Treaty is our opportunity to put decision-making in the hands of First Peoples, which the Productivity Commission has said is necessary to achieve the Closing the Gap targets, according to the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria.
Following the latest Productivity Commission’s Closing the Gap review, which was released today and found that only four of 19 targets are on track, Coalition of Peaks Lead Convenor Pat Turner warned that without structural change in decision-making on First Peoples’ matters, “we’ll keep seeing the same patterns repeat and our people will continue to pay the price.”
First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria Co-Chair and Gunditjmara man Rueben Berg agreed, saying that governments can’t keep doing the same thing and expecting to see different results.
“Treaty recognises that Aboriginal people are the experts on our own lives and is our chance for a new approach that puts decision-making in First Peoples’ hands.
“Treaty is about making sure we can use our expertise to come up with and deliver practical solutions at a local level. This will mean better outcomes for our people because we, not government bureaucrats, know what works and what doesn’t for our communities.”
The First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria is currently negotiating the first Statewide Treaty with the Victorian Government.
“Through this first Treaty, we’re working to secure an ongoing, evolved Assembly that has decision-making powers on First Peoples’ matters and can hold government accountable, including on the Closing the Gap targets.”
Last year’s Productivity Commission Closing the Gap Review highlighted the Treaty process in Victoria as an example of what rebalancing power can look like.
The Victorian Government is expected to introduce enabling legislation into Parliament for Australia’s first Treaty later this year.
