The Lowitja O’Donoghue Oration honours the legacy of the late Dr Lowitja O’Donoghue AC CBE DSG, a champion for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Each year an influential leader delivers a talk that looks at social justice, Aboriginal empowerment, and the world around us. The 2025 Oration is titled Honouring Lowitja: For The Love Of Our People and will be delivered by Romlie Mokak.
After three decades working in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander policy, Romlie Mokak will use this year’s Lowitja O’Donoghue Oration to centre Indigenous people’s connection and love for one another in the national discussion. Eighteen years after Dr Lowitja O’Donoghue delivered the first oration in her name, Mr Mokak will consider the driving force in her life – her love of her people – and how that principle should be applied to contemporary policy-making. In a powerful reflection on the state of the nation, he will consider the lack of love towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in our body politic – and the ripple effect of this absence through policy and leadership, to language and power. Without love, will the nation ever deal with its unfinished business?
Romlie is a Djugun man and a member of the Yawuru people, whose career has been defined by his commitment to advancing the rights and interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. His experience is extensive, including serving as the first Aboriginal Commissioner at the Productivity Commission, and leading key national organisations like the Lowitja Institute and the Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association. His insights on pressing challenges, including his work on the National Agreement on Closing the Gap and the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement, will be invaluable.
Presented by Don Dunstan Foundation