First Aborigine sworn in
THE first Aborigine to become the leader of an Australian provincial government was sworn in yesterday.
Adam Giles, 40, will lead the administration of the Northern Territory.
Mr Giles, a former civil servant, became leader on Wednesday in an internal coup within the ruling conservative Country Liberal Party while former chief minister, Terry Mills, was in Japan on a business trip.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdHe described himself as an example for parents to use to inspire their children. “Mums and dads can say: ‘Look at Giles. If he can do it, you can do it’,” he said.
Labour prime minister Julia Gillard later told MPs in Canberra: “This is a moment in history for indigenous Australians.”
There are only 600,000 aborigines in Australia, which has a population of 23 million, but they account for a third of the Northern Territory’s residents.