SYDNEY, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- A Torres Strait Islander was elected to an Australian parliament Tuesday for the first time in history.
Cynthia Lui was announced as the winner of the seat of Cook in the Queensland state election on Tuesday, making her the first person from the Torres Strait Islands, a group of 274 small islands between Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Queensland, to be elected.
Lui, who grew up on the remote Yam Island, is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) which looks likely to win the election as counting continues.
"Every step was a milestone for me as a Torres Strait Islander, and getting to this point now is just the most significant step in the history of Australia, I believe, because I am the first Torres Strait Islander to enter Parliament," she told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Wednesday.
"I am proud, I am excited, emotional, but I think there are lots of good days ahead."
Lui now lives in the mainland city of Cairns, more than 1500 kilometers north of Brisbane, where she said she has been confronted by the issues facing indigenous Australians.
"Growing up on a remote Indigenous community, I experienced a lot of the challenges with remote living," she said.
"My work took me across the Cook electorate, working with families in child protection, and I want to give back to my community and get better outcomes for communities."
Queensland has the biggest population of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders outside of the Northern Territory (NT).
Lui will be only the fourth indigenous person to serve as a Member of Parliament (MP) in Queensland.
She said she hopes both the ALP and Liberal National Party (LNP) do more to ensure there is adequate indigenous representation in parliament.
