Duane is a Wulgurukaba and Bidjara man, raised between Tennant Creek and Magnetic Island. His work has always been rooted in Country, the Great Barrier Reef and the communities that care for it. Grounded in a singular conviction: Country and People are one, and Traditional Owners must hold the power and capacity to safeguard their biocultural land and seascapes, their heritage, and their cultural expression.
That work has taken him across senior statutory and community boards spanning regional development, marine and environmental science, environmental regulation, and tourism. He spent five years on the Board of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and chaired the Indigenous Advisory Committee under the EPBC Act, advising four successive Commonwealth Environment Ministers. He has been part of Reef governance from the conception of the Reef 2050 Plan and the TO Implementation Plan through to the establishment of ReefTO, the Taskforce now building a Sea Country Alliance of 73 Nations for the Great Barrier Reef.
He currently serves as CEO of the Council of First Nations. He also holds appointments as Co-Chair of the ReefTO Taskforce, Deputy Chair of the Marine and Coastal Hub NESP, and non-executive Director of the Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia. He has represented Indigenous interests across Australia and internationally, presenting at numerous fora in Canada, Germany, the United States, Palau, the Philippines, Indonesia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Italy.
Duane has a strong belief that when mob stand shoulder to shoulder, organise, and prosecute our priorities collectively, we speak from a position of power, not permission. Unity is not a slogan. It is the foundation for the next chapter.
In 1965, as a student at the University of Sydney, Charles Perkins organised a student bus tour around New South Wales. This was called the Freedom Ride, and it highlighted the state of race relations in Australia. It is recognised as one of Australia's most significant civil rights events.
Named in honour of Dr Charles Nelson Perkins AO, who was the first Aboriginal man to graduate from the University of Sydney in 1966, the Dr Charles Perkins AO Memorial Oration and Prize was established in 2001 to recognise and celebrate the outstanding contributions made by Charles and other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to our community, country and society.
25 years on, the theme of race relations is still current. This event helps to build an understanding of race relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians and empower individuals and the wider community to contribute to this important conversation.
Celebrating the University’s deep history and connection to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, the Oration includes a recognition of academically gifted students through the Charles Perkins Memorial Prize.
Awarded to the Indigenous students at the University based on the highest academic results in their field, each winner is awarded $4000.
The 2026 recipients of the Charles Perkins Memorial Prize are:
Header image: Charles Perkins on bus home after visit to Tranby, Glebe, by Robert McFarlane