Nova Peris

Last updated

Nova Peris
OAM
Nova Peris 2012 (cropped).jpg
Peris in 2012
Senator for the Northern Territory
In office
7 September 2013 –9 May 2016
Representing Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
Women's Field Hockey
Olympic Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1996 Atlanta Team Competition
World Cup
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1994 Dublin Team Competition
Champions Trophy
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1993 Amstelveen Team Competition
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1995 Mar del Plata Team Competition
Women's Athletics
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1998 Kuala Lumpur 200 metres
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1998 Kuala Lumpur 4x100m relay
Updated on 22 January 2013.

Nova Maree Peris OAM (born 25 February 1971) is an Aboriginal Australian athlete and former politician. As part of the Australian women's field hockey (Hockeyroos) team at the 1996 Olympic Games, she was the first Aboriginal Australian to win an Olympic gold medal. She later switched sports to sprinting and went to the 1998 Commonwealth Games and 2000 Olympic Games. She was elected to the Australian Senate at the 2013 federal election, after then Prime Minister Julia Gillard named her as a "captain's pick", installing her as the preselected Labor candidate over incumbent Labor senator Trish Crossin. She retired from the Senate in 2016.

Contents

Sporting career

Peris was a representative in the Australian Women's Hockey team at the 1996 Summer Olympics, becoming the first Aboriginal Australian to win an Olympic gold medal. [1] In 1997, she switched sports and a year later she became a double gold medalist in the 1998 Commonwealth Games (Kuala Lumpur) winning the 200m sprint with a time of 22.77 seconds and sharing in Australia's 4 × 100 metres relay win. Peris was named Young Australian of the Year in 1997. [2]

Peris continued to represent Australia on the athletics track, running over 200 metres at the 1999 World Athletics Championships and 400 metres at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. She made the Olympic semi-finals in her individual event and ran in the Australian 4 × 400 metres relay team, which made the final, finishing fifth.

In the Olympic year of 2000, a portrait of her was hung in the Sporting Archibald Prize, painted by Glenda Jones. [3]

In 2005, she sold her Olympic memorabilia to the National Museum of Australia for $140,000. [4] It included her gold medal, hockey stick, Sydney Olympic torch and the running shoes she wore in the Sydney Olympics. [5]

Political career

On 22 January 2013 the Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced she would invite Peris to join the Australian Labor Party and stand as a candidate for the Senate in the Northern Territory at the 2013 election. [6] On 29 January 2013 her preselection was endorsed by the ALP executive 19 votes to 2, meaning her name was placed first on the ALP's senate ticket in the Northern Territory, supporting the likelihood that she would become Australia's first female Indigenous federal parliamentarian. [7]

On 7 September 2013 Peris became Australia's first Indigenous woman elected to federal parliament. [8] Peris was sworn into parliament on 12 November, and noted the apology to the stolen generation in her maiden speech. [9] [10]

Peris announced on 24 May 2016 that she would not nominate to re-contest her Senate seat at the 2016 federal election. [11] [12] Fairfax and the ABC reported that Peris was one of the frontrunners being considered to replace Jason Mifsud as head of diversity for the Australian Football League (AFL). [11] Malarndirri McCarthy announced on 25 May 2016 that she had been invited by Labor to nominate herself as Peris' Senate replacement and that she would do so. [13] Nova Peris's Senate term ended at the double dissolution of 9 May 2016.

Other roles

As of November 2020 Peris is an Ambassador for the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation. [14]

Personal life

Peris was born in Darwin, Northern Territory.[ citation needed ] Her biological father was Indigenous rights activist John Christophersen, although she had no contact with him between the ages of 2 and 16. Her mother, Joan, had been removed from her mother raised in the Catholic mission on Melville Island, as one of the Stolen Generations. [15]

Peris met Sean Kneebone when she was 17, they had a daughter in 1990, married in 1995 and divorced in 2001. While married to Kneebone, she adopted the surname Peris-Kneebone but reverted following their divorce. [16]

In March 2002 she married Daniel Batman; [16] and they had two children but they separated in 2010 [17] and Batman died in a car crash in June 2012. [18]

Peris married Scott Appleton on 12 August 2012.

