Wednesday, 2 April 2025

Treaty

Tim READ (Brunswick) (09:57): The member for Richmond and I recently held a forum in North Fitzroy to hear about Victoria’s treaty negotiations, so it was heartening to see over 100 Brunswick and Richmond constituents show up with open minds and enthusiasm to learn about treaty from the co-chairs of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria Ngarra Murray and Rueben Berg. Ngarra and Rueben were upbeat about the assembly’s negotiations with the Victorian government, and the audience left hopeful that we will hear the results of these negotiations later this year.

Unlike the blankets, tomahawks and flour presented as part of Batman’s 1935 so-called treaty, which was really anything but, this will be Australia’s first genuine treaty, and this time we hope the Victorian government is negotiating with goodwill and due recognition of Aboriginal law and sovereignty. Our first genuine treaty must stand the test of time, and it needs to be announced before the next state election. Thank you to Ngarra and Rueben, to Uncle Andrew Gardiner for his welcome to country, to Haus of Dizzy for the vibrant jewellery stall, First Nations artist Teagan Malcolm for the treaty forum artwork and to everyone else who joined us. We cannot change the past, but by confronting the truth about colonisation we can build a better future together.