Vic government working on ongoing Indigenous representative body

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The Victorian Government says it's working on how the First Peoples' Assembly can become an ongoing representative body to advise on certain government decisions

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00:00This builds on a lot of work that's been happening across many years now, and we're

00:06looking to make the Assembly a more permanent fixture within the State of Victoria, and

00:10ensure that it's got the ability to do things that get better outcomes for First Peoples.

00:14OK, so how far would these powers go, correct me if I'm wrong, but is it my understanding

00:18the Assembly wouldn't have, for example, veto powers on policy and legislation, would it?

00:24That's correct.

00:25There's no power of veto being proposed.

00:27The idea is that when the Government is considering things that will directly affect First Peoples,

00:32that there's an opportunity for First Peoples voices to be heard on those conversations.

00:36The proposal is that the Assembly would be a statutory corporation within Victoria's existing

00:43parliamentary and democratic structures.

00:45I'm just wondering, are you confident that you will still have that crucial independence

00:49that the Assembly needs?

00:51Yeah, it's a key component to make sure that we do maintain that independence.

00:55All the members of this future Assembly are going to be elected by First Peoples here in

00:59this State.

01:00It gives you a direct line to ministers, Ruben.

01:04And I just want to ask you about that, because you'd have the authority under this legislation

01:08to, you know, to put questions to them, to question them.

01:11So, let's say this happens.

01:13What would be the first priority for the Assembly if this becomes law?

01:17I think we've just seen the finalisation of the Yurok processes, and there's many things

01:22that have been identified through that that I think require urgent attention, and that's

01:26the sorts of things we'll draw from in terms of making that representation to government.

01:30Could you give me an example of what one of those priorities might be?

01:33There's really key priorities around education, of making sure that there's greater education

01:38opportunities for all Victorians to better understand the issues of colonisation for First

01:43Peoples.

01:43We also want to see significant reforms in the justice area.

01:47The Assembly, as we've been discussing five years ago, was really established as the representative

01:51body for First Nations people in Victoria, and particularly in the treaty process.

01:57And I just want to ask you about that.

01:59Can you tell us about that treaty process and how it's progressing in Victoria?

02:03Yeah, the treaty process builds on significant work for over a decade now.

02:07We've had the First Peoples Assembly in place for the last five years, and over that

02:11time we've put in place various different frameworks to support the treaty making journey.

02:15And as of November last year, we've started formal negotiations.

02:19And it's always been very clear that one of the aspirations of this process was an enhanced

02:23representative body that could actually represent First Peoples with government.

02:27Is it correct, Ruben, that the changes being negotiated here, that actually give the Assembly powers,

02:33you know, well beyond those that were proposed for the voice to parliament?

02:38Well, they are different to the powers that were proposed for the voice and through that

02:42referendum.

02:43And I think what's always important to recognise is that that referendum was about a national

02:47issue to do with constitutional change and about installing an untested model.

02:52And that's essentially the opposite of what we're doing here in Victoria.

02:54And with respect, I have to ask, because as we know, the voice to parliament was rejected

02:59by the majority of Victorians and also Australians in the referendum.

03:03The Victorian Liberal Party seems to have expressed opposition to this legislation as well.

03:09With respect, are you confident the majority of Victorians will be on board with this move

03:15and support it?

03:16Is the sentiment there from the public?

03:19I believe so.

03:20And as I said, the referendum was about changing the Australian constitution to put in place

03:25an untested model.

03:26That's very, very different from what we're planning to do here in Victoria.

03:29What about the Indigenous community more broadly?

03:31Because reading about this this week, I saw a report quoting a First Nations elder, and I

03:36just want to read this out, saying they are negotiating themselves a deal and no one else.

03:41What's in it for me?

03:42That's, of course, one person.

03:44But once again, with respect, what would you say to an Indigenous person if they came up

03:48and said, look, what's with this assembly?

03:50What's in it for me?

03:51How is it going to change life for me?

03:54Yeah, I think it's really important for everybody, not just the First Peoples community, but the

03:58entire Victorian community, to be able to look through the Yuruk reports and look through

04:02the full impact of colonisation on First Peoples and to recognise that that was the result

04:06of 200 years of impact for First Peoples.

04:09And you don't just turn that around overnight.

04:11So we're looking at systemic change, not quick fix change, to actually make sure we've got

04:15the processes in place to deliver better outcomes for generations to come.

04:19Ruben, thank you very much for joining us.

04:21Appreciate your time.

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