Australian Story on ABC and ABC iview profiles Jacinta Nampijinpa Price – Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price is popular, polarising and outspoken – a rising star in Coalition ranks who helped steer the ‘No’ campaign to victory in the Voice referendum.
“There are some people that I’ve grown up with in my hometown that almost feel like I’ve betrayed them because I’ve become a conservative Aboriginal politician,”
– she tells Australian Story.
“It’s almost like, ‘How dare you.’”
Within the Indigenous community, some critics feel betrayed by her controversial comments about colonisation, culture and violence.
Mick Gooda, a former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social justice commissioner, believes the ‘No’ campaign “has given people permission to be openly racist, to attack the things that we’ve made so much advances on”.
Her Indigenous supporters, however, say she’s brave and bold.
“I really did see the bravery of what she was taking on,”
– academic and friend Suzanne Ingram tells Australian Story.
In this episode Senator Nampijinpa Price, a former singer and children’s television presenter, responds to her critics and speaks for the first time about turning to alcohol and drugs after surviving domestic violence.
“I was partying hard, hitting the ecstasy or the MDMA,”
– she says,
“but then the comedowns were massive, and that cycle got me into a state of depression, self-loathing and anxiety – all those things, suicidal thought.’’
She explains how her family’s experiences of violence helped shape her views and outlines her plans should she become Minister for Indigenous Australians in the event of a Coalition victory at the next election.
“The one thing that drives me more than anything else is the fact that I’ve lost so much family. I think it’s time for a change; a change of thinking and a change of approach.”
Australian Story on ABC and ABC iview – Monday 10 February 2025 at 8:00pm
Media Release – ABC
TV Central ABC content HERE
Australian Story on ABC and ABC iview profiles Jacinta Nampijinpa Price
