“I started posting the racist material I receive because racism should be called out. You can’t let people get away with that kind of hate. It’s usually sent anonymously or privately, which is pretty cowardly," the Northern Territory senator told BuzzFeed News.

Peris, Australia’s first Aboriginal woman to sit in federal parliament, posted several disturbing letters she had received over the past week from a member of the public.

"I can’t sit by and let it go unnoticed. If someone sends me a racist threat, I’m not going to allow them the satisfaction of seeing me accept it, I’m going to make sure everyone knows how much of a bigoted coward they are," she says.

"As a senator, I feel it’s my duty to expose this behaviour on behalf of other Australians who are subject to racism".