Traditional Owners in Victoria given powers to establish Aboriginal education facility in step to formal treaty

ABC NEWS (Australia)

A democratically elected body of Victorian Aboriginal Traditional Owners, the First Peoples' Assembly, will be given powers to establish its own education facility. It's one of the first practical outcomes to be detailed following nine months of negotiations over what will become Australia's first formal treaty.

Transcript

00:00Yeah, so a key focus of those powers is going to be the establishment of a First Peoples

00:07Institute, which we see is a really powerful way of building on what Yurok identified as

00:12the past discrimination of First Peoples in the educational system, so that we can make

00:16sure we're enhancing the existing skills and capabilities of our communities to fill key

00:21leadership roles within the future treaty landscape.

00:24And so just how will it go about doing that?

00:27What do you hope it will achieve?

00:30We really want to be able to see an increase in the First Peoples who have the necessary

00:34skills and the experience to be able to step into some of these leadership roles, as I

00:39mentioned, and really make sure that it's got to focus on a First Peoples-led perspective

00:43so that we're having those educational conversations in a culturally grounded way and drawing from

00:48Indigenous knowledge systems as well.

00:50And where does this sit in the broader state of those treaty negotiations?

00:55Yeah, so this is just one of the different components we want to be able to bring into

01:01place as part of the broader treaty conversation.

01:03And this is a treaty conversation we've been having for many years now, and it's exciting

01:07to be progressing to this stage of the process.

01:10Yeah.

01:10And so where are those discussions at at the moment?

01:13I understand there are meetings underway right now.

01:15What's the mood and the state of all of those?

01:18Yeah, it's an exciting moment to be able to continue to progress this work, and we're

01:24still very hopeful of being able to formalise the first statewide treaty by the end of this

01:28year.

01:29And if that does go ahead at the end of this year, what does that mean?

01:34It'll mean a variety of different things, but to me the key thing is that it means resetting

01:39the relationship between First Peoples and the government in a way that ensures greater

01:43ability for First Peoples to influence things that directly affect that.

01:47And there are many, Ruben, you'd be aware, who really point to Victoria as the way to

01:53design, co-design with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people processes to deal with

01:58these really intense questions.

02:01What sort of roadmap do you see your Assembly and Yurok playing for other Aboriginal and Torres

02:06Strait Islander groups and people across the nation?

02:09Yeah, hopefully other jurisdictions can see this as a useful model to draw from.

02:13We're not saying it's a model that everybody has to use, but hopefully there's some learnings

02:18that can be gained, but also to recognise there's powerful learnings to be taken from

02:22overseas, because whilst Victoria is leading the way in these treaty conversations, we're

02:27actually behind in terms of the global approach to this, and all Commonwealth countries around

02:31the world do already have treaties with its First Peoples, so there's many examples globally

02:35to also draw from.

02:37And as well as, of course, being the co-chair of the Assembly, you're an Aboriginal man.

02:42What does this mean for you and for your own people?

02:47Yeah, for me, knowing that my father, back in the 1970s, he was progressing, trying to

02:52progress treaty, and for me to be able to pick up that mantle and continue that work now,

02:56and to know that for my children, they're going to enter into their adulthood where treaty

03:00is just a way of life.

03:01It's been a really powerful journey.

03:03And just finally, what do you say to politicians in your state, in other jurisdictions, as these

03:09conversations and these calls for action are continuing to be called for and really re-emerging?

03:18Yeah, there's nothing to worry about in terms of treaty.

03:21This is about ensuring we're getting better outcomes for First Peoples, and that's not something

03:25that individuals should have to worry about.

03:26And through that, making sure that we get better outcomes for all Victorians, and enabling

03:31all Victorians to better engage with First Peoples culture, and hopefully that's a model

03:34that can be replicated across the country.

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