Running for the Senate at just 20 years old is exactly where Laylah Al-Saimary once pictured herself.
"I was really quiet as a child, and I didn't speak my mind," she said.
"As I grew older, and I grew the confidence and a bit of rage as well, I kind of just started speaking out."
The Barkandji woman from the regional NSW town of Mungo left for the big city lights of Melbourne in March to study nursing.
It's here that she is campaigning to make change for her community, and for younger generations.
"I've always loved politics … I've always just wanted to voice my opinion," she said.
Laylah is a member of the Indigenous-Aboriginal Party of Australia (IAPA). Registered in 2021, it's the only all-Indigenous political party in Australia.
If elected, Laylah wants to address drug and alcohol addiction in young people, climate change, affordable housing, education and to implement more mentorship programs to connect young people with positive role models.
This federal election will be the first time Gen Zs and Millennials will outnumber Baby Boomers at the polls, making it important to have young people represented in government, said Laylah.
"Us young people, really we hold the future in our hands; we're going to shape the next generation," she said.
Young people are more tapped into politics than ever before, and highly attuned to global affairs thanks to their mobile phones, according to Laylah.
"I think this generation has a really good idea … [and] can really see what's going on, like the climate change and all of that," she said.
Laylah said Indigenous representation at all levels of government was key to "encouraging Indigenous mob to love themselves and respect themselves".
In the shadow of the Voice referendum defeat, the two major parties have ruled out constitutional recognition for Indigenous Australians in the next term of parliament.
Labor is promising jobs and economic empowerment for Indigenous Australians while the Coalition said it would conduct an audit of "all government programs and expenditure" in Indigenous affairs.
The birth of Australia’s only all-Indigenous political party
Growing up in the western NSW town of Wilcannia, Owen Whyman says the Darling/Baaka River was a huge part of his childhood, a place that holds fond memories.
"You were able to lean into the river and drink straight from the river, that's how good the water was … You wouldn't dare do that now," the Barkandji and Malyangapa man said.
"I've got many stories of going to the river with my grandmother. The biggest problem now is, are my kids going to have them stories?"
That same river has made headlines in recent years for a series of fish kills.
Watching the slow degradation of the waterway, Owen felt like he had to do something.
It's what fuelled his passion to start the Indigenous-Aboriginal Party of Australia.
"Our beloved Baaka river system, that's the reason why this party got created," he said.
"For us to be able to keep our stories alive and to tell them we need that water flowing to keep our dream alive, that culture alive. The river is our mother, we have to protect that.
"It's about protection of all rivers, creeks, billabongs, gorgeous natural springs right across Australia."
What is the IAPA?
Today, the Indigenous-Aboriginal party says it has around 3,500 members from all corners of Australia, growing from 2,050 members when it was first registered with the AEC four years ago.
"This is our second time round in the elections, so you know, I'm very proud of the party and where it is now," said Owen.
Along with protecting the waterways, priority areas for the IAPA include reducing the rates of Indigenous incarceration and of First Nations children in out-of-home care, and better housing and education.
These are issues Owen is passionate about. He experienced many of them firsthand growing up.
"I've been living in that situation as a young man growing up, struggling with housing and poor living conditions … Jobs were hard to come by and education was another thing," he said.
"I chose to turn my life around to help others and to try and get a voice out there for our people to deal with these issues," he said.
This federal election there are 40 Senate seats to be filled. The IAPA has six candidates vying for those seats across NSW, VIC and QLD, as well as lower house candidates running in Durack, WA, Lingiari, NT, and Parkes, NSW.
Their preferences vary across the states and territories — mostly flowing to a host of left-wing minor parties and the Greens. For many, the major parties don't rate a mention.
In the Northern Territory, Labor's Marion Scrymgour is ranked second on their how-to-vote cards.
In Western Australia, the Liberal Party is placed second to last, followed only by Trumpet of Patriots.
After the referendum result shuttered the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, Owen believes a party like theirs is an opportunity for representation at the decision-making table.
"It's about getting the word out there that there is a party, and how we want to be a voice in parliament, not a voice to parliament," he said.
"I think it's overdue … Let us get in there and try and fix things for our people."
Facing issues head on
Running on the IAPA ticket in Queensland is Kooma man and longtime Indigenous rights activist Wayne 'Coco' Wharton, who joined the party earlier this year.
Wayne's driving inspiration for getting into politics was to improve the quality of life for First Nations people, particularly those living in the Torres Strait.
"The climate change and housing and employment is a real big factor in the Straits. And particularly health," he said.
"These people are dying because they don't have simple access to dialysis machines, and in 2025 that's ridiculous."
Wayne believes independent and minor parties are the way forward.
"The two-party preferred is a system that creates monopoly and creates a situation of distraction and deferment," he said.
"So we really have to make the playing field level and accountable, by having more independents and smaller parties represented."
If elected to the Senate, Wayne promises one thing.
"My priorities are to listen to the people on the ground and try and do as best I can for them," he said.
"If you know you can actually do something and make a difference, you should do it."
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