Outgoing MP and former Minister for Aboriginal Australians, Linda Burney, has used her valedictory speech in Parliament to say she is humbled by the trust given to her by Indigenous people.
The first Indigenous woman to serve in Federal Cabinet, Ms Burney stood down from the cabinet last month, and will retire from federal politics at the next election.
Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, the Wiradjuri woman said when she arrived in Parliament in 2016, she knew she was "walking a path that had never before been walked by someone like me".
"I am humbled by the trust and the ownership shown by First Nations Australians, many of whom are still paying a heavy price for dispossession and exclusion from our nation's foundation and too often, exclusion from the institutions which exist to serve us all," she said.
"My life has been both harsh and kind. I have known loss I would never wish on anyone, but I have never, ever lost hope."
She said at the time of her arrival in parliament, it felt as if issues impacting First Nations people "had been pushed into a silo", only to be dealt with by the minister for Indigenous affairs.
"Being elected to this place was the greatest honour of my life," Ms Burney said.
"From fighting against the unfair and illegal Robodebt scheme during my time as Shadow Minister for Human Services to securing landmark commitments to remote housing, justice reinvestment and remote jobs, delivering justice to the families affected by the collapse of Youpla."
She also highlighted her government's work on Indigenous health, jobs, digital productivity, and language revitalisation.
"We don't have to choose between so-called practical and symbolic reconciliation," Ms Burney said, arguing the government was embracing self-determination and economic prosperity for First Nations people.
"It's a false choice. It's a phony argument. The notion that somehow governments and Indigenous communities must choose between so-called practical and symbolic reconciliation is an old and tired debate that belongs in the 1990s not the 2020s."
Discussing last year's failed Voice referendum, which Ms Burney said it was not the result "many of us wanted" but nonetheless she believes it will be a "catalyst for progress".
She thanked the Yes voters across the country, and singled out Liberal MP Julian Leeser, who left the opposition front bench to campaign for the voice.
"In the years that come, it will be looked on more kindly by history... It highlighted how far we've come and how far we still must go to be a truly reconciled country," she said.
"Progress doesn't always move in a straight line. The road is rocky; there are obstacles in the path. But our overall direction is towards progress, and with each passing generation, we bend the moral arc of the universe closer to justice."
She argued Australia as a nation has sometimes struggled with its identity, "because we never came to terms with our own story, naever embraced the breadth and depth of it, certainly not its truth."
"The generosity we pride ourselves on is rarely extended to the people in this nation who have occupied these lands for countless generations," she said.
"Why? Part of the answer is that we don't have a shared narrative… You take the whole, not just the bits that suit you. I believe that community led truth… can help with that there is nothing to fear or lose from the truth."
In 2016, Wiradjuri and Gamilaroi woman Lynette Riley sang her into the house, and to close Ms Burney's speech, Professor Riley's daughter, Garigarra, sang her out.
Closing in Wiradjuri, Ms Burney stated: I am proud to be Wiradjuri. This has been a great journey. Thank you. It's been an honour. We will make progress when we all work together. We have a strong and bright future."
