Northern Territory senator and Coalition No campaign leader Jacinta Nampijinpa Price is set to write a memoir due to be published in February 2025.
Co-authored with Sue Smethurst, Matters of the Heart details the conservative country Liberal senator's rise to politics, how she overcame adversity, and her upbringing in Australia's upscale suburbs of Darwin and Alice Springs.
The book, to be published by HarperCollins Publishers Australia, will also chronicle her family's first contact with European settlers and their experiences of “culture clash” and domestic violence that followed.
Senator Price, the Coalition government's spokesperson for Indigenous affairs, often describes herself as a proud Warpiri-Celtic woman, saying her father is of English descent and her mother is Beth Nungurai Price, a Warpiri woman.
The politician, who emerged as one of the most influential figures in the government's campaign for an Indigenous representative referendum, said he hoped the book would help people understand his political stance.
“Many people got to know me through my work on the 'No' campaign during the Voice of America referendum, but media appearances and clickbait headlines are not the best way to get to know someone,” she said.
“I hope that by telling my history and the stories of those who came before me, people will gain a fuller understanding of who I really am, why I fight for what I do, and what is truly important to my heart.”
Senator Price served as deputy mayor of Alice Springs before running for the Senate as the Country Liberal Party's preferred candidate in 2022.
She has criticised “virtue-playing” when it comes to Indigenous issues and has campaigned on issues including housing, women's safety and increasing economic access for Indigenous people.
In particular, Senator Price told a national press conference ahead of the 2023 referendum that she did not believe colonisation had a negative impact on Indigenous Australians, a remark that has been criticised by Indigenous rights advocacy groups and community groups.
The book's co-author, Sue Smethurst, described the senator's life as “shaped by hardships, tragedies and challenges beyond most of what we can imagine.”
“She is a woman of great determination and courage, and her love of Australia permeates everything she does – qualities that are known far and wide in Canberra,” Ms Smethurst said.
“Jacinta is one of the most influential politicians of our time, present and future.
“She is a woman who has already left her mark, and it is a joy to discover the path that led her there.”
Mary Rennie said Senator Price's memoirs would appeal to a wide range of Australians, whether they were politically savvy or not.
“Price. I know I'm not alone in wondering what influences shaped her resolve and resilience, how she navigates two seemingly different worlds, where she draws her strength, and what her vision for the future is,” she said.
“Her many political followers will rush to get their hands on the book, but Jacinta’s story is so moving and important that it will appeal to the thousands of people who love a moving story of overcoming adversity and emerging as one of the country’s most important voices.”
