[2] In 1990, she was appointed as one of the first five commissioners of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC), for one year.
The inquiry had been instigated as a result of a November 2001 report by the State Coroner on the death of a teenage girl at the Swan Valley Camp.
The coroner found that the girl had encountered "sexual violation, violence, and the ravages of alcohol and substance abuse.
[5] Following her appointment, she was interviewed and asked for her views on the Stolen Generation, and whether she would seek an apology from Prime Minister, John Howard, to which she replied: "No.
[1] She received the Order of Australia award in 1993 in recognition of her work with Aboriginal people and community affairs.