Report by Dechlan Brennan in NIT on 15 August.
Victoria is edging closer to finalising Australia’s first statewide Treaty, a landmark agreement which would formally recognise and embed shared decision-making with First Peoples.
After years of consultation, community engagement and negotiations, the wording of the draft agreement is now close to completion, marking one of the final steps in a process that has been underway for nearly a decade.
The First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria — the democratically elected body leading the state’s Treaty process — and the Victorian Government provided an update on Friday, confirming the Treaty Bill will be introduced to Parliament once talks are complete.
It is understood there is a chance the draft bill will be presented to Parliament within the next month; however, the timeline has not been locked in and will depend on approval from both the Assembly and Cabinet. The next Victorian Parliament sitting begins on August 26.
The latest stage of negotiations has included plans to establish a First Peoples Institute to build leadership capacity, improve public sector understanding of Treaty, enable the sharing and trading of existing water entitlements between First Peoples, and consider traditional place names for certain geographic features.
“Treaty is a pathway to acknowledging the past and making real, practical change to achieve better outcomes for First Peoples in Victoria and close the gap,” a joint statement said.
In June, Assembly Co-Chair Ngarra Murray said Treaty is about “making sure Aboriginal communities right across this State always have the ability to come up with and deliver practical solutions at their local level”.
“That’s why we’ve been holding negotiations across Victoria, so we can bring Communities into these big conversations and make sure they are grounded in local knowledge,” the Dja Dja Wurrung, Wamba Wamba, Yorta Yorta and Dhudhuroa woman said.
The joint statement also pointed to the recent Productivity Commission report, which found governments had underestimated the work needed to close the gap, urged shared decision-making with First Peoples, and praised Victoria’s Treaty process.
“These developments in negotiations are the latest on a long and steady path that Victoria has been walking for nearly a decade towards achieving Australia’s first Treaty,” the statement read.
In May, Minister for Treaty and First Peoples Natalie Hutchins said, “If you listen to the people directly affected by policies, you get better outcomes — that’s commonsense — and Traditional Owner groups are experts in their communities, languages, cultures and caring for Country.”
“Treaty is about making a better and fairer state for every Victorian.”
Earlier this year, the Victorian Government confirmed plans to establish the First Peoples’ Assembly as a statutory corporation and permanent body “to provide advice to Government and make decisions over matters that affect First Peoples”.
Former Treaty Commissioner Aunty Jill Gallagher welcomed the move, telling the Herald Sun at the time: “The most important thing is we have an independent voice, which can start making and monitoring government policies and hold them to account.”
The Opposition — which withdrew its support for Treaty last year — has criticised the move, calling it the “culmination of a treaty process negotiated behind closed doors and without transparency”.
“Victorians expect governments to deliver real, measurable progress — but under Labor, the gap is widening, and the government is distracted with their Treaty and a Victorian Voice,” Opposition Leader Brad Battin said in July.
Opposition spokesperson for Aboriginal Affairs Melina Bath said: “We do not support a treaty, and we do not support a Victorian version of a Voice to Parliament.”