Tuesday, 30 May 2023

Ministers statements: First Nations policies

Gabrielle WILLIAMS (Dandenong – Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ambulance Services, Minister for Treaty and First Peoples) (14:16): I rise today to acknowledge National Reconciliation Week and the theme for 2023, ‘Be a voice for generations’. The theme asks all Australians to use their power, their words and their actions to create a better and more just Australia for everybody. It is a theme that truly embodies not only the words but most importantly the actions of the Andrews government in making Victoria a fairer, more just place for our First Nations communities.

Victoria continues to lead the nation in being the only jurisdiction to progress all three elements of the Uluru Statement from the Heart: truth, treaty and voice. Truth-telling is about understanding how yesterday’s actions drive the unjust structures of today, as we clearly heard through the powerful testimonies to the Yoorrook Justice Commission recently. At the end of this year this Labor government will be negotiating this country’s first ever treaty, and in doing so we will transform the relationship between the state and the First Peoples of Victoria with a focus on delivering better outcomes. The voice gives Aboriginal people a say in the decisions that affect their lives, and the benefits of this have been clear through the work of the First Peoples’ Assembly in representing their communities in preparation for those treaty negotiations.

Of course all Australians will be asked to vote for a national Voice later this year – a really important decision – a question that effectively asks us to think about the nation that we want to be. Do we want to be big-hearted or do we want to be small-minded? Our nation-leading First Peoples reform agenda only happens through partnership and a deep, enduring commitment to change, a commitment that was backed up by a record investment in First Nations Victorians in last week’s budget of close to half a billion dollars – which, it must be said, builds on another record from a couple of years ago from this government. This is not a cost. It is an investment in equity and better outcomes for First Nations communities.