Wednesday, 7 February 2024

Treaty

Samantha RATNAM (Northern Metropolitan) (17:27): (675) My adjournment matter tonight is for the Minister for Treaty and First Peoples, and my ask is that the Victorian government ensure treaty negotiations continue to be undertaken to provide maximum self-determination for First Nations people in Victoria. I ask this in light of a scathing report delivered by the Productivity Commission today into the national agreement on Closing the Gap, which found that governments have failed to improve outcomes for First Nations people and that this is due to an unwillingness to give control to First Nations people over their own affairs. The commissioners were unambiguous in their recommendation that in order to see real change in outcomes for First Nations people there needs to be real self-determination. This will require a paradigm shift towards true sharing of power, true joint decision-making and the transfer of control and resources to the Aboriginal community controlled sector.

It is really important to note that Victoria is the first state to embark on a path towards treaty with First Peoples. I commend this government for this work, something that the Greens have fully supported. For our state, treaty presents a critical juncture in the path towards self-determination for Victoria’s First Peoples. Local-level treaties will be a powerful tool for communities to negotiate what they need to close the gap. The foundation blocks for treaty are now in place due to years of groundwork done by First Nations communities, and that is why this process is so critical in addressing the very issues the Productivity Commission’s report has identified, particularly in the form of the First Peoples’ Assembly and the Treaty Authority that have been established as part of this process.

Yet despite it being glaringly obvious that true justice, equality and bridging of the gap will only be achieved by listening to First Peoples, sharing power and letting go of the power that has been used to oppress people, the Liberals and Nationals in this state have announced they are walking away from treaty. This act needs to be seen for what it is – a shallow and desperate attempt to court divisiveness and create a platform where they can fan a culture of grievance. They are trying to pit them against us, a tactic used by right-wing populists, and we have seen what that leads to before.

Their federal colleagues and some of their Victorian colleagues, might I add too, have form on this. From denying the trauma of colonisation to scapegoating people seeking asylum and refuge who are escaping from war to confecting gang wars and crime crises that target and stereotype people of colour, they have been the architects of racist division in this country for years, and they are now so desperate they are grasping it once again because they have no other agenda. We will not stand by and let them rip up the heart and generosity of millions of Victorians who have backed a treaty, time and time again. The only thing they will succeed in ripping up is themselves.