00:01While the Together for Treaty movement has been around since last year, this is the first national conference being held
00:08by the Alliance, now being held in Melbourne.
00:12And while there's plenty to be discussed between First Nations leaders and elders and community members as well as other
00:18non-government groups represented here,
00:21there is a common thread and that is a desire, a need for a treaty between First Nations peoples and
00:30the Commonwealth government.
00:32Now the event being held here in Melbourne, Victoria is symbolic.
00:36This is the place where the first treaty was signed between First Nations peoples and a level of government, this
00:42time the Victorian government.
00:44But we see these processes throughout Australia at different phases.
00:48New South Wales is in the early phase, for instance, while Queensland has abandoned the process altogether.
00:55Speakers at this conference say there needs to be a national approach.
00:59Treaties are nothing new. They're nothing new. They have been around for decades.
01:04And we know that our people have been asking and requesting, but more fighting, fighting for treaties in our country.
01:17Well overdue, but thank goodness we've got one here in Victoria.
01:23We'd like to see that expanded as well to a national treaty.
01:28And we call on the federal government to honour the commitment they gave of $5 million in terms of starting
01:38off the Makarrata Treaty process.
01:41Now the loss of the voice referendum is still casting a long shadow.
01:45It was a big setback for those who are calling for treaty and truth-telling at the national level.
01:53But with the success in Victoria, there is hope that people across the country will see that it's not so
02:00bad.
02:00To quote some people at the conference today, they say it shows that the sky in Victoria hasn't fallen down,
02:07that people haven't lost their backyards.
02:10So the key hope from people at this conference is to hope to piggyback off the success in Victoria to
02:18then use that on a national level.
02:21And that's the big question. Can the traction in Victoria translate to traction at the national level?
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