Nova Peris
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Nova Maree Peris (born 25 February 1971) is an Aboriginal Australian athlete and former politician. As part of the Australian women's field hockey ( Hockeyroos) team at the 1996 Olympic Games, she was the first
Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 year ...
to win an Olympic gold medal. She later switched sports to sprinting and went to the 1998 Commonwealth Games and
2000 Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...
. She was elected to the
Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives. The powers, role and composition of the Senate are set out in Chap ...
at the 2013 federal election, after then Prime Minister Julia Gillard named her as a "captain's pick", installing her as the preselected Labor candidate over incumbent Labor senator Trish Crossin. She retired from the Senate in 2016.


Early life and education

Peris was born in
Darwin, Northern Territory Darwin ( Larrakia: ') is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. The city has nearly 53% of the Northern Territory's population, with 139,902 at the 2021 census. It is the smallest, wettest, and most northerly of the Australi ...
. Her biological father was Indigenous rights activist John Christophersen, although she had no contact with him between the ages of 2 and 16. Her mother, Joan, had been removed from her own mother, and raised in the Catholic mission on Melville Island, as one of the Stolen Generations. She lived with her family in a Housing Commission unit in Fannie Bay, an inner northern suburb; though her family descends from the Gija people people of East Kimberley, the Yawuru people of West Kimberley and the Muran Clan of the Iwatja people of West Arnhem Land. She is said to have frequently ran away from school, with sport being her main interest. At age 13, she gave up athletics when she was selected for the national schoolgirl hockey team.


Sporting career

Peris was chosen for the Australian Women's Hockey Team, the Hockeyroos, in 1992. By that time she already had a young daughter, Jessica. She remained in this highly successful team until 1996 when they won the gold medal at the Atlanta Olympic Games. Peris was a representative in the Australian Women's Hockey team at the
1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
, becoming the first Aboriginal Australian to win an Olympic gold medal. In 1997, she switched sports and a year later she became a double gold medalist in the 1998 Commonwealth Games (
Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
) winning the 200m sprint with a time of 22.77 seconds and sharing in Australia's 4 × 100 metres relay win. Peris was named Young Australian of the Year in 1997. Peris continued to represent Australia on the athletics track, running over 200 metres at the 1999 World Athletics Championships and 400 metres at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. She made the Olympic semi-finals in her individual event and ran in the Australian 4 × 400 metres relay team, which made the final, finishing fifth. In the Olympic year of 2000, a portrait of her was hung in the Sporting
Archibald Prize The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, J. F. Archib ...
, painted by Glenda Jones. In 2005, she sold her Olympic memorabilia to the
National Museum of Australia The National Museum of Australia (NMA), in the national capital Canberra, preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation. It was formally established by the ''Nation ...
for $140,000. It included her gold medal, hockey stick, Sydney Olympic torch and the running shoes she wore in the Sydney Olympics.


Political career

On 22 January 2013 the Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced she would invite Peris to join the
Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...
and stand as a candidate for the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
in the
Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...
at the 2013 election. On 29 January 2013 her preselection was endorsed by the ALP executive 19 votes to 2, meaning her name was placed first on the ALP's senate ticket in the Northern Territory, supporting the likelihood that she would become Australia's first female Indigenous federal parliamentarian. On 7 September 2013 Peris became Australia's first Indigenous woman elected to federal parliament. Peris was sworn into parliament on 12 November, and noted the apology to the stolen generation in her maiden speech. The ''
Northern Territory News The ''Northern Territory News'' (also known and branded as the ''NT News'') is a morning Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper based in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published every week from ...
'' obtained, what they claimed were private emails of now Senator Peris, in October 2014. The newspaper claimed she was conducting an affair with another athlete, and had had sought government funding to arrange a trip together. No evidence was ever produced for the allegations and claims about hacked emails were later dismissed by Federal Police. Peris announced on 24 May 2016 that she would not nominate to re-contest her Senate seat at the 2016 federal election. Fairfax and the ABC reported that Peris was one of the frontrunners being considered to replace Jason Mifsud as head of diversity for the
Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...
(AFL). Malarndirri McCarthy announced on 25 May 2016 that she had been invited by Labor to nominate herself as Peris' Senate replacement and that she would do so. Nova Peris's Senate term ended at the
double dissolution A double dissolution is a procedure permitted under the Australian Constitution to resolve deadlocks in the bicameral Parliament of Australia between the House of Representatives (lower house) and the Senate (upper house). A double dissolutio ...
of 9 May 2016.


