Dr Pat Anderson AO has marked the 50-year anniversary of NAIDOC with a personal keynote address at The University of Queensland.

The Alyawarre woman from the Northern Territory reflected on the histories, cultures and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples during UQ's 2026 NAIDOC Week lecture.

Dr Anderson has spent six decades working across education, health, community development, policy and research ethics.

Her advocacy grew from her childhood in the post-War years at Parap Camp outside Darwin, where Aboriginal families lived under segregation.

She spoke about the impact of those years.

"There were few places where we were allowed to live, these were days of segregated living," Dr Anderson said.

"This history has deeply influenced my life and was really the reason I have focused on human rights and justice all my life.

"It was clear to me that I wanted to be part of the struggle that was happening at the time, a lot of political movement and agitation."

She later pursued a career in education and health, and played a role in the development of Aboriginal community-controlled health services across Australia.

Those services grew from communities responding to gaps in mainstream health care.

"The hospitals at the time often wouldn't see us or deliver proper services, so we took matters into our own hands," Dr Anderson said.

"Today, there are more than 150 separate services delivering primary health care.

"This is an example of being 'deadly' - work done by us, managed and organised by us, not the government."

Dr Anderson was also part of the wider team that led national consultations for the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

Almost a decade later, she believes the statement still offers a path forward for the country.

"We have the opportunity to create an Australia that is richer in not just GDP, but identity, culture, opportunity, inclusion and respect," Dr Anderson said.

"A nation that fully understands its past, tackles the realities of today and delivers on its bright promise for the future by embracing each of us fully."

The Voice to Parliament referendum remained a national heartbreak, she said, and almost three years later First Nations advocacy had become fractured.

Her address pointed to a need for organisations to reconnect with communities and families.

"There's a lot of colour and a lot of noise, but not a lot of listening or coming together," Dr Anderson said.

"It seems to me that some of our organisations, for various reasons, have decided to become corporatised rather than work directly with their community and families.

"I don't think we are as community-driven as we have been in the past and this is a big loss."

Dr Anderson said the push for constitutional recognition and self-determination for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples was not over.

"The past 50 years are deadly not because of one person or one action or one change of law or policy," Dr Anderson said.

"They're deadly because we spent 50 years working together to create our future."