While the state of Victoria's treaty process has been well received by communities throughout the state, the rest of the country is still largely unaware of the significance of the process and the records it is breaking on the world stage.
The treaty process is linked to the establishment of the Yoorrook Justice Commission, which holds governments and institutions to account. So far, the Commission has held hearings regarding matters of critical significance, such as health, housing, and education. The commission, unassuaged by politics, has Yoorrook has heard evidence from First Peoples who experienced racism and discrimination within the construction industry in Victoria, as well as investigating the treatment of First Nations youths in the criminal justice system.
One of the most groundbreaking decisions reached by the First Peoples' Assembly was the establishment of the Self-Determination Fund, where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander First Nations leaders are now establishing a bridge between the economic and social division of dispossession, perhaps for the first time in Australian history. If they have their way, there will no longer need to be a Minister for Indigenous Affairs for the state of Victoria. Decisions affecting First Nations people will be in the hands of communities at the grassroots.
In a global review of treaties within my doctoral studies, I found that the Peoples' Assembly of Victoria is leading the first treaty of its kind because of how the process began and is continuing to operate. Unlike other nations, the treaty came from First Nations Australians, and remains led via diverse, open, and accountable First Nations governance at the grassroots of communities.
In the review, recorded treaties throughout human history were found to be overwhelmingly biased in the distribution of power, often going against the interests of First Nations people. While the earliest treaties are simple border claims or agreements, the coercion of First Nations people into unfavourable agreements—including the ceding of their sovereignty in the United States and Canada—has been the most common form of treaty thus far.
While record amounts of treaties sought to cede First Nations sovereignty, the review shed some light on other treaties, which include the Magna Carta Libertatum. This treaty—often celebrated by many constitutionalists—minimised the power that monarchies held over people in the United Kingdom, while other treaties in Europe maximised independence and sovereignty, even creating sovereign nations via agreements, such as the Golden Bull of Sicily.
Far from over, the First Peoples' Assembly continues to negotiate with governments to strike the best possible deal for First Nations people. Well aware of the impact this will make with First Nations people in places like Western Australia and Queensland, Assembly Co-Chair Reuben Berg had stated that housing, health, and education are universal matters to get right.
In another recent publication I focused on the role that the Crown of Terra Nullius continues to play in the way governments treat First Nations Australians, and call for an end to the practices of denialism and exclusion regarding our ownership of our own affairs and self-determination on a national level.
Whadjuk-Balladong Noongar, and Nukunu man, Jesse J. Fleay, is a Research Associate at the National Centre for Reconciliation, Truth, and Justice at Federation University.