Peris has three children: Jessica (with Kneebone) and Destiny and Jack (with Batman). She became a grandmother at the age of 40. [19]

Peris' autobiography, Nova: My Story was released on 4 April 2003. [16] [20]

In 2019, Peris competed in the sixth season of Australian Survivor . She was eliminated on Day 10 and finished in 21st place. [21]

In 2020 she sued for defamation over brief comments made by Jacinta Price on the television program Studio 10. [22]

Her son Jack is a footballer for the St. Kilda Football Club.

She identifies as Christian, and is also interested in Australian Aboriginal religion. [23]

Controversy

In October 2014, explicit emails between Peris and athlete Ato Boldon were leaked to the press. [24] The emails were used as the basis for allegations that Peris had used her role as an ambassador for Athletics Australia to organise a trip to Australia for Boldon as part of the "Jump Start to London" athletics program, during which she intended to engage in an affair with the athlete. [25] Boldon subsequently described the accusations as containing "gross fabrications" and threatened legal action. [26] Speaking in Parliament on 30 October, Peris denied wrongdoing, and alleged that the release of the emails was part of a blackmail attempt in regard to the child custody battle. [24]

Recognition

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cathy Freeman</span> Aboriginal Australian athlete and Olympic gold medallist (born 1973)

Catherine Astrid Salome Freeman is an Aboriginal Australian former sprinter, who specialised in the 400 metres event. Her personal best of 48.63 seconds currently ranks her as the eighth-fastest woman of all time, set while finishing second to Marie-José Pérec's number-four time at the 1996 Olympics. She became the Olympic champion for the women's 400 metres at the 2000 Summer Olympics, at which she lit the Olympic Flame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ato Boldon</span> Trinidadian Olympic sprinter and politician

Ato Jabari Boldon is a Trinidadian former track and field athlete, politician, and four-time Olympic medal winner. He holds the Trinidad and Tobago national record in the 50, 60 and 200 metres events with times of 5.64, 6.49 and 19.77 seconds respectively, and also the Commonwealth Games record in the 100 m. He also held the 100m national record at 9.86s, having run it four times until Richard Thompson ran 9.85s on 13 August 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julia Gillard</span> Prime Minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013

Julia Eileen Gillard is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013. She held office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), having previously served as the 13th deputy prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010, under Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. She is the first and only woman to hold either office in Australian history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Lundy</span> Australian politician

Kate Alexandra Lundy is a former Labor Party member of the Australian Senate, representing the Australian Capital Territory. Lundy served as the Minister for Multicultural Affairs and the Minister Assisting for the Digital Economy in the Second Rudd Ministry; having previously served as the Minister for Sport and the Minister Assisting the Minister for Industry and Innovation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trish Crossin</span> Australian politician

Patricia Margaret Crossin is a former Australian politician, who served as a Senator for the Northern Territory from June 1998 to September 2013, representing the Australian Labor Party.

The languages of Australia are the major historic and current languages used in Australia and its offshore islands. Over 250 Australian Aboriginal languages are thought to have existed at the time of first European contact. English is the majority language of Australia today. Although English has no official legal status, it is the de facto official and national language. Australian English is a major variety of the language with a distinctive accent and lexicon, and differs slightly from other varieties of English in grammar and spelling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat Dodson</span> Australian politician

Patrick Lionel Djargun Dodson is an Australian indigenous rights activist and former politician. He was a Senator for Western Australia from 2016 to 2024, representing the Australian Labor Party (ALP).

