Treaty will benefit all Australians, First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria co-chair Rueben Berg said as the Assembly officially declared it is ready to enter into negotiations with the state government.
"Treaty's not something that we enter into lightly. You want to make sure you've actually got the things in place to negotiate properly," Mr Berg said at a press conference in Naarm on Wednesday, as the Assembly submitted its proposal to the Treaty Authority - the independent umpire who will oversee negotiations.
"The framework that we've put in place means that the assembly has to demonstrate it's ready to negotiate, the state will have to demonstrate it's ready, and traditional owner groups will also have to demonstrate that they're ready."
Appearing alongside many Assembly members before an official unveiling of the Treaty Authority, Mr Berg said people have nothing to fear about Treaty and argued it would make the whole community better off — not only Indigenous people.
"Through Treaty, we intend on delivering on the commitments we've made to our community to get better outcomes," the Gunditjmara man said.
"We want to make sure that we put decision making back in the hands of First Peoples. Decisions about mob should be made by mob."
During his appearance at the Yoorrook Justice Commission alongside fellow co-chair Ngarra Murray, Mr Berg said the way governments operated to help First Peoples was in need of change, and he reiterated this on Wednesday.
"We also know that government needs to be held more accountable for the activities they're taking about First Peoples," he said.
"That's also what Treaty will deliver."
@natindigtimes The First Peoples' Assembly and the Victorian state government are set to enter negotiations through the Treaty Authority- an independent umpire that will oversee Treaty negotiations between the parties. #firstnations #treaty #truthtelling #victoria #indigenous #auspol ♬ Aurora - Gentle State
The Treaty Authority Bill was signed in 2022 by the Assembly and the state government, with all parties accepting that to enter into negotiations they would have to uphold certain standards to satisfy the Treaty Authority.
It is this process the declaration by the Assembly sought to fulfill on Wednesday, with the Authority to consider the information — including by inviting community members to make comments.
The Authority cannot consider comments or disputes that are not from First Peoples, and a comment or dispute may only be about the Assembly's satisfaction of the Minimum Standards.
Mr Berg flagged November as the likely starting point for the negotiations with the state government, who have been open towards the process, and who will also have to submit their intentions to the Authority.
He called on all Victorians to "follow in our journey and support us on this," arguing Treaty would allow the Assembly to "provide advice directly to government about the things that affect First Peoples".
"We need to make sure we're bringing our community along this journey with us," Mr Berg said.
The Assembly have long argued that self-determination is the best way to enable better outcomes for Indigenous people, and this has been highlighted in reports by the Yoorrook Justice Commission and the Productivity Commission, both of whom said previous ways governments have served Indigenous people has largely failed.
The Treaty negotiations were previously bi-partisan before the state opposition withdrew their support - without previously notifying either the Assembly or the government - in an announcement on Sky News in January this year.
