Treaty journey takes historic step forward

Oct 20, 2022

**A different way:** The First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria says a gathering of officials by the Yarra River on Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Country to sign a landmark Treaty agreement signals a new way forward for First Nations people in the state.

The First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria and the state government have signed an agreement that will allow Treaties to be negotiated with Traditional Owners from next year.

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The agreement provides the framework and ground-rules for Treaty-making in Victoria and was signed on Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Country by the Yarra River in Fairfield just after noon on Thursday, October 20.

Key points

Agreement provides the guiding principles and ground-rules for Treaty-making.
Framework is inclusive, upholds First Peoples’ lore, law and cultural authority and ensures Traditional Owners can choose their own pathways to Treaty.
Government to take a back seat as Traditional Owners decide how to organise themselves.
The final tasks on the Assembly’s first term ‘to-do list’ are setting up the agreed institutions, such as the Treaty Authority and Self-Determination Fund.
Next step will be holding Assembly elections next year so First Nations communities can choose who will represent them at negotiations for the statewide Treaty.

Bangerang and Wiradjuri Elder and assembly co-chair Aunty Geraldine Atkinson said Treaty-making was a chance to make Victoria a better and fairer place for everyone by ensuring respect was at the heart of the relationship between First Peoples and newer Australians.

“We all want to get on with creating a better future together as equals, but to do that, we need Treaty to help us rebalance the relationship,” she said.

“We need to eliminate the unfair burden that Aboriginal people have been carrying since invasion. Now, with this agreement, we have a clear pathway forward. I couldn’t be happier.”

Fellow co-chair and proud Nira illim bulluk man of the Taungurung Nation Marcus Stewart said the key to improving lives and strengthening culture was ensuring First Peoples had the freedom and power to make the decisions that affect First Peoples’ communities, culture and land.

“Today marks the beginning of a new and fairer chapter for this state’s history,” he said.

“Colonisation saw our freedom, dignity and agency stripped from us. We were driven from our lands, had our families ripped apart and every aspect of our lives, where we could live, who we could marry, was controlled by the state.

“This agreement puts the power back into Aboriginal hands so that we can decide how we want to do things and how to get Treaty done.”

The Treaty Negotiation Framework sets out the principles that will guide Treaty-making in Victoria and provides Traditional Owner groups with the ability to choose their own pathways and timelines for negotiating Treaties that reflect their particular priorities and aspirations.

It explains the criteria and standards that groups need to meet if they want to enter Treaty negotiations and how they can be supported, with resourcing from the Self-Determination Fund and guidance from the Treaty Authority, to enter negotiations on a more equal footing with the government.

By McPherson Media Group