The late Neville Bonner. Credit:Colin Townsend "I don't believe in abortion, I don't believe in euthanasia, I don't believe in same-sex marriages." When it came to same-sex marriage, Senator Lindgren said she did not believe the issue should go to a conscience vote within the Coalition's ranks. "You only have a conscience vote when your party doesn't have a policy and the LNP have a policy [that marriage is between a man and a woman]," she said. "That's why I joined the LNP, because they have values similar to my own values."

A recent analysis by Australians for Marriage Equality found a vote to allow same-sex marriage could pass the Senate by just one vote. But while the vote was close, AME national director Rodney Croome said he did not expect Senator Lindgren's appointment to the Senate to change the dynamic in Canberra. "We had Brett Mason as a 'no' vote, so it shouldn't make a difference," he said. An "average girl from Inala" Senator Lindgren, who had already been bestowed that title despite not yet setting foot in the upper house, is married to a police officer, Peter, and has two stepsons.

When you come from Irish/Viking/Aboriginal heritage, I dare say there would be a warrior spirit there somewhere. The 45-year-old teacher has worked for the education department for about 25 years and, although she calls Jimboomba home, describes herself as an "average girl from Inala". It was in Inala she ran for the LNP against Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, who was transport minister at the time, at the 2012 state election. That remains the only time Senator Lindgren has faced the voters at an election. They both grew up in the area about the same time – "I used to see Annastacia on the school buses and I knew of her," Senator Lindgren said – but because they went to different schools with separate social groups they were not friends.

As fate would have it Ms Palaszczuk had the duty of nominating her former opponent to take up the Queensland Senate seat. Members from both sides of the House heaped platitudes on the as-then presumed Senator, including the first Aboriginal woman elected to the Queensland Parliament, Public Housing Minister Leanne Enoch. "I certainly hope that in the years to come many more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will follow this same path and that at some point down the track the election — or, in this case, the appointment — of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians to political positions will be seen as quite normal and even expected," the Labor MP said. Senator Lindgren held a similar hope about future indigenous parliamentarians. "I'll be honest with you, it shouldn't be newsworthy," she said.

"It just happens that it is newsworthy, particularly for me because I do have a family history with the Liberal Party and it's not too often you get two members of the same family in the Senate." Neville Bonner's family legacy The shadow of the late Mr Bonner has loomed large over Senator Lindgren since she was a child and even more so in the past week. While a proud Liberal Party member, Mr Bonner was also proudly independent. In a 1992 interview for the Australian Biography project, Mr Bonner described himself as "a bit of a rebel" unafraid to stand up to the party machine.

"I voted against my own party, in and out of government, on 23 occasions," he said. "I didn't toe the party line. I was a member of the party – fiercely, proudly, a member of the party – but I was not blindly a member of the party. "I had a conscience, and political parties don't need people with a conscience. They want bottoms on seats, and hands in the air at the right time." Senator Lindgren said while she saw no imminent conflict with her Coalition colleagues, she acknowledged the time could come. "I think you can safely assume that, like my uncle, I'm spirited," she said.

"When you come from Irish/Viking/Aboriginal heritage, I dare say there would be a warrior spirit there somewhere. "I can't say for sure. It hasn't happened and it's probably most unlikely that it will happen, but I won't say it won't ever happen. "If I am like Uncle Neville I'll make sure it's a battle I can win." Mr Bonner remains a revered figure in Queensland. A major state government building in Brisbane, which is set to be knocked down to make way for a casino, bears his name, as does the eastern suburbs federal electorate of Bonner, held by the LNP's Ross Vasta.

"Not many people can say they're linked to someone who has an electorate named after them or a building, so there's a sense of pride," Senator Lindgren said. So could there be a Joanna Lindgren building sometime in the future? "No, absolutely not," she laughed. "I might be lucky to get a street sign." The new senator's vision for Australia

Senator Lindgren said she wanted to see a "bigger, greater" Australia. "When I talk about bigger, I mean more opportunity. Jobs, the economy and education – those three things are very important to Australians," she said. "When you have opportunity, you dream. You're innovative and that's what I want to see happen. "I want to make sure that when kids leave Grade 12 they have something to go to." Senator Lindgren also had her mind on constitutional matters.

"One of the biggest things, as an indigenous person particularly, is constitutional recognition," she said. "Working with the Coalition and other senators to make sure that not one Australian is disadvantaged by the wording is very important. "But it's also very important to, in the constitution, acknowledge 80,000 years worth of history. "It has to be value-adding to the constitution."