Daniel Batman was an Australian sprinter. He was the Australian national men's 200-metres champion in 2005 and 2008. He competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics and his best international achievement was a sixth place at the 2003 World Indoor Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Territory National Emergency Response</span> Australian government intervention within indigenous Australian communities

The Northern Territory National Emergency Response, also known as "The Intervention" or the Northern Territory Intervention, and sometimes the abbreviation "NTER" was a package of measures enforced by legislation affecting Indigenous Australians in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia, which lasted from 2007 until 2012. The measures included restrictions on the consumption of alcohol and pornography, changes to welfare payments, and changes to the delivery and management of education, employment and health services in the Territory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Arbib</span> Australian politician

Mark Victor Arbib is an Australian former Labor Party politician and trade unionist, who was an Australian Senator for New South Wales from 2008 to 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malarndirri McCarthy</span> Australian politician and journalist

Malarndirri Barbara McCarthy is an Australian politician and former journalist who has been a Senator for the Northern Territory since 2016. She is an Assistant Minister in the Albanese Government, and previously served in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bess Price</span> Australian politician

Bess Nungarrayi Price is an Aboriginal Australian activist and politician. She was a Country Liberal Party member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 2012 to 2016, representing the electorate of Stuart, and was Minister for Community Services in the Giles Ministry. She lives in Alice Springs in Central Australia, in the Northern Territory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Australian federal election</span> Election for the 44th Parliament of Australia

The 2013 Australian federal election to elect the members of the 44th Parliament of Australia took place on 7 September 2013. The centre-right Liberal/National Coalition opposition led by Opposition leader Tony Abbott of the Liberal Party of Australia and Coalition partner the National Party of Australia, led by Warren Truss, defeated the incumbent centre-left Labor Party government of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in a landslide. It was also the third time in history that a party won 90 or more seats at an Australian election. Labor had been in government for six years since being elected in the 2007 election. This election marked the end of the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd Labor government and the start of the 9 year long Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Liberal-National Coalition government. Abbott was sworn in by the Governor-General, Quentin Bryce, as Australia's new Prime Minister on 18 September 2013, along with the Abbott Ministry. The 44th Parliament of Australia opened on 12 November 2013, with the members of the House of Representatives and territory senators sworn in. The state senators were sworn in by the next Governor-General Peter Cosgrove on 7 July 2014, with their six-year terms commencing on 1 July.

This is a list of members of the Australian Senate between 2011 and 2014. Half of the state senators had been elected at the November 2007 election and had terms due to finish on 30 June 2014; the other half of the state senators were elected at the August 2010 election and had terms due to finish on 30 June 2017. The territory senators were elected at the August 2010 election and their terms ended at the next federal election, which was September 2013. The new Senate first met in July 2011, with state senators elected in 2010 sworn in on 4 July 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">March 2013 Australian Labor Party leadership spill</span>

A leadership spill in the Australian Labor Party, the party of government in the Parliament of Australia, was held on 21 March 2013. Prime Minister Julia Gillard called a ballot for the Leadership and Deputy Leadership of the Labor Party for 4.30pm, following a press conference by former Labor Leader and Regional Minister Simon Crean over persistent leadership tensions. At the caucus meeting, no alternative candidates nominated for the positions, and so Gillard and Wayne Swan were re-elected unopposed.

Joanna Maria Lindgren is an Australian politician who served as a Senator for Queensland from May 2015 to July 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apology to Australia's Indigenous peoples</span> Apology by the Australian Government to Indigenous peoples for historical forced removals

On 13 February 2008, the Parliament of Australia issued a formal apology to Indigenous Australians for forced removals of Australian Indigenous children from their families by Australian federal and state government agencies. The apology was delivered by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, and is also referred to as the National Apology, or simply The Apology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lidia Thorpe</span> Australian politician (born 1973)

Lidia Alma Thorpe is an Australian independent politician. She has been a senator for Victoria since 2020 and is the first Aboriginal senator from that state. She was a member of the Australian Greens until February 2023 when she quit the party over disagreements concerning the proposed Indigenous Voice to Parliament. She had also served as the Greens' deputy leader in the Senate from June to October 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacinta Nampijinpa Price</span> Australian activist and politician

Jacinta Yangapi Nampijinpa Price is an Australian politician from the Northern Territory. She has been a senator for the Northern Territory since the 2022 federal election. She is a member of the Country Liberal Party, a politically conservative party operating in the Northern Territory affiliated with the national Coalition. She sits with the National Party in federal parliament. She has been the Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs since April 2023.

