Victor was born and raised in the Ryde district.

Victor studied law and in 1991 was admitted as a practitioner of the Supreme Court of New South Wales and the High Court of Australia after taking the Solicitor’s Admission Board Examinations.

Victor enjoyed an extensive legal career including appearing in a number of cases in the High Court of Australia. In 2000, Victor became a partner of Etheringtons Solicitors.

In 1995, at the age of 28, Victor was elected as a Councillor of Ryde City Council. He was re-elected in 1999 and remained on Council until 2004.
Whilst on Council, Victor was Chair of a number of committees, including the Development Committee, and had significant involvement in the establishment of the Ryde Aquatic Leisure Centre and the development of Macquarie Business Park.

In September 2008, Victor was pre-selected by the Liberal Party to be its candidate for the NSW seat of Ryde in the October 2008 by-election. Victor won the seat of Ryde with a swing of 23.1 per cent, which was then one of the largest swings in NSW history.
Victor was sworn into the NSW Parliament on 28 October 2008 and gave his inaugural speech on 26 November 2008, reflecting on his longstanding connection and dedication to the Ryde electorate and his commitment to ensuring the NSW Government provides for those most in need.

Victor has served as a member of the Public Accounts Committee, the Independent Commission Against Corruption Committee and represented the now Premier, Mr Barry O’Farrell MP as a Trustee of the Anzac Memorial. In 2011 Victor contested the general election and recorded a further swing of 12.6 per cent.

On 3 April 2011 Victor was sworn in as the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and the Minister for Citizenship and Communities, which includes the Veterans’ Affairs, Volunteering and Youth portfolios and covers the Community Relations Commission.

Prior to his parliamentary career, Victor was fortunate to travel to many places around the world including India, Central and South America, Europe, the United States and Asia. He is also a passionate supporter of the West Tigers Rugby League Team.

Of Aranda and Loritja descent, Brian Butler was born and lived in Bagot compound in Darwin and was then sent to St Francis House in Adelaide. Brian has been advocating for the rights of his people since 1952 mainly in the areas of health, children and families.

He was a founding member of several Aboriginal organisations including the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC) and the Aboriginal and Islander Stolen Generations Alliance (SGA) and he was the ATSIC South Australian Zone Commissioner for 3
years.

Now, nearly 60 years later, Brian continues to advocate for his people ranging from infants right through to elders, constantly pushing for justice and encouraging Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander peoples to stand on their own feet and take charge of their own lives.

Bruce Barbour was appointed NSW Ombudsman in June 2000. His background is in law with a particular specialty in administrative law.

Before being appointed NSW Ombudsman, Bruce was a senior member of the Commonwealth Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) for nine years and was also a member of the Casino Control Authority.

Prior to being appointed to the bench of the AAT, Bruce was Director of the Licensing Division of the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal (now the Australian Broadcasting Authority).

Dr Mark Wenitong (Adjunct Associate Professor, James Cook University, School of Tropical Public Health) is from Kabi Kabi tribal group of South Queensland. He is the Senior Medical Officer at Apunipima Cape York Health Council, where he is working on health reform across the Cape York Aboriginal communities. He was the Senior Medical Officer at Wuchopperen Health Services in Cairns for the previous nine years.He has also worked as the medical advisor for OATSIH in Canberra.

He is a past president and founder of the Australian Indigenous Doctors Association and was a member on the National Health and Medical Research Committee – National Health Committee for the last three triennium, chairs the Andrology Australia- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Male Reference group, sits on several other committees. He is a council member of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies and a member of the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Council.

Dr Wenitong has been heavily involved in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workforce and has helped develop several national workforce documents, sits on the COAG Australian Health Workforce Advisory Council. He is involved in several research projects, and has worked in prison health, refugee health in East Timor as well as studying and working in Indigenous health internationally. He was a member of the NTER review expert advisory group in 2008.

He is involved in clinical and policy work with the aim of improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health outcomes in Australia. He has received the 2011 AMA Presidents Award for Excellence in Healthcare, and the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Council Hall of Fame award

Lillian Simpson, CEO of Mookai Rosie Bi-Bayan is a local Murri woman who grew up on the Tablelands and resided in Cairns later in her adulthood and now lives in Kuranda. She’s an Aboriginal woman of the Wakka Wakka & Alyawarre Nation.

Lillian has been involved in Indigenous Affairs all of her working life, having worked in community based Aboriginal Organisations and Government Department , mainly in the Northern Territory for 10 years with CAAC (Central Australia Aboriginal Congress) and Tangentyere Council, and prior to working the past 24 years here in Cairns with Woompera – Muralug Housing Society, Department of Education, Cape York Land Council, founding Manager of Apunipima Cape York Health Council and CEO of Mookai Rosie Bi-Bayan.

She has served on many committees including WuChopperen Medical Centre, Ngoonbi Housing Society, Mookai Rosie Bi-Bayan, Woompera Muralug Housing Society and Women’s Group in Alice Springs.

Lillian is the mother of 3 daughters including the eldest Nicki and the twins Mu-Thu-Na (White Lily) and Wang-Gaa-Na (Red Lily). She has 7 grandchildren. 6 grandsons and 1 granddaughter aged between 12 months to 9 years.

