On election night I received a message on Facebook from a young Gamilaroi woman I used to teach. Now a 20-year-old university student who is interested in politics, her message simply said: “Miss Jessa, I am so gutted. I feel like Labor was the only hope for a better future for our mob. I feel so powerless.”

I was devastated to read her message. I tried to lift her spirits as I have always tried to do with my students, but I deeply felt her pain. Like me, this young woman had hope in Labor because she heard Bill Shorten commit to a range of policies that showed his team had our best interests at heart. Things like supporting a constitutionally enshrined Voice for First Australians, investing more in the education of our young women and girls, and tackling the appalling incarceration rates which still see more of our young men going to jail each year than to university.

We also saw in the Labor team some great leaders who have dedicated decades of their lives to creating a better world for Indigenous Australians – people such as Linda Burney and Pat Dodson. To think these most qualified people would not be in a position to shape Indigenous policy over the next few years was depressing for me. Although I tried to be positive with my former student about the result, it was almost impossible not to sound deflated.

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The morning after the election I started to see posts online from people such as Megan Davis, who referred to a conversation with Aunty Pat Anderson who said “we will fight on”. I thought of my Elders and the resilience they have shown us. And then my Maori mother-in-law messaged me saying: “Your people have been through more than most over many thousands of years, and your ancestors never gave up.” And I knew she was exactly right. I sent a message later to my former student saying that after sleeping on it I needed her to know that all was not lost. Our ancestors did not suffer through so much for us to give up this easily. We cannot feel defeated when there is too much left we must do.

The next three years cannot be wasted – we can, and should, keep pushing Scott Morrison and his ministers to do better. While our PM did not show he was listening to Indigenous people during the election campaign, I see some in his party who do advocate for us. Ken Wyatt is a strong (albeit the only) Indigenous voice in the Liberal government. He will need our support to effect any meaningful change.

I emphasised to my former student that we now must do what we can to ensure the new government listens to our voices, because whoever has the honour of governing also has a responsibility to serve First Australians. As an educator I passionately support and believe in our young people. We cannot let their hopes for a better future be lost. We must fight on.

• Dr Jessa Rogers is a Wiradjuri academic, consultant and board director currently based in Adelaide