Victoria's First People's Assembly is ready to negotiate a treaty - MASHAHER

The First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria say they are ready to negotiate a treaty with the state government.

The official notification has been entered into the Treaty Authority’s Negotiation Database and a copy of the declaration will be presented to the authority at a ceremony on Wednesday.

Assembly co-chair, Gunditjmara man Rueben Berg, said it was a culmination of years of work from Victoria’s various traditional owner groups and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, to create a shared vision of how the journey to treaty should unfold.

Ngarra Murray (right) and Rueben Berg of the First People’s Assembly of Victoria acknowledge the years of work from Victoria’s traditional owner groups Credit: Joel Carrett/AAPImage

Assembly Co-chair, Wamba Wamba, Yorta Yorta, Dja Dja Wurrung and Dhudhuroa woman Ngarra Murray, said they would continue to gather feedback from communities across Victoria.

“We are a diverse mob here in Victoria made up of many nations and clans and we want to make sure everyone is heard,” Ms Murray said.

It’s an exciting time for First Peoples in Victoria, we’ll be sitting down to negotiate the first treaty in Australia.

How does it work?

The Treaty Negotiation Framework allows traditional owners to form delegations to negotiate treaties that reflect priorities and aspirations specific to a specific area, while the assembly will negotiate a statewide treaty for structural reforms.

Under the framework, all parties wanting to enter treaty negotiations, including the assembly and government, are required to satisfy the Treaty Authority – the independent umpire – that they are upholding certain standards.

Source Agencies