Future of First Peoples' Assembly unclear under a Victorian Coalition government

Dechlan Brennan
Dechlan Brennan Published January 24, 2025 at 1.00pm (AWST)

Victorian opposition leader Brad Battin has refused to rule out scrapping the First Peoples' Assembly if he is elected Premier as the state gears up for large rallies on January 26.

Appearing on Sky News, Mr Battin was asked by Andrew Bolt if he would "scrap this race-based Parliament" if he wins the 2026 election.

Mr Battin, who this week was critical of the Assembly co-chairs for encouraging people to go to the January 26 rallies, said the Coalition had "already said that we would scrap the Treaty, we've been very strong on that and we'll continue that message".

The opposition leader, who Indigenous leaders in the legal space previously told National Indigenous Times was one of the few members of the Coalition to engage with them on issues concerning raising the age of criminal responsibility whilst in his previous role as Shadow Minister for Youth Justice, said before anything else, "as a priority," he would meet with Assembly members.

"I think it's only fair we meet with them and have a discussion about what they say is their priorities moving forward," Mr Battin told Sky News.

"But we believe, very strongly, that Victoria has a great democracy which elects the people in the Parliament. And that should be the voice of all Victorians.

"We are very proud of the work that every one of our members does dealing with their communities, working with their communities, identifying issues, and delivering for everyone across the whole state."

Mr Battin's team was contacted for clarification around his comments.

The First Peoples' Assembly is the democratically elected voice of Indigenous people in Victoria and is leading the Treaty negotiations with the state government having been set up in 2018 by the Victorian Parliament.

Last year, under former leader John Pesutto, the Victorian Opposition reversed their previous bipartisan support for the treaty process in Victoria - without first telling members of the Assembly - citing supposed secrecy concerns.

This, despite previously telling Indigenous leaders they were committed to working with Aboriginal communities.

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In response to questions about the number of times the Victorian opposition and the Assembly have met since the beginning of 2024, as well as for a response to Mr Battin's comments, the First Peoples' Assembly referred National Indigenous Times to their social media post regarding January 26.

Victorian Greens leader, Ellen Sandell, was highly critical of Mr Battin's appearance on Andrew Bolt's show, labelling it "gross" and accusing the opposition leader of "taking another leaf out of Trump's playbook".

"For many people, Jan 26 is a sombre day where First Nations people ask us to listen and reflect on our country's history, yet the Liberal leader can't even show some basic respect and understanding on this day," Ms Sandell said.

"Instead, the Liberal leader is using it as an opportunity to stoke fear and hate to serve his own political agenda. This kind of divisive political point scoring doesn't benefit anyone, it's actually just disrespectful and gross and it needs to be called out."

The Treaty process has been criticised by conservative politicians and media commentators, with many on the conservative Sky News disingenuously linking the Voice referendum with treaty processes.

Last year, federal opposition Indigenous affairs spokesperson, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, said the treaty negotiations in Victoria wouldn't be a "true, democratic process" and argued the perceived low voter turnout for the Assembly elections meant it was unrepresentative of the broader Indigenous community.

It came as part of Sky News falsely claiming one of their journalists has been "banned from entering" a 'Talking Treaty' panel discussion event in September last year.

It led to Senator Price claiming Australians should be "very concerned" about treaty processes across the country, arguing the federal government could eventually "ram it on through".

Earlier this month, the priorities for the first round of the Treaty negotiations were announced, with an Assembly spokesperson stating: "We know that when it comes to Aboriginal communities, cultures, lands and languages, the experts are Aboriginal people."

"That's why we'll be looking for ways to ensure Mob in Victoria have the ability to come up with practical solutions at a local level."

In November, Premier Jacinta Allan said Treaty was needed to help "reset the relationship between the state of Victoria and First Peoples".

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