Rocking a plume of ruby red feathers on a chilly late-Autumn day, Starlady Nungari struts down the cracked pavements of inner-city Sydney in knee-high leather red boots, a blur of traffic behind her. Her ensemble so outrageously over the top that it is spectacular: rouge tights, a skin-tight minidress and a furry red bolero, topped off with a very creative wrapping of gold ribbons as a hairpiece.



Starlady takes a seat in a Surry Hills cafe, hipster central. A group of middle-aged women keep glancing over, taking in Starlady's outfit as they sip their cappuccinos.

Oblivious to the attention, Starlady is nervous about her imminent TedX Talk at the Sydney Opera House, explaining that she's worried about forgetting her speech. With a giggle, she says she's covered the cue cards in glitter, because even the smallest and most functional things can be fabulous.

One of Australia's foremost champions of transgender issues, hairdresser turned youth worker Starlady is in Sydney to speak about her youth work in the central desert.

Australia's remote centre seems an unlikely place for acceptance, but it's there amidst the lush red soil that Starlady came to peace with her gender identity and found acceptance among the remote Aboriginal communities.

"In 1996 I found myself before the Victorian Victims Compensation Tribunal seeking justice after being violently assaulted by homophobic bigots. The presiding magistrate looked me up and down, and with his head held high he proclaimed his judgement, “If Joe Blow saw you walking down the street, dressed like that, he’d say that you deserved it.” He gave me a pittance of the compensation I should have received and I walked out of our justice system absolutely devastated!" - Starlady Nungari.

Running a "renegade salon" giving young people radical hairstyles, Starlady inadvertently became a colourful beacon of hope for Aboriginal people struggling with their sexuality and identity. This was especially true for the people known as Sistergirls - transgender Aboriginal people.

"It's incredibly vital that we have more support for Sistergirls. Just in the last year we've had Sistergirls commit suicide, so the risk is really real. There is a lot of unreported self harm and suicides. There's already a lot of suicides in the Northern Territory and I know some of those young people and they weren't heterosexual, but is anyone acknowledging that that is part of the story?"

Starlady's very presence in the community opened a dialogue around transgender issues. It's a discussion rarely had in Aboriginal communities.

"There is an enormous amount of homophobia and transphobia within the Northern Territory Government. In our state's sexual health package gender diversity or the terms Sistergirl or Brotherboy (Aboriginal transgender person born female but identifying as male) aren't even mentioned, even though we have contacted these organisations saying we are willing to consult for free."

The Northern Territory Government says that it is committed to ensuring support of the Aboriginal LGBTQI community.

The Northern Territory Minister for Health John Elfernik told BuzzFeed News, "there is recognition of particular needs of the LGBTQI community in Department of Health’s programs. Within Northern Territory Government’s Suicide Prevention Strategic Action Plan the need to strengthen support for LGBTQI Community is explicit and programs to support LGBTQI youth and community are supported."

“We are keen to identify how this might best be achieved, and encourage the LGBTQI community and representative bodies to make contact with the Department of Health with proposals of service models and provision for consideration" - Northern Territory Minister for Health, John Elfernik.



