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The Honourable
Linda Burney
MP
Linda Burney.jpg
Minister for Indigenous Australians
In office
1 June 2022 – 29 July 2024
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese
Preceded by Ken Wyatt
Succeeded by Malarndirri McCarthy
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Barton
Assumed office
2 July 2016
Preceded by Nickolas Varvaris
Deputy Leader of the Opposition
in New South Wales
In office
8 April 2011 – 7 March 2016
Leader John Robertson
Luke Foley
Preceded by Jillian Skinner
Succeeded by Michael Daley
National President of the Labor Party
In office
27 December 2008 – 30 July 2009
Preceded by Mike Rann
Succeeded by Michael Williamson
Member of the New South Wales Parliament
for Canterbury
In office
22 March 2003 – 6 May 2016
Preceded by Kevin Moss
Succeeded by Sophie Cotsis
Personal details
Born (1957-04-25) 25 April 1957 (age 68)
Whitton, New South Wales, Australia
Political party Labor
Spouse Rick Farley (d. 2006)
Children 2
Alma mater Mitchell College of Advanced Education
Occupation Teacher

Linda Jean Burney (born 25 April 1957) is an Australian politician. She is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). Since 2016, she has been a member of Parliament (MP) for the area of Barton. From 2022 to July 2024, she served as the Minister for Indigenous Australians. Before becoming a federal MP, she was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Canterbury from 2003 to 2016. She was also a teacher. Linda Burney is the first known woman who identifies as Aboriginal to be elected to the Australian House of Representatives.

Linda Burney was also the first known Aboriginal person to serve in the New South Wales Parliament. This happened when she was elected in 2003. After the 2022 federal election, she became the Minister for Indigenous Australians. This made her the first Aboriginal woman to hold this important position. On 25 July 2024, Burney announced she would retire from federal Parliament at the next election.

Early Life and Education

Linda Burney was born on 25 April 1957 in Whitton. This is a small town in south-west New South Wales. She grew up there and has both Wiradjuri and Scottish family roots. In her first speech to the NSW Parliament, she shared that she did not grow up knowing her Aboriginal family. She met her father, Nonny Ingram, in 1984. Later, she met ten more brothers and sisters. Her elderly aunt and uncle, Nina and Billy Laing, raised her. They taught her important values like honesty, loyalty, and respect.

Burney went to primary school in Whitton. She attended Leeton High School for her first four years of high school. Then, she finished her last two years at Penrith High School. In 1978, she graduated from Mitchell College of Advanced Education. She was one of the first Aboriginal students to get a teaching diploma from there. In 2002, she received an honorary doctorate in education from the same university.

Career Before Politics

Working in Education

Linda Burney started her career as a teacher. From 1979 to 1981, she taught at Lethbridge Park public school in western Sydney. After that, she worked at the Aboriginal Education Unit of the NSW Department of Education from 1981 to 1983.

She was very involved with the New South Wales Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (NSW AECG). This was from 1983 to 1998. She helped create and put into action Australia's first Aboriginal education policy. In 1988, she became the president of the AECG.

Leading in Aboriginal Affairs

In 1998, Burney was chosen as the deputy director general of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs (NSW). She then became the director general from 2000 to 2003. This role meant she was in charge of important work for Aboriginal communities in New South Wales.

Political Journey

Starting in State Politics

Linda Burney became a member of the Australian Labor Party. In 2006, she was elected National Vice-President of the party. She also served as National President during 2008 and 2009.

In 2003, Burney was elected as the Member for Canterbury in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. This was a big moment because she was the first Aboriginal person to serve in the NSW Parliament. In her first speech, she spoke about her Wiradjuri heritage. She said that growing up, it was hard to see a positive reflection of Aboriginal people in Australia.

In 2005, Burney became the Parliamentary Secretary for Education and Training. After the 2007 election, she became a minister. She was the Minister for Fair Trading, Minister for Youth, and Minister for Volunteering. In 2008, she was promoted to Minister for Community Services. In 2009, she became the Minister for the State Plan.

As a minister, Burney was the first patron of the NSW Volunteer of the Year Award. This was a major initiative supported by the NSW Government. She held these minister roles until the Labor Party lost the state election in 2011. After that election, Burney was chosen as the Deputy Leader of the Labor Party. She also became the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. She took on new roles as Shadow Minister for Planning, Infrastructure and Heritage, and other areas.

In December 2014, Burney became the interim leader of the opposition for a short time. This happened after John Robertson resigned. She was then re-elected as deputy leader to Luke Foley. She also served as the Shadow Minister for Education and Shadow Minister for Aboriginal Affairs.

Moving to Federal Politics

On 1 March 2016, Linda Burney announced she would try to become a federal politician. She wanted to represent the area of Barton in the Australian House of Representatives. She resigned from the NSW Parliament on 6 May 2016.

Burney won the seat of Barton in the 2016 federal election. This was a historic moment. She became the first Aboriginal woman to be elected to the federal House of Representatives. She was also the second Indigenous person elected to the House, after Ken Wyatt in 2010. After the election, she became the Shadow Minister for Human Services. Later, she also took on roles as Shadow Minister for Preventing Family Violence and Shadow Minister for Families and Social Services.

She was re-elected in the 2019 federal election. After this election, she kept her role as Shadow Minister for Families and Social Services. She also became the Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians.

When the Labor government won the 2022 federal election, Anthony Albanese became prime minister of Australia. Linda Burney was then appointed Minister for Indigenous Australians on 1 June 2022. This made her the first Aboriginal woman to hold this important position. On 25 July 2024, Burney announced she would retire from federal Parliament at the next election.

Other Important Roles

Linda Burney has held many other important roles outside of Parliament. She has served on the boards of organisations like SBS and the NSW Anti-Discrimination Board. She was also an executive member of the National Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation. She was President of the NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group and a former Director-General of the NSW Department of Aboriginal Affairs.

She has given several important speeches. In 1996, she spoke about "Education and Social Justice" at the University of New England. In 2006, she gave the seventh Vincent Lingiari Memorial Lecture. In 2008, she gave the sixth Henry Parkes Oration.

As part of the 2012 Sydney Festival, Burney performed in a play called I am Eora. In the play, she delivered her own first speech to the NSW Parliament. In 2022, she gave the Lowitja O'Donoghue Oration in Adelaide. She spoke about the government's commitment to the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

Awards and Recognition

Linda Burney has received several awards for her achievements:

Personal Life

Linda Burney has a son and a daughter. Her partner for many years was Rick Farley, who passed away in 2006.

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