The Greens will attempt to revive the stagnated federal government commitment to truth-telling this week, by pushing the parliament to vote on legislation establishing a Makarrata truth and justice commission.
Promised by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as a "priority," the Makarrata commission would run a national truth-telling and treaty process as part of the three pillars: Truth. Treaty. Voice.
On Sunday, the Greens unveiled draft legislation which would seek to establish a truth and justice commission, to be tabled in federal parliament this week.
Greens First Nations spokesperson Dorinda Cox said the Voice defeat meant truth-telling and treaty were more important than ever.
"We have been waiting for the opportunity to not just tell our truths, but to have Australia deeply listen to our experiences, past and present as the oldest living culture in the world, Australia's First Peoples," the Yamatji Noongar senator for WA said.
"We want Australians to know that in this process we will begin to heal as a nation, we will understand that the work that we do now must be grounded in our self determination to chart our pathway forward to achieve better outcomes for First Nations people, communities and our collective futures."
The Senator told the ABC: "This issue is not going away, and we need the Labor government to back this in."
Greens leader Adam Bandt said truth-telling was a "critical first step" in healing and bringing the country together.
"We must tell the truth about the violence and dispossession in this country's history if we want to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. First Nations people have called for a Truth and Justice Commission to achieve that truth-telling," Mr Bandt said.
He argued the misinformation present during the Voice campaign showed the "urgent need for a deeper discussion about the truth of our country's history".
"Since the referendum, which left a lot of people hurting, Labor has failed to offer any pathway forward," Mr Bandt said.
Despite the Voice being defeated last year, Indigenous groups have urged the government to enact the other two elements, with some arguing Labor has stagnated in their commitment.
Earlier this year, Minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, said the government would "take things as fast or as slow as the community wants to," noting whilst Labor completely accepted the referendum result on Voice, it did "leave the truth-telling and treaty components".
However, it was revealed the $20 million set aside for regional and local voices would be redirected, with the government remaining coy on the future of their commitment to the Makarrata Commission.
In May, Indigenous rights campaigner Tom Calma urged the Labor government to not leave the consultative bodies up to state governments, arguing Indigenous affairs was still a "political football".
"This can't be just the states and territories. If you don't have the three tiers of government working on these initiatives collectively, there can be inefficiencies, duplications, or the worst thing you can have is a gap," he said.
Advocacy group GetUp previously criticised the Albanese government for "passing the buck" on a treaty process by seemingly delegating the process to the states and territories.
Chief executive and Widjabul Wia-bal woman Larissa Baldwin-Roberts argued at the time: "After another year of failed outcomes in the Closing the Gap report, what is clear is that it's time to do something new and the Albanese Government needs to articulate their plan for a federal treaty process."
Ms Burney told the ABC on Sunday that the government would take its time "to make sure we get this right".
"We're working very collaboratively with states and territories in terms of treaty and truth-telling processes … what First Nations people are saying to me is that we need time to think about the next steps," she said.
The minister also argued the truth-telling process was "well and truly underway, and it has been underway for a very long time," arguing it has been taken up by various institutions and organisations, including "community groups, by local government, by schools, by land councils, by various institutions like The Healing Foundation".
Truth-telling is in various forms across the country, with Victoria the most advanced, having just seen the final hearings of the Yoorrook Justice Commission.
Multiple ministers, indigenous groups, public servants, and Elders have appeared before the truth-telling hearings, as the body looks to write a "real" history of the state since colonisation.
