Historic Treaty Bill to be debated in Victorian Parliament as Assembly prepares to hit-the-ground running once legislation passed.
With historic legislation to enact Australia’s first Treaty expected to be debated in Victoria’s lower house this week, the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria is getting on with preparations for when the Treaty is signed and comes into effect.
The Statewide Treaty Bill was introduced into Parliament by the Victorian Government last month. The Bill is expected to pass both houses of Parliament without amendment with the support of the Government and upper house crossbench MPs.
To ensure the First Peoples’ sector is ready for day one of Treaty, the Assembly will be convening a series of Aboriginal-led roundtables that bring together a group of community experts, researchers and frontline service providers for the first time.
These will include a Statewide Forum of Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations, a gathering of Traditional Owners and a special session bringing together leaders from each of the Aboriginal Governance Forums.
Collectively the roundtables will work on practical solutions for how Treaty can improve health, education, housing and employment outcomes for First Peoples. These are areas where generations of governments have failed First Peoples.
First Peoples’ Assembly Co-Chair and proud Gunditjmara man, Rueben Berg said Treaty is about getting better outcomes for First Peoples by making sure their expertise and experiences shape policy and programs for First Peoples.
“Just as local residents know whether fixing a certain road or upgrading a footy oval is a higher priority for their neighbourhood, Aboriginal people are the experts on our communities. We know what works for us and what doesn’t,” Rueben said.
“But right now non-Aboriginal people are making a lot of decisions about our lives and not always getting it right, no matter how well-intentioned they are.
“Treaty is about making sure Aboriginal people can use our local knowledge to come up with and deliver practical solutions for our communities that actually work. It’s about making the most of our expertise to get better outcomes and a better bang for the buck.”
The Assembly is expecting an increase in racist and vitriolic discourse as the bill progresses through Parliament.
First Peoples’ Assembly Co-Chair and Wamba Wamba, Yorta Yorta, Dja Dja Wurrung and Dhudhuroa woman Ngarra Murray encouraged community members to look out for each other and said the Assembly is putting in measures to help support First Peoples over this time.
“While this Bill is being debated in Parliament we expect to hear a lot of misinformation from a noisy minority, but through our conversations over the last ten years, we know the sensible majority of Victorians want practical, cost-effective solutions that close gaps between First Peoples and non-Aboriginal people and gets better outcomes for our kids and Elders,” said Ngarra.
“We have seen a significant uptick by foreign bots and trolls on issues surrounding Treaty and First Peoples’ issues over the last few months and we expect this to ramp up further during the debate.
“Their goal is to inflame culture wars with their age-old tactic of using Aboriginal people as political footballs. Our goal is the opposite: we want to make practical change that improves education for our children and strengthens the health, wellbeing and prosperity of our communities.”
