There should be no doubting the bravery of the next generation of Indigenous activists, with a young Awabakal-Dharawal law student preparing to take her voice to the global stage.
This October, Tiarna Williams will travel to New York as part of the Global Voices Policy Fellowship, where she will join the Sir Ninian Stephens Law Delegation at the United Nations General Assembly 6th Committee (Legal).
Now in her penultimate year of a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of International Studies at the University of Wollongong, Ms Williams is drafting a policy proposal focused on strengthening Indigenous rights at home.
On her proposal, she said her initial question was broad: "How do I implement UNDRIP in full?" But after refining her research, she settled on one key area: free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) in the Native Title regime, specifically in the Native Title Act.
She says the problem is clear.
"The root cause of this issue lies in Australia's failure to implement enforceable domestic legislation that incorporates FPIC processes into land development projects on Native Title land," Ms Williams says.
She added that under current laws: "FPIC processes are not explicitly required in order for development to occur on Native Title land, resulting in First Nations stakeholders' rights under UNDRIP being undermined."
Critically, she noted, the Native Title Act doesn't "provide a right to veto projects — even when they directly impact Indigenous land and cultural heritage".
For Ms Williams, reform would not only strengthen protections for First Nations people, but also elevate Australia's standing internationally.
"It would improve our international reputation if we take those positive steps to implement it in our domestic legislation," she said.
Looking abroad, she sees lessons but also limitations for the implementation of UNDRIP. She points to Canada, where a UNDRIP Implementation Act requires domestic laws to align with the declaration.
"They took a broader approach to implementing UNDRIP, and from what I've researched so far, the effectiveness of that is quite low," she says.
"I would attribute that to it being too broad in scope and not being a small, targeted approach. Hence why my proposal was looking at a specific element of UNDRIP, rather than incorporating it as a whole to start with."
Throughout the conversation with National Indigenous Times, Ms Williams' passion and clear-minded approach to what she believes needs to change is clear. It is a passion born from lived experience.
"Being a proud Indigenous woman myself, I've unfortunately been exposed to different barriers during my life — racial discrimination and denial of different opportunities," she reflected.
"It's always been my goal to help progress Indigenous rights and amplify Indigenous voices and hopefully bring change within that sphere... throughout my educational and employment journey, I've really found an interest in helping First Nations kids [and] First Nations young people specifically. Because I was that young girl denied different opportunities."
"So if I can prevent that from happening to other kids, that would be amazing."
Her work follows recent efforts in Australia to bring UNDRIP into the domestic conversation, including Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe's unsuccessful bill to have parliamentary committees consider UNDRIP when reviewing legislation earlier this year.
It followed a 2023 report by Yawuru elder and former Labor Senator, Patrick Dodson, which called on governments and civil society to fully engage with First Peoples' rights through the declaration, which read:"At the heart of this report is a call for all Australian governments and civil society to engage with the rights of First Peoples through UNDRIP."
For Ms Williams, taking her proposal to the UN is both an opportunity and a responsibility — a chance to bring community voice to one of the world's largest stages, and to help chart a path for future generations of First Nations advocates.
One thing is for sure: This is only the beginning of her journey.
