Adam Bandt, the leader of the Greens party, is urging the federal government to promptly commence a ‘truth-telling’ initiative for First Nations individuals in Australia. He highlighted the progress being made in Victoria as an example.
Victoria has long been considered the most progressive state in discussions about treaties with local Indigenous groups.
In Victoria, there are advancements being made towards a treaty through the Yoorrook Justice Commission. This is a distinct process from the unsuccessful national referendum on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament that took place in October 2023.
Treaty negotiations proper are expected to begin in early 2024. Any agreements would need to be legislated by state parliament.Â
Progress towards a treaty is ongoing through the Yoorrook Justice Commission, independent of the national referendum on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament that did not succeed in October 2023.
The Indigenous Voice to Parliament was voted down during a referendum in October, despite Linda Burney (right) and Anthony Albanese’s (left) best efforts
Mr Bandt this week argued: ‘A truth-telling process across the country could commence now and should commence now.Â
‘We’ve seen in Victoria that process has been underway and it’s making a big difference and it’s laying the foundation for future change.’
In Victoria, the state government has committed to working toward a treaty which ‘acknowledges the truth of Victoria’s history’.
According to the government website, the Yoorrook Commission ‘is investigating historical and ongoing injustices committed against Aboriginal Victorians since colonisation, across all areas of social, political and economic life’.
The commission was formally established in 2021 – prior to Mr Albanese’s own commitment to hold a Voice referendum.
Supporters were devastated by the outcome of the Voice referendum in October last year
Greens leader Adam Bandt this week argued: ‘A truth-telling process across the country could commence now and should commence now’
Yoorrook is the Wemba Wemba word for ‘truth’. The commission is independent from the government and funded until at least June 30, 2025.
It has all the same powers as a royal commission – meaning it can hold public hearings, compel people to give evidence, call witnesses under oath and make recommendations to the government.
In addition to ongoing investigations into historic massacres of First Nations people, the commission is also focused on the legal system in Victoria, the policing of First Nations people and child protection.
The Yoorrook Commission can recommend institutional and legal reforms are agreed upon during future treaties, as well as ‘appropriate redress for systemic injustice’.
The most recent interim report was published in 2022 on the back of a series of hearings with First Nations communities, and detailed findings of ‘systemic injustices, both historic and ongoing’.
‘Elders consistently tied ongoing injustices to past injustices as a continued impact of colonisation,’ the report found.
‘While Yoorrook’s truth-seeking processes are still at an early stage, the evidence gathered so far is substantive.’
The commission has committed to throwing resources at the ‘state-sanctioned removal of First Peoples’ children from their families’ and the ongoing ‘injustices experienced by First Peoples in the criminal justice system’.
Additionally, the commission will keep promoting and assisting in truth-telling discussions, and Victoria’s progress toward treaty.
The treaty push initially had bipartisan support but in late January, state Opposition leader John Pesutto revealed the Coalition had withdrawn support.
He said internal conversations had been ongoing ‘for many months’ and expressed concerns that treaties could ‘make the community feel more divided’.
Victoria’s First People’s Assembly – a democratically elected group of people who act as a ‘Voice’ for Indigenous people – said the announcement was ‘disappointing’, but stated there was a ‘clear path toward treaty’ in the state, regardless.
‘A national process of truth-telling will allow people to share their experiences of what colonisation has meant for them,’ Mr Bandt said.
‘Our priority… is Labor should recommit to that process of truth-telling and treaty.’
Labor has been criticised for dragging its feet after the Voice failed, despite having $27.7million set aside from the last Budget to tackle a Makarrata Commission – which could essentially act in a similar fashion to Victoria’s Yoorrook Commission
Labor has been criticised for failing to move forward on Indigenous policy after the failure of the Voice. That’s despite having $27.7million set aside from the last Budget to tackle a Makarrata Commission – which could essentially act in a similar fashion to Victoria’s Yoorrook Commission.
The Uluru Statement from the Heart – which Labor committed to in full during the last election campaign – called for three pillars of reconciliation: a voice, treaty and truth.
The Makarrata Commission was designed to progress both treaty and truth-telling at a federal level, but was stalled during the Voice campaign amid concerns about what a treaty – or treaties – could look like in practice.
In the four months since the failure of the Voice proposal, Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have both shied away from explicitly revealing their future plans for the portfolio.
Work on the Makarrata Commission remains paused while the government recalibrates and seeks advice on the next steps.Â
Last month, the PM addressed criticism he was being slow to act head on, insisting he and his government are ‘taking action’.
‘We want to do what we can to Close the Gap in education, in health, in housing, in all of these issues, which is what the referendum was about.Â
‘We accept the result, though, so we have to go about it in different ways.’
Mr Albanese took responsibility for his role in the referendum, but said he was responding to a request from the First Nations community through the Uluru Statement from the Heart for constitutional recognition.
