Northern Territory senator and face of the No coalition, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, will write a memoir due for publication in February 2025.
Co-written with Sue Smethurst, the book Matters of the Heart will detail the conservative Liberal Senator’s political rise, how she overcame adversity and her upbringing in Australia’s most exclusive areas, Darwin and Alice Springs.
The book, to be published by HarperCollins Publishers Australia, will also document her family's first contact with European settlement, the “clash of cultures” that followed, and their experience of domestic violence.
Senator Price, the coalition's spokeswoman for indigenous affairs, has often described herself as a proud Celtic Warlpiri woman, attributing her father's Anglo-Saxon heritage to her and her mother Bess Nungurrayi Price, also a Warlpiri woman.
The politician said she hoped the book would allow people to put her political views into context, after emerging as one of the most influential voices in the government's failed referendum campaign for an indigenous voice in parliament.
“Many people got to know me through my role in the No campaign during the Voice referendum, but media appearances and click-bait headlines are never the best way to get to know someone,” she said.
“By telling my story and the stories of those who came before me, I hope people gain a fuller understanding of who I really am, why I fight for what I fight for, and what is truly important to my heart.”
Before entering the Senate in 2022 as the number one candidate for the Country Liberal Party, Senator Price served as Deputy Mayor on Alice Springs Local Council.
She has been critical of “virtue signaling” when it comes to Indigenous issues and has campaigned on issues related to housing, women’s safety and increasing economic access for Aboriginal peoples.
Notably, in her speech at the 2023 national press conference, held ahead of the Voice referendum, Senator Price said she did not believe colonisation had a negative impact on Aboriginal Australians, while Aboriginal and community advocacy groups criticised her remarks.
The book's co-author, Sue Smethurst, described the senator's life as one “shaped by hardship, tragedy and challenges beyond what most of us could imagine.”
“She is a woman of great determination and courage, with a love of Australia deeply rooted in everything she does, qualities recognised far beyond Canberra,” Ms Smethurst said.
“Giacinta is and will be one of the most influential political figures of our time, a
a woman who is already making her mark, and it's a joy to discover the path that brought her there.”
Mary Rennie, the book's author, said Senator Price's memoirs would be of interest to a wide range of Australians, whether or not they were familiar with politics.
“Price. I know I’m not alone in wondering what influences have shaped her determination and resilience; how she straddles two seemingly different worlds; where she draws her strength; and what her vision is for the future,” she said.
“Her many political admirers will rush to buy this book, but Jacinta's story is so touching and meaningful that it will appeal to thousands of people who love a stirring tale of overcoming adversity and rising to one of the nation's leading voices.”
