The Northern Territory's two incoming federal politicians have delivered powerful maiden speeches, highlighting a "broken" system and conditions faced by Aboriginal people that would not be accepted elsewhere in Australia.
Senator Jacinta Price, a Warlpiri-Celtic woman, said she wanted to work towards positive change in addressing the situation facing Aboriginal populations in the Northern Territory.
"I don't know where else in Australia, a member of federal parliament can provide a tour of the numerous places their direct family members have been violently murdered, or died of alcohol abuse, suicide or alcohol-related accidents," she said.
"It is not good enough that [Aboriginal] children have witnessed or been subjected to normalised alcohol abuse, domestic family and sexual violence throughout their young lives.
Senator Price outlined one of her goals in federal politics as to "halt the pointless virtue signalling and focus on the solutions that bring real change, that changes the lives of Australia's most vulnerable citizens".
"Solutions that give them real lives," she said.
Ms Price had served as the Alice Springs deputy mayor before running for the senate.
Member for Lingiari Marion Scrymgour, an Aboriginal woman whose mother was from the Tiwi Islands and father a member of the Stolen Generations from Central Australia, said commencing her role in federal parliament was "tinged with sadness".
"I am essentially becoming part of the same government which designated both my parents as wards of the State — the 'State' being the Commonwealth of Australia," she said.
Ms Scrymgour became the first Indigenous woman ever to be elected to Northern Territory Parliament in 2001 and went on to take the role of deputy chief minister.
Both Senator Price and Ms Scrymgour addressed recent concern over liquor policy in the Northern Territory, following the lapse of alcohol restrictions in many remote communities earlier this month.
The alcohol bans were first introduced during the Northern Territory intervention in 2007.
Ms Scrymgour said the removal of alcohol restrictions, which have seen alcohol flow into some communities for the first time in 15 years, required an urgent rethink.
"When a government puts a protective regime of that kind in place, and leaves it in place for that long, you can't just suddenly pull the pin on it without any protection, sanctuary or plan for the vulnerable women and children whom the original measure was supposed to protect," she said.
"To do that is more than negligent — at the level of impact on actual lives it is tantamount to causing injury by omission.
"I'm not saying that the town camp alcohol measures should have continued, but I am saying that before they were allowed to lapse, harm minimisation should have been properly addressed."
Senator Price said the removal of alcohol laws "allowed the scourge of alcoholism and the violence that accompanies that free reign, despite warnings from elders of those communities".
Ms Scyrmgour said she, as the federal member for the electorate with the highest percentage of Indigenous residents in the country, pledged to provide strong leadership for Aboriginal people.
“Whilst anyone elected as the member for Lingiari must of course champion the interests and aspirations of all constituents, the challenges and issues facing Aboriginal people and communities in Lingiari will be front of mind for me at all times,” she said.
