Celebrating First Nations leadership during NAIDOC Week 2026

As NAIDOC Week 2026 marks “50 Years of Deadly”, ANZSOG is celebrating First Nations leadership, knowledge and practice across its faculty, programs and learning communities. 

NAIDOC Week is a time to celebrate the histories, cultures and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and to recognise the leadership, knowledge and contribution of First Nations people across public life. 

NAIDOC Week 2026 marks five decades of NAIDOC Week and honours the generations of organisers, artists, activists, Elders, leaders and communities who have kept NAIDOC grounded in culture and community. It recognises the strength, survival, resistance, culture and pride that have shaped the movement, and looks ahead to a future led by community leadership, cultural authority and long-term vision. 

ANZSOG is proud of the role it has played in supporting First Nations voices, knowledge and practices through its programs, partnerships and learning communities. As a learning institution working with public sector leaders, ANZSOG has an important role to play in helping public institutions listen better, learn differently and act with greater respect, accountability and partnership. 

This NAIDOC Week, ANZSOG is highlighting First Nations faculty whose work is shaping public purpose beyond the classroom - in community, government, policy, justice reform, data sovereignty, leadership and organisational change. 

Faculty leadership beyond ANZSOG 

These faculty stories reflect the depth of expertise, cultural authority and practical experience that strengthens ANZSOG’s teaching and supports better public outcomes for communities across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. 

Craig Leon, Managing Director of Conscious Solutions 

Craig brings deep experience in First Nations employment, cultural competence and organisational change. A proud Worimi man, Craig’s work focuses on helping organisations identify and address unconscious bias, build culturally safe workplaces, and create the conditions for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees to thrive. 

This year, Craig will participate in local community NAIDOC events in Mareeba. For him, NAIDOC Week is also a time to remember the mob who have shaped community life in Mareeba over the last 50 years. “Getting together with Elders, family and friends to celebrate culture during NAIDOC Week means lots of laughter, plenty of food and perhaps even shedding some tears as we remember those lost recently,” Craig says. 

Catherine Liddle, CEO of SNAICC - National Voice for our Children  

Catherine is a leading advocate for the rights, safety and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families. An Arrernte and Luritja woman from Central Australia, Catherine has held senior leadership roles across Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations and is deeply involved in national work to drive policy reform. 

This NAIDOC Week, Catherine hopes to be at home on Arrernte land in Mparntwe/Alice Springs and is looking forward to taking part in the NAIDOC march. She reflects on marching as a child as “the one day of the school year that we were allowed not to go to school because the march was considered more important”, and says she will be acknowledging her grandparents, who “laid the path” that she travels. 

Leanne Liddle, Executive Director Cultural Reform with NT Police Force 

Leanne is leading important work to support cultural change, strengthen accountability and help build a police service that is fair, respectful and culturally aware. A Central Arrernte woman and former Director of the Northern Territory Aboriginal Justice Unit, Leanne has dedicated her career to improving justice outcomes for Aboriginal people and communities. 

She has been shortlisted for the 2026 NAIDOC Northern Territory Person of the Year, was named the Northern Territory’s Australian of the Year in 2022 and awarded the 2024 ANZSOG First Nations Scholarship to undertake the Executive Master of Public Administration. 

This NAIDOC Week, Leanne is reflecting on “50 Years of Deadly” as a milestone that honours the Elders, leaders, organisers, artists and community members who have carried the NAIDOC movement forward. “I honour those who have stood strong, created opportunities for others and ensured our voices continued to be heard. 

“NAIDOC has always been more than a week of celebrations, it has been a platform for advocacy, a celebration of culture and a powerful statement of survival and self-determination.” 

She said that the progress achieved over the past 50 years did not happen by accident -  it was driven by generations of people who refused to be silenced and worked tirelessly for recognition and justice. 

“Today, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples continue to lead and create change across every sector, including health, education, business, media, government, sport and the arts. We are sharing our stories on our own terms, grounded in culture and strengthened by identity,” she said. 

While this milestone celebrates the past, Leanne says that it is equally focused on the future and the next generation -  about young people growing up proud of who they are, connected to culture, language and Country. 

Leanne will be leading Northern Territory Police Force employees in the NAIDOC March, with the organisation also presenting ATSI Service Medals, recognising Aboriginal employees through NAIDOC Awards, and hosting celebration events in Darwin and Alice Springs. 

Leanne recognises her mother this NAIDOC Week, whose strength, values and belief in education shaped her life and work. “My mother understood the need to be resilient and to have fire in the belly, but to pick your battles,” Leanne says. 

“She used to say you get more bees with honey than vinegar, and as I’ve matured, I’ve come to recognise that this true, but its also about finding balance. Yes, you need to stand on, and by your principles and values but you also need to understand that sometimes you need to let the little things go, but you can still fight the good fight.” 

Throughout my entire life, thanks to my parents, I know that I am able and have stood up and held my ground, especially for those less fortunate than me. 

As a child, I learnt about racism from a very early age. But I also learnt how to fight it. Determined and fuelled by the courage and strength of my mother, I am determined not to allow another generation to be victims of racism.