Noosa First Nations Allies in Association with Noosa alive! present
In Conversation with Kerry O’Brien & Thomas Mayo
Walking a new path to truth, justice and healing.
Join highly acclaimed journalist and author, Kerry O’Brien and leading First Nations justice advocate and author, Thomas Mayo, to consider a new way forward, given the nation’s continued failure to recognise the dispossession of its First People, and Queensland’s formal rejection of both truth-telling and the path to treaty.
This panel discussion, including special guests, former Queensland Truth-telling & Healing Inquiry member, Hon Roslyn Atkinson AO and Stolen Generations survivor, Billy Trott, will shine a light on the issues facing First Nations communities and individuals across Australia and explore what we can do to raise hope and ambition for the next generation.
South Australia and Victoria now lead the way in a Treaty process that the Queensland government has proactively dismantled. But the Yes vote of six million Australians in the Voice referendum tells us that the desire for true reconciliation in this country still burns brightly. Join us as we walk together towards healing the heart of the nation.
This special “In Conversation” event is hosted by Noosa First Nations Allies.
KERRY O’BRIEN
Kerry O’Brien is a multi-award-winning journalist and author. He has covered politics over decades and was the presenter and interviewer for the ABC’s 7.30 Report, Four Corners and Lateline across 26 years from 1990 to 2015.
Kerry’s acclaimed four-part interview series with former Prime Minister Paul Keating was broadcast on the ABC in 2013, and his best-selling book expanding on those conversations was published in 2015. His memoir was published in 2018 and his handbook on the Voice to Parliament co-authored with Thomas Mayo in 2024 was voted the book industry’s Book of the Year.
Kerry also served on the Eminent Panel advising the Palaszczuk government on a pathway to treaty and truth-telling that led to the establishment of the Queensland Truth-telling and Hearing Inquiry.
THOMAS MAYO
Thomas Mayo is a leading voice in human rights advocacy and an award-winning author.
A Kaurareg Aboriginal and Kalkalgal, Erubamle Torres Strait Islander, he came to public prominence when he co-led the high-profile campaign for Australia’s Voice referendum, speaking with thousands of Australians about the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
Thomas is recognised as one of Australia’s leaders in Indigenous rights and works with schools, community groups, corporates and government to achieve justice, recognition and equity for First Nations peoples. He is on several boards including the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.
An accomplished orator and storyteller, Thomas has written seven books including the Voice to Parliament Handbook which he co-authored with Kerry O’Brien and which was voted the 2024 Book of the Year at the Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIAs) as well as Social Impact Book of the Year and Non-Fiction Book of the Year. His latest book Always Was, Always Will Be is a practical guide of hope and inspiration after the referendum.
A proud father of five children, Thomas’ book Dear Son: letters and Reflections from First Nations Fathers and Sons has been adapted into a critically acclaimed play which has shown in Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide.
Starting his career as a wharfie, Thomas has held several leadership positions at the Maritime Union of Australia and is currently Assistant National Secretary.
HON ROSLYN ATKINSON AO
Lawyer, diversity advocate and former member of the Truth-telling and Healing Inquiry, the Honourable Roslyn Atkinson AO shares a lifetime commitment to human rights and diversity and advancing the rights of First Nations peoples.
A former judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland for 20 years from 1998 and Chair of the Queensland Indigenous Justice committee, Roslyn was also the lead author of the Equal Treatment Bench book.
She was the inaugural President of the Queensland Anti-Discrimination Tribunal, as well as a Hearing Commissioner of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission.
Hon Roslyn Atkinson AO presided over numerous high-profile civil and criminal trials during her two-decade tenure, including the 2014 conviction of Brett Peter Cowan for the murder of schoolboy Daniel Morcombe. She was awarded the Officer of the Order of Australia in 2019 for her distinguished service to the judiciary and the law.
WILLIAM (BILLY) TROTT
Billy is a proud Aboriginal man from the Gubrun tribe of the Eastern Goldfields of Kalgoorlie in WA and Mirning, Kokatha tribes of the Nullabor Plains and the Great Australian Bight in SA. He is a very culturally oriented man and a respected elder amongst his people.
He is a survivor of the Stolen Generations and a powerful truth-teller whose lived experience underpins his leadership in the space of loss, grief, and healing. Billy’s life and his work are shaped by this lived experience. He has worked very hard to rebuild strong cultural ties to his land and his people despite being removed at the tender age of four in 1972.
Billy not only brings raw honesty but deep compassion, and cultural resilience to every conversation. He is a cultural practitioner on a lifelong learning journey, committed to walking alongside communities to strengthen culture, rebuild connection, and support reconciliation between mobs for the next generation.