References

  1. ↑ Nova Peris entry on The Australian Women's Register
  2. ↑ "Territory Women, Northern Territory Library". hdl:10070/218087. Archived from the original on 22 March 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  3. ↑ "Current and previous exhibitions, National Portrait Gallery".
  4. ↑ "Nova Peris sells Olympic memorabilia". ABC Online . Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 5 March 2005. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
  5. ↑ Nova Peris collection at the National Museum of Australia
  6. ↑ Cullen, Simon (22 January 2013). "Gillard picks Nova Peris to run for Senate". ABC News. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  7. ↑ Kenny, Mark (29 January 2013). "Olympian's run for senate endorsed". The Age. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
  8. ↑ Laughland, Oliver (7 September 2013). "Nova Peris becomes first Indigenous woman in federal parliament". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  9. ↑ "Emotional speech from Australia's first Indigenous female Senator". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 12 November 2013.
  10. ↑ "FIRST SPEECH – Senator PERIS (Northern Territory)". Senate Hansard. Parliament of Australia. 13 November 2013.
  11. 1 2 "Nova Peris will not stand for re-election". SBS News. 24 May 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  12. ↑ "Nova Peris: Tearful Indigenous MP quits Australia Senate - BBC News". BBC News. 26 May 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  13. ↑ "Malarndirri McCarthy puts hat in the ring for Nova Peris Senate seat". ABC News. 24 May 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  14. ↑ "Ambassadors - About". Australian Indigenous Education Foundation. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  15. ↑ Hersh, Philip (22 September 2000). "Across generations". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  16. 1 2 3 Hamer, Michelle (30 March 2003). "Some lines you don't cross". The Age . Archived from the original on 23 June 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
  17. ↑ "Like a bat outta hell for London" Archived 1 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine . Canberra Times, 16 December 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2012
  18. ↑ Frost, Carleen; Turner, Ellie (26 June 2012). "Australian Olympian Daniel Batman killed in NT car crash". Herald-Sun. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
  19. ↑ "Peris no stranger to challenges" . Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  20. ↑ Nova Peris, Nova; Heads, Ian (2003). Nova : My story : The Autobiography of Nova Peris. ABC Books. p. 314. ISBN   0733311660 . Retrieved 26 June 2012.
  21. ↑ McKnight, Robert (21 May 2019). "Major cast details leaked for AUSTRALIAN SURVIVOR: CHAMPIONS vs CONTENDERS". TV Blackbox. Archived from the original on 22 May 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  22. ↑ Hayman-Reber, Madeline (31 January 2020). "Nova Peris sues Jacinta Price over 2019 Studio 10 appearance". SBS. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  23. ↑ Biography - Nova Peris - Indigenous Australia. (n.d.). https://ia.anu.edu.au/biography/peris-nova-17821
  24. 1 2 Farr, Malcolm. (30 October 2014). "Senator Nova Peris breaks silence over Ato Boldon sex email scandal", Herald Sun . Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  25. ↑ Levy, Megan. (29 October 2014). "Bill Shorten backs Nova Peris despite rort allegations". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  26. ↑ "Senator Nova Peris scandal: Ato Boldon responds to claims", (29 October 2014). News.com.au. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  27. ↑ "2023 SAHOF Inductees | Sport Australia Hall of Fame". 4 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
Awards
Preceded by Young Australian of the Year
1997		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.