The two speeches could not have been more different – one calling for unity, the other for division.

Who is Malarndirri McCarthy? Yanyuwa woman from Borroloola in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Northern Territory

Yanyuwa woman from Borroloola in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Northern Territory Preceded by Nova Peris, McCarthy successfully ran as the Labor candidate for the Senate in the 2016 election

Preceded by Nova Peris, McCarthy successfully ran as the Labor candidate for the Senate in the 2016 election A career journalist and Labor politician, she held the seat of Arnhem in the NT Legislative Assembly from 2005-2012

New Labor senator Malarndirri McCarthy yesterday took to the lectern for her maiden speech in the Senate, where just minutes prior incoming Senator Pauline Hanson had done the same.

Ms McCarthy began her speech in Yanyuwa, her mother's language spoken in the gulf country around Borroloola - some 1,000 kilometres south-east of Darwin.

In contrast to Ms Hanson, who said Australia had become "swamped by Muslims", Ms McCarthy made her welcoming stance on immigration and refugees clear.

"Whether they live on the vast cattle stations, or whether they have travelled from countries like Asia, Africa, or the Middle East to forge a new life for their families, away from strife-torn lives that offered no future, I stand here for you too."

Ms McCarthy used the majority of her speech to reflect on constitutional recognition of Aboriginal people and the history of land rights.

She drew comparisons between the two movements, and encouraged those fighting for constitutional recognition not to succumb to "battle fatigue".

"I urge parliamentarians in both houses to understand this: the Yanyuwa are a people whose struggle for recognition took nearly 40 years.

"So many elders died well before such recognition and, most importantly, before any respect took place.

"Such long, drawn out legal battles have wearied many families of first nation peoples, constantly trying to defend their sense of self and identity and country," she said.

"Maybe that was the intention - to battle fatigue. But we're still here, and we're not going to go away."

Senator Malarndirri McCarthy is a Yanyuwa woman from Borroloola. ( ABC News: Matt Roberts )

Tearful plea to reconsider plebiscite

Ms McCarthy became tearful recounting the suicide of a 23-year-old female relative, who she said had struggled with her sexuality.

"Her outward spirit was full of fun and laughter, but inside she was suffocating from the inability to find balance in her cultural world view, and that of the expectations of the broader Australian society around her," Ms McCarthy said.

She then called on the Prime Minister to withdraw his plans for a plebiscite on legalising gay marriage.

"Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, please re-consider your plebiscite bill, please pull back from this brink of public vitriol and make marriage equality a reality in this Parliament," she said.

Beyond this, Ms McCarthy also touched on key issues plaguing the Northern Territory, including homelessness, a lack of public housing and domestic violence.

"I think of the women in my life struggling just to survive. I call them my mothers, my sisters, my friends, who endure tremendous acts of violence against them," Ms McCarthy said.

"With broken limbs, busted faces, amputations and sexual assaults - I stand here with you."