Can a DNA Test Reveal if You’re an Indigenous Australian?

Palmer United Party Senator Jacqui Lambie recently created controversy by claiming in her first speech to Parliament that going back six generations, she was related to the renowned Tasmanian Aboriginal leader Mannalargenna.

Responding to accusations that she had never previously identified herself publicly as an indigenous person, Senator Lambie said, "I know what's in my blood", and offered to take a DNA test to prove her indigenous ancestry "once and for all".

No one can tell Senator Lambie or her family how to feel about their heritage, nor the degree of affinity and pride they are entitled to draw from their family history. And Senator Lambie's stated concern to use her political position to advocate on behalf of indigenous people is welcome. However, it is more problematic whether Senator Lambie can do this on the basis that she is an "indigenous person".

Defining questions

The question of whether indigenous, racial or ethnic identity could be determined by genetic testing was considered in a landmark inquiry by the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) in 2003, which I...