The Victorian government has reached a ‘historic’ treaty agreement with Aboriginal groups that will see school children taught about the ‘enduring harm’ of colonisation, a formal apology and more geographical locations given Indigenous names.
Premier Jacinta Allan announced an agreement between her government and the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria on Tuesday, which will be introduced to Parliament on Tuesday.
The move – the nation’s first treaty between a state government and Aboriginal peoples – will also result in a new Indigenous body, named Gellung Warl – meaning ‘tip of the spear’ – that critics have compared to a Voice to Parliament.
Members of the Gellung Warl will be elected and sit in a dedicated room in Victoria’s parliament. It will have the power to scrutinise government programs and make representations to both houses of parliament, state cabinet, departmental secretaries and individual MPs.
‘Treaty is built on a simple principle: First Peoples decide First Peoples’ issues. This doesn’t take anything away from anyone else,’ the treaty states.
‘The State has made the commitment to Treaty because when First Peoples thrive, all of Victoria is stronger, fairer, and more whole.
‘Treaty is not a gift given, but a commitment made to practical change, to shared progress, and to a future in which dignity and opportunity belong to all.’
As a result of the agreement, from prep to Year Ten, schools will teach the ‘enduring harm’ of colonisation, injustice, and dispossession, as told by Indigenous Australians since it began in 1788.
The nation’s first treaty between a state government and First Nations people will arrive in Victorian Parliament on Tuesday (above, a NAIDOC march in Melbourne, 2023)
Traditional indigenous names are expected to be used more often for geographical locations as a result o the agreement.
Future agreements will now be negotiated by the Gellung Warl authority, the state’s 38 traditional owner groups, and the Victorian government.
Allan said the negotiations were finalised on Tuesday and the bill was now waiting to pass through Victorian Parliament.
‘Policies and programs work best when the people affected by them have a say in how they are delivered – that’s why this Bill proposes to put decision-making power about initiatives and services that impact First Peoples into the hands of First Peoples’ Assembly,’ she said.
Last week, it was revealed the successive Labor governments of Dan Andrews and Jacinta Allan have spent at least $380million on negotiating a treaty with Indigenous Victorians since 2016.
With the next five years of proposed funding and $36.8million allocated for capital costs between 2026 and 2029, total spending on the treaty and Gellung Warl will have hit $660million by 2030.
The state Coalition previously vowed to vote against the treaty. Opposition Leader Brad Battin said the legislation echoed the shot-down Voice referendum.
The legislation to enact the treaty will sail through the state’s lower house, where the Labor government holds a commanding majority.
The treaty outlines a formal apology, a reframing of the school curriculum and wider use of traditional names for environmental landmarks (pictured, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan)
But the bill is expected to face intense scrutiny in the upper house, with the support of at least six crossbenchers needed for it to pass.
However, the Animal Justice Party, Victorian Greens and Legalise Cannabis Party have indicated they would support the bill through the upper house.
A legal preamble to the agreement touts the ‘dawn of a new era’ in the state.
‘The colony of Victoria was established without the consent, negotiation or recognition of the Traditional Owners of these lands and waters,’ it stated.
‘What followed was violence, destruction and dispossession: a rush to take land, lives, and resources, leaving lasting scars on families, communities and Country itself.’
The harm of colonisation is yet to end, it reads, though the Treaty is one of the ‘most important steps’ the state has taken.
More to come.
