Graduation day was a milestone in the most important journey of all - to the centre of oneself.

The Australian way of affirmative action is setting goals and recognising discrimination and lack of opportunity and deciding to take action and setting some goals and targets. I guess I prefer that language to talking about quotas.

Begun as a girl from a little country town in central western Queensland, inspired by noble ideas of justice, about fairness, about making the world a better place.

My mother played the piano and my father the violin, I can remember my dad teaching me how to waltz; I had my feet on his, my mother playing the piano, and my husband will tell you the lessons weren't very successful.

I think we have to keep working enormously hard to see that every single Indigenous child - every Australian child - has true equality of opportunity. Weve got to work harder at it. I think, you know, the heartland issue for us is the gap; the gap in life expectancy in this country.

When a woman is fit and healthy, everything else falls into place. We are conditioned to put others first, that 'burnt chop syndrome' we observed in our mothers. It takes discipline to pay attention to our diets, to exercise, to leave time for refreshment of mind, body and spirit.

Seek out a person whom you admire and respect for the support you need - that we all need from time to time.