Queensland's Indigenous Truth-Telling and Healing Inquiry is a wake up call for the Western Australian government.
Established under the Path to Treaty Act 2023, the Inquiry will provide advice and make recommendations to the Queensland government in accordance with the Inquiry's Terms of Reference. However, with a majority government in power that is committed to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander First Nations Australians, it is expected that a Triple A economic powerhouse such as WA should be able to deliver similar outcomes to the State of Queensland.
Since the National Apology, most Australians are aware of Stolen Generations policy which saw between one in 10 and one in three Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander First Nations Australians removed from their families. However, Western Australia has long history of structural injustice when it comes to First Nations Australians. Our youth are dying in maximum security prisons. We have had inquiries into on going deaths in custody, missing people, stolen wage cases, and other matters be fore parliament and the courts. Last year, the heads of jurisdiction of Western Australian courts and tribunals issued a statement of reconciliation, acknowledging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander West Australians, including peoples, lands, and cultures. This statement also came with an acknowledgement of the structural issues facing First Nations West Australians in the criminal justice system:
"We acknowledge, with regret, that, over the course of our shared history, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have faced significant barriers to justice in our courts and tribunals, whether as parties to civil proceedings, witnesses, victims of crime or accused persons in criminal proceedings.
"We acknowledge, with regret, that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to be overrepresented in the criminal justice system and face obstacles in pursuing their rights in a variety of other ways in our justice system as a whole."
There are many incidences of injustices this process would have the power to explore. But it does not end with injustices against us. Some problems have come from our own communities. Recently, Gunditjmara man Geoff Clark was found guilty of 25 charges, predominantly related to the theft of almost $1 million from his community. What level of justice is available for First Nations West Australians who have been misled and defrauded by their own mob, as well as people claiming to be their mob?
What powers, if any, will this process have to deliver justice to us for some of our more complex matters? What about the bullying and misconduct committed by members of native title organisations, and how this affects the majority of First Nations people seeking support to determine their own futures? What about other industries? Schools, the university sector, healthcare, and other services provided to First Nations people? We are fed up with the lack of accountability for wrongdoing, but we have often been failed by the justice system. In Victoria, a First Peoples' Assembly established a commission to deal with these and other matters. The Assembly is also concluding its treaty negotiations with the State of Victoria.
Will WA ever see a Treaty?
It is difficult to imagine a Treaty for Western Australia, but with the right steps, a treaty is achievable this decade. In 1981, the Commissioner for Community Relations compiled a report into specific racism against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander First Nations people in WA, which found that First Nations people had experienced a high level of racial discrimination in almost every aspect of their lives. In 2009, The West Australian reported that Perth is one of the most racist places in Australia, according to a cross-institutional study.
There have not been any recent state-wide studies or investigations into racism as a problem in WA since 2009, let alone targeted First Nations prejudice. However, some of the behaviour reported during and after the Voice Referendum brought racial discrimination into the public eye.
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Australian Electoral Commission, 97 WA polling stations during the referendum topped an 80 per cent 'No' vote, while research in renowned health journal,The Lancet, stated that the referendum had tapped a "deep well of historical racism that originated on the Australian frontier when Indigenous peoples…were violently dispossessed from their lands by the British".
Apart from some of the public attitudes and approaches of voters to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander First Nations people in Western Australia, there are those among us as First Nations people who do not accept the injustices of the past, or the idea of distribution of power. Personally, when I see our own mob acting greedy, even being charged with theft of millions, or resigning over misconduct, I wonder how they differ from those who had done this to us among non-Indigenous institutions and governments. I think of the lives those millions of dollars might have touched, and I think of how yet another public humiliation affects our children and future generations.
Right now, we need fresh leadership on the world stage and here at home. Because a simple look at the overview of Aboriginal health to date demonstrates that what's been done for the past few years is not working.
If you or anyone you know needs help:
Lifeline 13 11 14
Kids Helpline 1800 551 800
MensLine Australia 1300 789 978
Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467
Beyond Blue 1300 224 636
Headspace 1800 650 890
ReachOut https://au.reachout.com/
Care Leavers Australasia Network (CLAN) 1800 008 774
Jesse J. Fleay is a Noongar writer and research specialist across major policy areas. His doctoral thesis explores a model for an Australian republic, along with calls to enact a Voice to Parliament for First Nations Australians. He believes in justice, and fairness in society and only works with people committed to First Nations people, and their self-determination. Views expressed are his own.
