Recent work priorities:

• Aspirations of mob.
• Educating around Treaty – negotiations update Treaty Delegation
• Traditional Owner Inherent Rights Advocating
• Seeking further information
• Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations Voices Traditional Owner Voices
• Submissions

Engagement activities:

• I attended the National Indigenous Empowerment Summit – presented and sat on a Panel with Commissioner Travis Lovett and other National Leaders
• Spoke at the annual Victorian Aboriginal Housing Rooftop event for Reconciliation week – call to action to become Treaty friends and take the pledge to all City of Yarra constituents and City of Yarra Council
• Chaired the First Principals Review working group Attended the ACCO working group x 2
• Attended the 2025 RAP forum held on Taungurung Country
• I had the honor and privilege to attend Aotearoa for the Treaty Delegation to experience and see Treaty in action – so many learnings and an extensive report will be completed
• Language Working Group for Bunurong Land Council and had conversations with the group around Treaty Westernport water reconciliation group to educate further on where Treaty is at
• Phillip Island Nature Parks Reconciliation group to educate on Treaty updates Self Determination Committee attendance
• Audit, Risk and Remuneration Committee attendance Treaty Committee attendance
• Yurpa Committee attendance Preamble Committee attendance Yoorrook Committee attendance
• Reserved Seat Holder Committee attendance
• Chaired response to government with Traditional Owner Organisations Yoorrook Final Event Attended
• Metro Community Forum attended in Glenroy Metro Community Forum attended in Mordialloc
• Education Submission – additional information provided internally Cultural Elements working group attended
• Consultation with other ally groups in Bayside Mornington Peninsula

Insights:

• The learnings from the community vary in each space.
• The continued education piece of where the Assembly are at is vital for building confidence from community that their voices are heard. Reconciliation from the wider community and the importance of allyship is building strength
• Continuing to put Culture first as our foundations has been extremely important for our community Truth telling needs to continue to build even though the Royal Commission is finished
• Transparency from the Assembly in relation to some social media education pieces and the communication to the community needs to be strengthened. Seeing yourself as a community member in the Treaty is extremely important
• Building capabilities and capacity in our community to become the leaders in Treaty moving forward Language is important for our processes and commitment

Implementation:

• Further information gathering and reflections in process’s and how I continue to engage with community and the ally’s Ensuring the right people are at the table to expand our voices within the community forums
• Creating ideas of what other nations have done so that the community can start to see themselves in the Treaty era Cultural practices and language to be imbedded and clearly shown to our community.
• We have our Yurpa philosophy and practices which should be widely promoted so that our community understand this is our foundations.

Looking ahead:

• Continuing to consult community on our aspirations and creating family group online meetings to get aspirations
• Working with the CEO for Bunurong to engage in further community consultations and to get the advertising up for the position and a budget to tour around our community members
• NAIDOC community events and presents to get our message out
• Community can reach out to have further conversations personally or in group settings

Thank you:

This quarter has been filled with incredibly emotional and historic moments within our work.

Aotearoa experience with meeting mob and importance of our language has been incredibly motivating to see outcomes of Treaty at a local level. I want to thank my community, Elders and extended community for allowing me to complete this work moving forward.

Recent work priorities

The focus was creating opportunities for our membership and the wider Victorian Traditional Owners to attend our Treaty Forums.

Working with the Land Council on the Treaty Readiness Plan and getting the position descriptions to get the Treaty Manager employed.

Engagement activities

• Statewide Treaty Gathering
• Victorian Traditional Owners Forum
• ACCO Forum
• National Justice Forum, attending the Traditional Owner Economic Development Roadmap forum
• First Principal Review working group
• Yoorrook Committee
• Treaty and Yurpa Committee
• Cultural Elements working group
• Preamble working group

Insights

My key insights have been really in relation to economic development and how our mob can mobilise. Nation building is becoming an integral part of the work that we as a community need to be doing.

Implementation

Looking at how we can move together, having really incredible conversations with each other to inform a way forward.

Looking ahead

Continuing to ensure that our Membership is given further opportunities to attend and participate in these important events.

I attend most of the forums and I am available anytime to sit down and have discussions with Community.

Thank you

Being able to see Community, our beautiful Elders come forward to have their voices heard. Experiencing and witnessing culture in its purest form was such an honour.

