“Hold the government to its promises”: Victoria’s treaty aims at better outcomes for Gippsland First Peoples

In 2016, Victoria’s treaty process began with the formation of the Aboriginal Treaty Working Group. Nine years later, the Statewide Treaty Bill has passed parliament and will lead to a historic agreement between the First Peoples of Victoria and the state.

What happened: Last Thursday, the Victorian state government passed legislation to enshrine a democratically elected body for First Peoples, the Gellung Warl, into existence.

• The Gellung Warl has several functions but it will primarily be consulted on laws and policies affecting Indigenous people throughout the state.

Troy McDonald, member of the First People’s Assembly and Chair of GunaiKurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation, told the Monitor: “The statewide treaty is really about setting broad principles such as recognition, governance and rights into legislation.”

🗣️ “The treaty is about how to hold the government to its promises,” said McDonald. “The key features of this framework are truth telling, healing, teaching our true history and upgrading our community infrastructure.”

• Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said the “treaty gives Aboriginal communities the power to shape the policies and services that affect their lives”.

How will the treaty work? The treaty sets up a primary body, the Gellung Warl, which is made up of three distinct arms:

• The First People’s Assembly, originally established in 2016 this group is an independent elected body that negotiated the treaty between First Peoples and the government, it will now act as the decision making arm of the Gellung Warl.

• Nyerna Yoorrook Telkuna: A truth-telling body.

• Nginma Ngainga Wara: The accountability arm.

When laws are put forward to Victorian parliament that directly impact First Peoples, the Gellung Warl will be able to advise on that legislation.

🗣️McDonald said: “It’s about creating a real framework for self determination, which is going to allow First Peoples to make decisions about their lands, water, culture and communities.”

Victorian government minister Steve Dimopoulos made it clear that the Assembly has no power over the Victorian government.

🗣️ "It has no veto power over the Victorian government. The Victorian parliament is sovereign,” Dimopoulos said. "This is a permanent representative body chosen by Aboriginal voters for themselves to tell us what is important to them.”

Accountability: McDonald highlighted the strength of the accountability built into the Gellung Warl.

🗣️ “The Victorian community is expecting a high threshold of accountability, and I reckon that's a really important thing,” he said. “The accountability mechanisms that we want for ourselves are very, very high.”

• “We know that treaties are not going to make changes to anyone's life in a year. This is intergenerational work that needs to happen to shift the dial on a whole bunch of things.”

How will the treaty make practical changes?

In 2020, a Productivity Commission report evaluating how policies and programs are affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people concluded that First Peoples should be actively participating in decision making about matters that affect them.

🗣️ “[The report] was really clear that trying to close the gap and create practical solutions needs to be led by Aboriginal people. It needs to be led through really grounded strategic processes that are shaped by our communities," McDonald said.

McDonald said the areas of policy the First People’s Assembly are looking to make tangible changes around a number of areas including:

• Health

• Education

• Justice

• Housing

New learning for Vic students: One education policy already being implemented: Victoria's primary and secondary students will learn more about First People’s history through a new curriculum. 

The findings of the Yoorrook Commission (a truth telling inquiry established to investigate and document the injustices experienced by First Peoples since colonisation) will be used as a guide to develop the curriculum for prep to year 10 students.

Looking ahead: McDonald was clear this is only the first step towards better outcomes for Indigenous Victorians. 

• “This is an intergenerational process that's before us, and we're planning to have a treaty around for decades and I'm looking forward to being a part of that conversation as a citizen.”

Opposition

In a statement the Victoria Liberals promised to scrap the treaty within 100-days if elected to government at the state elections in November next year.

In the statement, the party said it did not believe the treaty was the best way to deliver better outcomes for Aboriginal Victorians. The Liberals would instead establish a new government department to oversee progress on Closing the Gap targets.