Collection of pivotal speeches from Nova Peris as well as her
favourite inspirational speeches by other key figures with personal
introductions written by Nova.
In 2013 Nova Peris, former athlete and the first Aboriginal Australian to win a gold medal at the Olympics, became the first Aboriginal woman elected to federal parliament. She was determined to make full use of the platform she felt privileged to find herself on and
continues to share the message that Aboriginal people have to keep talking and keep
fighting, because the quest for equality, for equal rights for all Australians, remains, sadly,
an ongoing battle.
This new collection of Nova's notable speeches spans her time in the Senate as a Member
of the Labor Party and includes some of her favourite all-time speeches from a number
of people who have, and continue to inspire her in her daily life. The significance of each
speech is discussed at the beginning of every chapter.
From Nova's speeches about the referendum, to National Sorry Day, clean energy, alcohol
abuse, closing the gap for Aboriginal Australia, and her inaugural senate speech, to the
famous words of Martin Luther King Jr's "I have a Dream" speech, Nova: Finding My Voice
is full of inspirational words about race, justice and injustice, hope, freedom and change.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Nova Peris is a former Labor Senator for The Northern Territory in the Federal
Parliament of Australia. She was elected in 2013 and was the first female Aboriginal Australian to enter Federal
Politics. She has an extensive sporting background and played in the Australian Women's Hockey team at the
1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, becoming the first Aboriginal Australian and Northern Territorian to win an
Olympic gold medal. She was a dual gold medallist in the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur in the
sport of Track and Field. Nova was the Young Australian of the Year in 1997 and was given an Order of Australia
Medal. Nova is the author of Nova: My Story: The Autobiography of Nova Peris (2003).