Ms BURNEY (Barton—Minister for Indigenous Australians) (09:01): I rise to pay respect to a much loved and respected Aboriginal elder and Kuku Djungan man, Mr Alfred Neal of Yarrabah, who died on 24 May at the remarkable age of 100. Uncle Alf, universally known as a bush lawyer, was farewelled on Tuesday in a moving ceremony in Yarrabah, east of Cairns. Members of the community conducted a solemn procession through the town. People travelled long distances to attend the service at St Alban's church to mourn his passing and celebrate his long life. My parliamentary colleague Bob Katter, the member for Kennedy, was present to pay his respects, and I was able to provide a video message to express my condolences to Uncle Alf's family. As the front page of yesterday's Cairns Post said, 'hero's final salute'. This humble Aboriginal man was a leader for his people. In accordance with his wishes, Uncle Alf was laid to rest in his traditional country of Ngarrabullgan, Mount Mulligan. This outback landscape, with its towering sandstone escarpment, was the place of his birth. It was the era of the Queensland Aboriginals Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act, and every aspect of Aboriginal people's lives was controlled. Uncle Alf was placed in a dormitory and given a rudimentary education. As a young man, he sought an exemption under the act so he could go out and work to support his growing family. His 10 children and many descendants have gone on to make a major contribution in their own ways, and still today they are dealing with the legacy of Australia's historical treatment of First Peoples. According to the ABS socio-economic index, Yarrabah is the fifth most disadvantaged community in Australia. Uncle Alf spent his life working and fighting not just for his children but for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. In the 1950s, he led a strike for equal wages for Aboriginal people. He helped to lead the campaign to win the 1967 referendum. He held leadership roles in many organisations, including the National Aboriginal Conference. In the 1970s, with the backing of unions, he organised for young people from Yarrabah to travel to Sydney to attend Tranby college to learn a trade. Yarrabah still has its own bakery 50 years later. Uncle remained a strong union man and staunch Labor supporter throughout his life. Four years ago, in 2019, Uncle Alf's contribution was recognised when he received the Medal of the Order of Australia. As his niece Susan Neal said: Alf believed in self-determination, in being self-taught, and being independent and he wanted to prove to others that dreams happen if you just do it. A bush carpenter, he taught himself to paint and build his first home and he was the first in Yarrabah to buy a Ford Falcon wagon, his first outboard motor and he was the first to buy a black and white TV and fridge. He was always concerned about this family and his people and instilled in all of them a desire to make a better future for themselves. Right to the end, Uncle Alf was working for change. A year ago he stood with fellow activists on the beachfront at Yarrabah, as one of the last surviving leaders of the '67 campaign, to endorse the Yarrabah Affirmation, declaring his support for the Uluru Statement from the Heart. I hope Australians do justice to his sacrifices and the many hardships he endured when the referendum takes place later this year to change our Constitution, to recognise First Nations peoples through a voice to parliament. Uncle Alf will continue to be an inspiration to his family, the people of Yarrabah and the wider community.