Travis Lovett is an intimidating person.

Anyone who has watched the Yoorrook Justice Commission hearings, of which Mr Lovett is one of the five commissioners, will know he doesn't let things go quietly, and sitting across from him in the Yoorrook offices in Collingwood, his presence is obvious.

Whether it is holding politicians or the Victorian police to account, the proud Kerrupmara/Gunditjmara man speaks with passion about culture and language; about the "real" history of Victoria; and about family.

But it is the last point of where Mr Lovett is most gentle.

Coming from the infamous Lovett family and growing up as one of 28, he speaks of pride about his great uncles, and grandfather, who went to war for a country that didn't care about them when they returned.

"That's really important to me and really important to our family, but also our community," he says.

"I've always said…it wasn't our war to fight, but our people stood up and they wanted to protect Country, our land, and our waters. That's something I feel really strongly about; it's our family's contribution to showing that Aboriginal people have contributed to every sort of facet of life."

His love of language brings him to (almost) to tears as he discusses his daughter reading out in front of her school in their language, and the difficulty many First Nations people faced keeping language and culture alive on missions.

"We heard clear evidence [during the hearings], that if you were caught speaking language; showing and sharing culture and traditions, your rations were cut," Mr Lovett said.

"That would have scared a lot of people.

"But for me, I've made it a personal commitment to reclaiming my language and working with a couple of my Gunditjmara elders to learn from them."

The opening of the latest iteration of the justice hearings took place on Gunditjmara country, on the south coast of Victoria, and included a visit to the site of the first massacre in colonial Victoria: the Convincing Ground massacre, where colonisers killed many from the Kilcarer gundidj clan.

Mr Lovett said the importance of highlighting areas such as the site of the Convincing Ground massacre are pivotal for the commission to create a document that tells the real history of Victoria.

"It's incredibly important to us, our people, and our identity; in the context of our struggle and resistance continually fighting for land rights and our people's human rights," Mr Lovett said.

"The importance of truth-telling on what really happened to our people and has continually happened to our people.

"One of the key things that we try to really emphasise through the truth-telling process [is] being trauma informed and making sure we are also not retraumatizing people and families who have got lived experience."

The area around Portland, where the Henty family first began the colonisation of Victoria, was intimately discussed during a well-publicised appearance before the commission by Suzannah Henty, a sixth-generation descendant of coloniser James Henty, who described the numerous monuments to her relatives around Victoria as "embarrassing".

Mr Lovett said the state's veneration of people – including multiple monuments actively celebrating the Henty family, who caused untold harm and misery to First Nations people - was a source of continual grievance.

"It's also important to also remind ourselves in the state of Victoria of the lack of representation of Gunditjmara people on our own land," he said.

His role as one of the Yoorrook Commissioners, under chair Eleanor Bourke, has put him in direct line with ministers, bureaucrats, and the police commissioner.

Last month, for the first time in Australian history, a state leader appeared before a truth-telling hearing when Jacinta Allan fronted the inquiry.

Of the hearings, Mr Lovett notes: "This is not Aboriginal truths…We are tasked with documenting the true history of Victoria, to set the record straight around what has continually happened, the ongoing impacts and the systemic injustices against first people since colonisation".

The hearings have heard about billions in land and water revenue not being passed on to Traditional Owners. During one sitting, Mr Lovett asked how First Nations people were meant to get ahead when they were kept from receiving revenue that came from land that was never ceded?

"We are talking billions of dollars that our people have been shut out of the economy, without our cultural rights being realised," he said.

"This is an issue that a lot of people don't understand, and it's really complex. Aboriginal people and Traditional Owners here in Victoria, we have cultural rights, which has access to land, to water, to our cultural practices, to our lore.

"That's different to everybody else and that's not really fully realised."

Minister for Environment, Hon. Steve Dimopoulos MP admits that between 2010-2023, the Victorian government received over $1.89 billion in revenue from grazing, forestry and public land licenses - but not a single dollar was distributed to traditional owners.#Truthtelling pic.twitter.com/VZT3352p4r

— Yoorrook Justice Commission (@yoorrookjc) April 16, 2024

In April, the majority of the recommendations from Yoorrook's first interim report were not accepted in full by the government. This, despite witnesses - many members of the Stolen Generation - reliving traumatic memories and experiences.

Mr Lovett said he hoped this experience wouldn't stop people from coming forward, engaging in truth-telling, and sharing their story, despite a "chequered history" of the state not stepping up and delivering for Indigenous people.

"I always want to encourage our people to be able to come forward…share their truths," he said, "in the hope that we make recommendations that ultimately will create systematic change".

Ending the conversation with National Indigenous Times, Mr Lovett was positive.

Talking about his family, and his history, including growing up in the Fitzroy housing commission towers, near the infamous Charcoal Lane off Gertrude Street, Mr Lovett does what he preaches at Yoorrook: truth-telling.

"We are documenting the true history of Victoria and establishing the official public record forever," he said.

"Carrying the Lovett name, it's not a burden, it's a real privilege to be able to do that. I don't just say this, but I strive every day to live up to my ancestors."