Mr SHORTEN (Maribyrnong—Leader of the Opposition) (14:05): I thank the Prime Minister for his words. Today we honour a proud warrior for her people, a dauntless champion for reconciliation, a fearless truth-teller for our nation. Her dear friend Pat Turner remembered her, referring to 'Her presence, commanding, as was her contribution.' In her iconic black hat, Evelyn Scott stood tall, and by her deeds and her courage she helped others walk tall. Evelyn's grandfather came to Australia from Vanuatu in chains, put to work cutting cane in North Queensland. As a young woman growing up in Townsville, Evelyn was witness to the invisible chains of discrimination, for Aboriginal people were classified as minors and were denied basic rights to housing, to land, to employment and to education. So, she took to heart her father's credo—if you don't think something is right, challenge it. She challenged it, she changed it. At her state funeral, the first one ever to be held for an Aboriginal woman in the state of Queensland, friends remembered a matriarch who set the family table, describing it as being like a five-star hotel—no snatch and grab breakfast—but they also remembered a person with a consuming passion for justice. Jennifer Darr spoke fondly of how, when Eve was getting ready for an argument, you knew it was coming—those big brown eyes would get big like saucers, her mouth was tight; her left hand would take its position firmly on her hip and then you had two choices available to you, to watch out or take cover, the fireworks were about to start. Evelyn's fireworks have illuminated our nation for many decades. At the forefront of the decade-long struggle to achieve the 1967 referendum, she was the head of the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and the chairwoman of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation between 1997 and 2000. The late nineties were hard years for the cause. The optimism sparked by the Mabo decision and Paul Keating's leadership on native title had faded, and allegations of political correctness, the guilt industry and black armband history dogged the reconciliation conversation. Yet, in hindsight, those times were perfectly suited to Evelyn's grace and her tremendous capacity to motivate and to unify. There was no more powerful expression of her leadership than when 250,000 Australians walked across the Sydney Harbour Bridge in support of reconciliation. That walk, supported by marchers all around the nation, proved that reconciliation was not a fringe issue, or a niche issue—it was a people's movement, a national priority central to Australians' understanding of our future and our faith in a more equal future. Evelyn Scott lived every metre of the hard road to reconciliation—every setback, every detour, every obstacle put in her path—yet her faith, her optimism, her belief in the better angels of Australia's nature never waivered. It is fitting we close with her words: In true reconciliation, through the remembering, the grieving and the healing, we can come to terms with our conscience and become as one in the dreaming of this land. What a rich and valuable heritage to leave our children—a 56,000-year culture, thriving in a country at peace with its conscience. Will you take our hand? Will you dare to share our dream? Evelyn Scott dedicated her life to the pursuit of that dream. Today, as we offer our condolences to her loved ones, we thank them for lending her to the service of this nation for so long. Let us commemorate her life in the most fitting way possible: by redoubling and renewing our efforts to achieve true and lasting reconciliation.