worked closely with other councillors. She often agreed with them on important issues. She said her values were similar to many experienced councillors. She was concerned about safety issues in Alice Springs. She wanted to see more efforts to address these problems. She also worked with the council's Youth Action Group. She supported activities and creative chances for young people in the town.
Price was the most popular candidate in the 2017 Alice Springs local election. She became the Deputy Mayor of Alice Springs in September 2020. She served in this role until August 2021. She did not seek re-election as a councillor at that time.
Running for Federal Election in 2019
Price ran as a candidate for the Country Liberal Party in the 2019 Australian federal election. She aimed to represent the Division of Lingiari. She was not successful in this election. She received 44.54 percent of the vote. The long-serving Labor politician, Warren Snowdon, won with 55.46 percent.
During this campaign, some comments were made about Price. One candidate shared a post that used a term to describe someone of Indigenous background who is seen as more aligned with mainstream culture. Price called this post unfair. She also faced criticism for sharing a video in 2014. This video discussed violence and religion. A spokesperson for her party said she shared it to speak out against violence against women.
Senator for the Northern Territory (2022–Present)
Jacinta Price became a Senator for the Northern Territory after the 2022 Australian federal election. She won the position after defeating the previous senator, Sam McMahon, in a party vote in June 2021. Price was chosen as the top candidate for her party in the Senate election. She won one of the two Senate seats for the Northern Territory. Her term as senator began right away, unlike senators from states whose terms start later.
Her First Speech in Parliament
Price gave her first speech in the Senate on 27 July 2022. Before her speech, she took part in a traditional ceremony. Her grandmother gave her a hunting stick from her family's Country. Price explained that this ceremony was about her family's Dreaming stories. It gave her the authority to speak for her area. She wore a traditional headdress for her speech. She spoke about her main goals: better housing, safety for women, and economic growth.
Price spoke strongly against what she called "false stories" about racism. She also said that the idea of an Indigenous Voice to Parliament was a symbolic gesture. She believed it could divide people in Australia. Price called for stronger law and order in remote communities. She wanted to stop violence there.
She said that children should not be wandering the streets late at night. She noted that many of these children have seen or experienced violence. She said this situation would not be accepted in big cities. Price also spoke about the importance of jobs and businesses. She believed these were key to helping communities become independent. She said that relying on welfare could hold people back.
Many people praised her speech. Indigenous leader Warren Mundine called it a "greatest speech." Journalist Greg Sheridan called it "magnificent."
Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians (2023–Present)
Jacinta Price was appointed the Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians on 18 April 2023. This means she is the main spokesperson for her party on Indigenous issues.
Changing Parties
When she first became a senator, Price sat with the National Party. However, in May 2025, she decided to join the Liberal Party. She said the Liberals felt like her "natural home." Usually, senators from her original party sit with the Nationals.
On 11 May, Price announced she would run for the Liberal deputy leadership. She supported Angus Taylor for the leadership role. She said the Liberals needed to speak for "forgotten people." Some National senators criticized her decision to switch parties. After Taylor did not win the leadership, Price did not run for deputy leader.
Parliamentary Expenses
Reports showed that Price had to pay back almost $11,000 in parliamentary expenses on 13 occasions. These were expenses that were not claimed correctly.
Political Views and Advocacy
Jacinta Price mainly focuses on issues affecting Aboriginal communities.
Aboriginal Community Issues
Price generally holds conservative views on issues facing Aboriginal communities. She has criticized approaches she calls "paternalistic." She supports law and order and equal treatment for everyone under the law. She wants to end welfare dependency and what she calls "opportunistic collectivism" in Indigenous policy.
Safety in Aboriginal Communities
Price has highlighted the high rates of violence in Aboriginal communities. She supports strong law enforcement and equal justice for all. She does not agree with the idea that racism is the main cause of Aboriginal deaths in custody. In her first speech, Price said that the idea of racism causing these deaths was a "false story." She stated that laws should not protect those who commit violence over the victims.
Price believes that the main problem is violence within communities. She said that many Indigenous Australians are in jail for violence against their own family members. She argued that people only seem to care if a white person is involved. She believes that activists are "ignoring the real crisis" facing Indigenous people.
The Australia Day Discussion
Price believes that calls to change Australia Day or the Australian flag do not help Aboriginal people.
In 2018, Price supported a campaign to "Save Australia Day." In 2021, she again said that changing the date of Australia Day would not make Aboriginal people's lives better. Price called Australia Day a "magical day." She disagreed with claims that the day celebrates the unfair treatment of Aboriginal people.
Indigenous Welfare Policies
Price has strongly supported alcohol restrictions in remote Aboriginal communities. She also supported the cashless debit card. She criticized the Labor government for ending these policies. In her first speech, she said that ending alcohol bans would lead to more problems. She believed the cashless welfare card helped families feed their children. She said it stopped money from being taken by others for alcohol or gambling. On 4 August 2022, she asked for urgent action on alcohol issues in remote communities.
The Voice to Parliament
Price was against the Albanese government's plan for a referendum. This referendum aimed to put an Indigenous Voice to Parliament into the Australian Constitution. Price believed it would divide Australia based on race. She thought it would make Indigenous and non-Indigenous people unequal. She also felt it would suggest that Aboriginal people are a "separate group."
In her first speech, Price said the government had not shown how the Voice would help people in real ways. She also questioned if it would unite or divide Australia. In a 2022 book, Price wrote that the Voice would "divide Australia along racial lines." She believed it would make Aboriginal people seem like "perpetual victims."
In November 2022, Price spoke with Nationals leader David Littleproud. They announced their party's opposition to the Voice. Price told reporters that practical actions were needed. She said the nation should stop being divided by race.
The "No" Campaign
Price was a leading figure in the "No to Voice" campaign. She appeared in an advertisement with her husband. They talked about her life and growing up in Alice Springs. They asked people to vote against the "race-based referendum." In the ad, she said she did not want her family divided by race. She called the Voice a "bureaucratic structure" that was "divisive and dangerous." However, she said she supported recognizing Indigenous Australians in the constitution. The Australian public voted against the proposal.
Three weeks later, Price gave a speech in London. She described the referendum result as a turning point against identity politics. She said they showed that Australians were not a racist country. She received a standing ovation for her speech.
Awards and Recognition
Price received the first Freedom and Hope Award in Sydney in October 2022. She was called "the breakout star" of the event.
During her music career, Price was named Artist of the Year at the NAIDOC Awards in 2011. She was also nominated for Most Promising New Talent in Music in the 2012 Deadly Awards. Her album Dry River was a finalist in the folk category for the NT Song of the Year Awards in 2012.
Legal Matters
Price started legal action against the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 2019. This was because of their reporting on her "Mind the Gap" tour. She received a full public apology in April 2021. The ABC admitted the material was "false and defamatory."
In 2020, Price was sued by Nova Peris. Peris is a former Aboriginal senator. Price had made comments about Peris on a TV show. Price later apologized to Peris for these remarks.
In August 2022, journalist Peter FitzSimons threatened to sue Price. This happened after she said he was rude in a phone interview. Price asked FitzSimons and his newspaper to release the recording, but they did not.
Personal Life
Price has three sons from her first marriage. She experienced violence in a later relationship. She later met Colin Lillie, a Scottish-Australian singer. They married in a traditional ceremony and then under Australian law. Price is also a stepmother to Lillie's son.
Outside of her political role, Price worked as the Indigenous program director for the Centre for Independent Studies. This is a research group in Sydney. In January 2021, she wrote a paper called Worlds Apart: Remote Indigenous disadvantage in the context of wider Australia. This paper looked at the challenges and violence in remote communities.
