2026 QUT Meanjin Oration

Speakers

• More details about Orator - Cathy Freeman AC

  Orator - Cathy Freeman AC

  Cathy Freeman AC is a proud Kuku Yalanji and Birri Gubba woman and one of Australia’s most celebrated Olympic athletes. She rose to international prominence as a sprinter and made history as the first Australian Aboriginal woman to win gold at an international athletics event. Freeman represented Australia at four Olympic Games, with her career-defining moment coming at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, where she lit the Olympic flame and won gold in the 400 metres, carrying both the Australian and Aboriginal flags in an iconic act of national significance. A multiple-time World Champion, Commonwealth Games gold medallist, and Australian of the Year, Freeman is widely recognised not only for her sporting excellence but for breaking barriers and reshaping national conversations about Indigenous representation and pride. After retiring from elite sport, she dedicated herself to education, youth empowerment and community leadership through the Cathy Freeman Foundation (now Murrup). In 2026, she was awarded Companion of the Order of Australia (AC), cementing her legacy as both a sporting legend and a respected advocate for resilience, leadership and social change.

• More details about Moderator - Dr Amy McQuire

  Moderator - Dr Amy McQuire

  Dr Amy McQuire is a Darumbal and South Sea Islander journalist and academic whose career spans more than two decades in independent and Aboriginal media. Beginning as a cadet at the National Indigenous Times, she went on to become one of the youngest editors in the publication’s history, later serving as editor of Tracker Magazine. Her reporting has shaped national conversations on justice, representation, and the lived realities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Amy has worked as a correspondent for NITV National News, BuzzFeed News Australia and New Matilda, and her writing has appeared widely across national outlets. She is also the co‑host of Curtain the Podcast, an award‑winning investigative series examining wrongful convictions and systemic injustice, now in its eighth year. Her research continues this journalistic trajectory, focusing on race, representation, and the crisis of disappeared Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls. She holds a PhD from the University of Queensland and is currently a Senior Lecturer at the Carumba Institute. Amy is the author of the children’s book Day Break (2021) and the non‑fiction work Black Witness: The Power of Indigenous Media (2024). She is a mother of two and an avid reader.

• More details about Opening Address - Professor Wesley Enoch

  Opening Address - Professor Wesley Enoch

  Professor Wesley Enoch AM is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Indigenous Australians at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Professor Enoch is a proud Quandamooka man an internationally acclaimed playwright and director, he has held senior roles including Chair of Creative Australia and Artistic Director of Queensland Theatre Company and Sydney Festival. At QUT, he leads strategic engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, staff and partners, advancing Indigenous excellence and cultural integrity. His work continues to shape national conversations through the integration of Indigenous knowledges in creative industries, education and public life.

• More details about Master of Ceremonies - Kevin Yow Yeh

  Master of Ceremonies - Kevin Yow Yeh

  Kevin Yow Yeh is a Wakka Wakka and South Sea Islander man, born and raised on Butchulla/Badjala Country in Queensland's Southeast. Kevin completed his social work undergraduate degree at QUT and has returned as a lecturer within the Carumba Institute. At QUT, Kevin is the Unit Coordinator of QUT002 Walking on Country and CIB103 Indigenous Resistance, Revolutionaries and Rights. As a Director of the Institute for Collaborative Race Research, Kevin is interested in race, racism and the pursuit of justice and is an active member of the Magan-djin community where he enjoys collaborating with other First Nations peoples across academia, activism and the arts. Kevin is a regular on ABC Brisbane Radio show and enjoys a laugh as a TV commentator on Network Ten's Gogglebox series.

• More details about Welcome to Country - Christopher McGregor

  Welcome to Country - Christopher McGregor

  Christopher is a proud Mununjali and Yugara man who grew up in Woodridge and Caboolture and has always felt a strong sense of pride and connection to his family story, which he now strives to pass down to his son. Chris captures and shares this connection through his art—he creates murals that depict his family strength and stories. Chris works with Community around cultural education and also works in his family business, Wirrinyah Conservation Service. The goal is to revitalise the native ecosystems through cultural burning, revegetation, education and collaboration. He has a Bachelor of Business and completed a Master of Management and Indigenous Leadership and currently is a PhD candidate at QUT. Chris’ research is focused on nurturing the spirit of Indigenous men, looking at what the spiritual pillars are that ground Indigenous men in a society full of poisons and violence.