Lidia Thorpe is the first Aboriginal to represent Victoria in the senate, she is a Greens senator and MP for the seat of Northcote.

She says "Activism is in my blood.", so the "Shake things up" by-line on this piece by Amanda Newman in Alphington is appropriate.

Lidia Thorpe was born into a poor family in the Collingwood housing commission flats, and was raised to advocate for herself and those around her. Her grandmother was one of the founders of the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service.

Fighting for environmental and social justice is at the heart of who she is, we need many more like her I think.