The last few months I have been focusing on Community Engagement of both BLCAC members and the wider community. Especially since the inception and collaborative work around the Practical Outcomes.

Presenting to Darebin Council schools for Treaty and answering and yarning with young children to educate them on Treaty as our future leaders. Attended by over a 100 students from several schools they sang the Treaty song with Grant Hansen. A beautiful display of solidarity from our schools in Darebin.

I have organised and coordinated two additional community sessions, Frankston Nairrm Mar Djambana and Whyndamvale community center.

These sessions were attended by 20 – 50 community members and they participated in a workshop to yarn about the practical outcomes that had been gathered from other community consultations.

Feedback was sort and additional outcomes based on feedback has been collated.

Additionally, the feedback also included a continued commitment to these communities to come back and continue conversations.

FPAV and the BLCAC Board met with the Treaty Authority to discuss and understand further the Traditional Owner Treaties and what the Land Council will need to do moving forward.

Online workshops have been completed with the memberships, presented back to the membership around the events and the current status of work I had completed.

I presented the practical outcomes and received feedback and then have created ongoing workshops for members to continue the information sharing.

Attended the ACCO forum in relation to the Treaty direction and receiving further information and feedback. These forums are all day and robust, informative information had been discussed.

Traditional Owner Forum attended, and this was incredibly powerful feedback and workshops completed around the Traditional Owner Treaties. This also meant that a collective group gathering – to create a collective and information sharing. That we know many Traditional Owner Groups are all experiencing the colonial systems trauma. This was not any new information but allowing mob to express their concerns and heartbreak allows us to unify.

Experienced and participated in the Ceremony to mark the start of the Statewide Negotiations, this experience was powerful, insightful and healing for me personally. I engaged my members to present our appreciation to the Wurundjeri for allowing us to gather and dance.

Even though the weather was hot I wore the women’s cloak. Hours of dancing and ceremony showered healing and bringing cultural authority to the table with the Government.

Presented at a panel for Mac Roberston around area of where the school is located – yarned through questions in relation to how Treaty would affect them, they yarned about what they could do better in for Reconciliation.

Additional workshops and consultation with the school around their commitment to mob and what that would look like. Completed the Bunurong Land Council’s AGM and presented back to the membership on the progress of the Treaty Journey. VAEAI back to school day attended and continued conversations with community at these events in relation to Treaty.

Bunurong Land Council was successful with obtaining the first tranche of Self Determination funding. Planning moving forward with how we continue to develop the additional pieces of work with the Bunurong members.

Leave taken from the 19th December – 28 December 2025.

Moving into the first 3 months of 2025:

• Continued engagement – follow up BLCAC board and FPAV after initial engagement.
• Continued educational speaking events in February.
• Conversations and planning with Westernport Water, Phillip Island Nature Parks, VAEAI LAECG Southern Melbourne.
• Workshops with Teachers connected to the Education Union who have made the commitment to be a Treaty Friend and advocate. Increase enrolments of the BLCAC members
• Implementing the plan for BLCAC education workshops

Member update not submitted.

Member update not submitted.

Member update not submitted.

My name is Zoe Upton, and I am the elected member for the Bunurong Land Council in the Metropolitan area.

The start of the year has been a very busy time throughout the Assembly and in Narrm. I attended the Invasion Day rally with other Assembly members and the turnout was incredible and reaffirmed my commitment to the Treaty process and moving forward.

I attended community engagement at Bubup, yarning up with community members including potential collaboration.

I ensured that our Elders of our Land Council were aware of the calling for nominations for the Assembly’s future Elders’ Voice. The promotion of Treaty Day Out and the Statewide Gathering to my members as well.

Now that the Bunurong Land Council’s CEO has been appointed we are starting the appropriate consultations with the Land Council and eventually holding workshops and committees to get the Traditional Owners voice to the table and mobilising our inherent rights to get ready for Treaty. Together we will work towards, firming up a workplan and submitting requests for additional funding.

I have been part of the many smaller committees within the Assembly, attending and participating in the Yoorrook committee and making submissions around:

• Land injustices
• Education experiences
• Housing
• Economic injustices are yet to be completed

I have been an active participant in the internal committees of Treaty and Yurpa, and I am excited to firm up the workplans for the next 12 months.

The Self-Determination committee, I have also been actively participating with and look forward to the incredible work that they will produce soon.