Wednesday, 27 November 2024

Treaty

Rikkie-Lee TYRRELL (Northern Victoria) (18:57): (1325) My adjournment this evening is for the Premier, and the action I seek is for her to immediately stop treaty negotiations. On 14 October 2023 Australia resoundingly voted no to the Indigenous Voice to Parliament. This racist and divisive referendum pitted Australian against Australian and caused much upheaval in our beautiful country. The overwhelming majority of my electorate of Northern Victoria Region voted no to the Voice. Of the federal electorates located solely in my electorate, the referendum result was a resounding no: Bendigo, 59.47 per cent no; Indi, 66.89 per cent no; McEwen, 60.09 per cent no; Nicholls, 75.24 per cent no; and Mallee, 78.31 per cent no. This is an overwhelming vote against division in our great state.

Now the Premier is pushing ahead with more race-based division by continuing with treaty negotiations, against the wishes of the majority of the Victorian people. My constituents from many different ethnic backgrounds have made it clear to me that they do not want this. They are concerned by the lack of transparency and openness with the treaty negotiations. The fact that the Premier will not even tell Victorians what demands by First Nations peoples will be considered is another huge concern of my constituents. We have heard of demands for land, water, specific Aboriginal-only services – more than they already have – and even money. Aren’t we all Victorians? The definition of treaty in the Oxford dictionary is:

A formally concluded and ratified agreement between states.

If we are all Victorians – all Australians – then how can we have a treaty? It does not make sense.

Everyone wants better outcomes for our Indigenous communities. Most people would be unaware that I am of Indigenous heritage on my father’s side, but I have never relied on that to get me to where I am today. I grew up in a low socio-economic household, and my childhood was riddled with physical and emotional abuse, parental use of drugs and alcohol, and neglect, yet here I stand today, a member of this house, proudly representing my constituents of Northern Victoria. I am living proof that we do not need to divide or separate Australians in order to improve their outcomes. I am not entitled to anything I have not earned, just the same as every other Victorian and every other Australian. The way to improve the lives of Indigenous Victorians is not through secretive negotiations costing the Victorian taxpayer hundreds of millions of dollars but through transparent – (Time expired)