Portfolio — 22 May 2026

Minister for Education Jason Clare issued a statement marking the death of Professor Peter Buckskin, a Narungga man and long-standing advocate for First Nations education. The release centred on Buckskin's institutional contributions rather than a broad policy announcement, but it signals the portfolio's continued public alignment with Indigenous education leadership and the bodies that carry it [TA-260522-educat-2a023e8e67e0].

Clare's statement specifically recalled Buckskin's leadership of the More Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Teachers Initiative (MATSITI) from 2011 to 2016, a program that funded workforce projects, commissioned research, and ran a national campaign to grow the First Nations teaching workforce [TA-260522-educat-2a023e8e67e0]. The minister also named Buckskin's role as inaugural chair of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Corporation (NATSIEC) and credited his work on the Partnership Agreement between Education Ministers and NATSIEC — a mechanism designed to keep First Nations learners at the centre of education decision-making [TA-260522-educat-2a023e8e67e0].

The release is the sole record in today's window and carries no parliamentary activity to cross-reference. Its policy signal lies in what Clare chose to emphasise: the institutional architecture Buckskin helped build — MATSITI, NATSIEC, and the Partnership Agreement — rather than biographical tribute alone. That framing reinforces the portfolio's stated commitment to culturally responsive education and structural collaboration with Indigenous bodies, positions Clare has maintained as a consistent theme in the education brief.