Post political life

Although she has left Parliamentary politics, Peris has stayed involved in several high-level political causes, such as the 2023 Voice to Paraliament referendum. In speeches and in an opinion piece, she argued the reform would include Indigenous Australians in national life more. In 2023, she was one of several high-profile Indigenous Australians calling for reparations. She is a strong advocate for education. In 2012 she became the founder and Patron of the Nova Peris Girls' Academy at St Johns Catholic College, in Darwin. Peris is an Ambassador for the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation. Peris has actively supported the Australian Republic Movement (ARM) since 1999, serving as one of its two Deputy Chairs by 2022, and its co-chair from March 2023. However, by May 2024, she had resigned from the role, saying it had become untenable whilst co-chair, footballer and human rights activist Craig Foster, was making "inaccurate and divisive public statements" regarding
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
and Gaza. She has been a vocal supporter of Israel, of the Australian Jewish Community, and has been recently noted for her public advocacy against
antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
. Peris also argued that the Australian Aboriginal flag has been "misappropriated" by Palestine supporters in the Gaza war protests, a claim challenged by indigenous senator Lidia Thorpe and indigenous academic Chelsea Watego, who noted the history of Aboriginal-Palestinian solidarity in the framework of understanding
settler colonialism Settler colonialism is a logic and structure of displacement by Settler, settlers, using colonial rule, over an environment for replacing it and its indigenous peoples with settlements and the society of the settlers. Settler colonialism is ...
. In a 2024 interview with
Sky News Australia Sky News Australia is an Australian news channel owned by News Corp Australia. Originally launched on 19 February 1996, it broadcasts rolling news coverage throughout the day, while its prime time lineup is dedicated to opinion-based programs fe ...
, she defended her decision to resign from ARM by saying:
"I have a duty I feel as an Aboriginal person who has always stood against all forms of racial discrimination, and I hate the rise of anti-Semitism in this country and I feel for the Jewish people and everyone who has been affected..."
Peris told the ''Times of Israel'' that she could not "just sit back and see young Jewish kids being attacked the way that they are". While no longer an athlete, Peris competed in the sixth season of '' Australian Survivor''. She was eliminated on Day 10 and finished in 21st place. In June 2025, Peris was accused of sharing Islamophobic content, after she retweeted a post on X which described Muslims as "Satan worshipping cockroaches
hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...
need to be eradicated".


Personal life

Scott Appleton proposed to Peris in South Africa in March, the couple have been married since 2012. She had previously been married to
Daniel Batman Daniel Batman (20 March 1981 – 26 June 2012) was an Australian sprinter. He was the Australian national men's 200-metres champion in 2005 and 2008. He competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics and his best international achievement was a si ...
. The couple had two children, though they separated in 2010; with Batman later dying in a car accident. Previous to that she had been married to Sean Kneebone, who she had met when she was 17 and married in 1995. While married to Kneebone, she adopted the surname Peris-Kneebone but reverted following their divorce in 2001. From this time, Peris has three children: Jessica (with Kneebone) and Destiny and Jack (with Batman). She became a grandmother at the age of 40. Her son Jack is a footballer for the Essendon Football Club. As a child, her family attended St Martin De Porres Catholic Community at Casuarina church regularly; she still considers herself a Christian, while keeping an active interest in Australian spirituality.Biography - Nova Peris - Indigenous Australia. (n.d.). https://ia.anu.edu.au/biography/peris-nova-17821


Published work

* *


Recognition

*1996 – Gold Medal, Women's Hockey, Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics *1997 – Medal of the Order of Australia *2001 – Victorian Honour Roll of Women *2019 – "Lifetime Achievement" Dreamtime Awards *2023 –
Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Don Bradman, Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and ...
inductee


See also

* List of Indigenous Australian politicians * Dual sport and multi-sport Olympians


References


External links

*
Transcript of Nova Peris interview on ''Enough Rope with Andrew Denton'', 31 March 2003
*
Summary of parliamentary voting for Senator Nova Peris on TheyVoteForYou.org.au
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Peris, Nova Maree 1971 births Living people Australian female field hockey players Olympic field hockey players for Australia Australian female sprinters Olympic athletes for Australia Olympic gold medalists for Australia Field hockey players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Australian autobiographers Indigenous Australian Olympians Indigenous Australian track and field athletes Indigenous Australian field hockey players Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Olympic medalists in field hockey Australian Institute of Sport field hockey players Sportspeople from Darwin, Northern Territory Australian sportsperson-politicians Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian Senate for the Northern Territory Women members of the Australian Senate Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Indigenous Australian politicians Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians Medallists at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Sportswomen from the Northern Territory Survivor (franchise) contestants Participants in Australian reality television series Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Activists against antisemitism Commonwealth Games gold medallists in athletics