By Dominic Giannini in Canberra

The resignation of two senior Labor MPs thrusts the federal government into the spotlight of a pre-election cabinet reshuffle.

Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney and Skills Minister Brendan O’Connor will step down at the next federal poll, due by May 2025.

Both overcame personal tragedies to serve decades in parliament and gave an emotional farewell alongside the prime minister on Thursday.

Ms Burney has lived a life of firsts, including being the first Indigenous person in NSW parliament, the first Indigenous woman in the House of Representatives and the first to hold the Indigenous Affairs portfolio.

“But I won’t be the last – to me, that is progress and it’s time to hand the baton on,” she told reporters in Sydney on Thursday.

On the failed referendum for an Indigenous voice to parliament and constitutional recognition, Ms Burney said there were silver linings in millions of Australians voting ‘yes’.

She said she had given her all to reconciliation.

“I was in Redfern in 1993 when Paul Keating made his Redfern speech, on the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 2000 for the walk for reconciliation, I was in the chamber when Kevin Rudd made his apology on behalf of the Australian people in 2008,” she said.

“I’ve seen a lot, and let me tell you that progress doesn’t always move in a straight line.

“But with every passing generation, the arc bends a little bit more towards justice – I’ve done my bit and the time for the new generation is now.”

Ms Burney has had a tumultuous time in politics following the death of her 33-year-old son Binni Kirkbright-Burney in 2017

“I have been through more than my fair share of life’s ups and downs but I think I’ve done it with kindness, grace, resilience, intelligence and integrity,” she said.

Mr O’Connor also had to overcome tragedy after his wife Jodi Dack died in 2018.

He plans to spend more time at home with his daughter Una, he said as he thanked colleagues and reflected on his decades as a parliamentarian.

“If she wasn’t so resilient and remarkable, I would have left the place long ago,” he said.

Opposition Indigenous affairs spokeswoman Jacinta Nampijinpa Price said despite being on different sides of politics and the referendum, Ms Burney “has been driven by a burning desire to improve the lives of indigenous Australians”.

Mr O’Connor’s opposition counterpart Sussan Ley also wished him well in retirement and called him “a good man”.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese lauded the achievement of both his cabinet colleagues, saying they had spoken with him and agreed to step back and provide “an opportunity to refresh the frontbench”.

A revised ministry will be announced in Canberra on Sunday and sworn in on Monday after Labor factions put forward their picks.