Francis O’Donahoo is an Environmental Health Officer, employed by the Department of Health, Northern Territory Govenernment. Francis is based in Tennant creek and services a remote area of 322,514 square kilometers within the Barkly Shire.

Francis combines social work theory and practice, into environmental health practice to achieve holistic broad based outcomes within remote Indigenous communities. This pioneering work brings together social, cultural, participatory development and eco health approaches to community well-being and socio-political self determination.

Francis also brings together project development and Indigenous environmental economics as a tool for growth, using experiential learning techniques with small and large groups in the areas of project planning, creativity, problem solving, leadership development and communication.

Francis has degrees in Social work, BSci (Honours), BApp Science (Environmental health) and Diplomas in Indigenous studies and Community services. His professional and research interests include, parasitology, landfills, waste water treatment, climate change, cultural health and well-being, and bio-remediation.

Current research activities include contaminated land assessments (Landfill environments), and trialling a compound to kill parasitic worms in soil environments

Robyn Yates is a Gunai woman from Victoria in the Gippsland area. Robyn currently works for the Department of Human Services in Child Protection as a Koori Liaison Worker. She has held this role for the past 3 and half years. Previous to this she worked for 5 years as a home school Koori Liaison worker in education for VAAI. Her main priority is supporting Aboriginal youth to develop resilience and self-determination.

Cate Jones began working as a project Officer for Shelter SA in early April 2008. She has worked in Aboriginal health, research and the tertiary education sector for the last twenty years. Her most recent employment was with FaHCSIA as a Research Associate for the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children or Footprints in Time. Cate’s work with the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children was designed to inform the qualitative arm of the project that was in the process of development in 2006 – 2007. Since starting at Shelter SA, Cate has instigated the development of a branch, the Aboriginal Homelessness and Housing Support Branch. The Aboriginal Homelessness and Housing Branch of Shelter SA has become a strong voice that is genuinely representative of Aboriginal needs and concerns. The promotion of equality of access to appropriate and affordable housing is a priority. Through the Branch, Cate undertakes research and promotes the Aboriginal communities housing issues to the State Government, the media, stakeholders and interested councils to increase awareness of the distinct social/cultural/economic housing issues relevant to Aboriginal people.

Cate has co-run an Indigenous Homelessness Workshop at the National Homelessness Conference at the Adelaide Conference Centre, 21 – 23 May 2008. She also held a housing forum in July this year designed to examine the current Aboriginal housing crisis in South Australia at the Aboriginal health centre, Nunkuwarrin Yunti.

Cate is currently working on a documentary film project that explores the ‘Aboriginal cultural meaning of home’ and explores pathways out of homelessness. The project will focus on and document the real-life stories of Aboriginal people who are experiencing, or have experienced homelessness. It will record the personal journeys of supported pathways out of homelessness for those now housed, and the road forward for those who are seeking housing.

She has also, in consultation, developed a Reconciliation Statement of Commitment for Shelter SA and also revised policy relating to interaction and consultation with Aboriginal people.

Trish Davis is Senior Health Promotion Officer Mid North Coast Local Health District, based in Port Macquarie NSW.

Trish is a Registered Nurse with a Bachelor of Health Science in Nursing; she has worked in Health Promotion for twenty years and over the past three years her role as Coordinator Health Promotion Capacity Building has included providing skill development, support and mentoring to the Aboriginal Health Education Officers working across the previous North Coast AHS.

Trish has been on the Board of NSW Sids&Kids for the past 10 years and is a long time advocate of reducing smoking rates and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. Trish has recently been accredited as a Tobacco Treatment Specialist and is a member of the Australian Association of Smoking Cessation Professionals.

This resource is a cross district initiative and the work done by the other team members, Donna Lloyd, Laurel Rogers and Denise Hughes is acknowledged.

Sharon Smith works as Rehabilitation Co-ordinator (Social Worker) with the Acquired Brain Injury Outreach Service (ABIOS), a community based rehabilitation and case management service for adults with acquired brain injury. Sharon has, and continues to be, involved in a number of project areas within ABIOS, including the three year research project working with remote Indigenous communities. She continues to work on advancing knowledge and skills to improve services and supports for people with brain injury and their families, with a special focus on partnering with Indigenous communities to develop culturally appropriate services and supports for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People with brain injury, their families and their communities.

Sarah Doherty has been the CEO of the Urapuntja Health Service Aboriginal Corporation for four years. Sarah has a broad nursing background and a Master’s degree in Public Health. Recently as project leader on an important research project ‘Historical Influences on Contemporary Social Indicators At Utopia’, she hopes to raise the profile of the social determinants of health, as priorities in addressing the health gap between indigenous and non indigenous peoples of the world.

Sarah has worked in indigenous health for the past 12 years both here and overseas and believes that the gaps in wealth create the gaps in health.

Indigenous people have never been either politically or practically a part of the conversation regarding the delivery of health services to their communities.

Expectations of reliability, accountability and outcomes are higher for Aboriginal organisations than others, and many organisations are set up to fail.

Sarah Doherty CEO of Urapuntja Health Service will lead a workshop discussing ideas that work, strategies for the future and what community control means in the true scene.