The First Peoples' Assembly's appearance at the Yoorrook Justice Commission on Tuesday will see the co-chairs emphasise the role Treaty will play in directly empowering Aboriginal communities to "develop and deliver practical solutions at a local level".
The truth-telling hearings will this week examine the systemic injustices experienced by First Peoples in Victoria in relation to health, education, housing, and economic life.
On Tuesday, Assembly co-chairs Rueben Berg and Ngarra Murray will appear in front of the commission for a second time in as many months, with Mr Berg arguing the impacts of colonisation and previous injustices are still being felt in relation to the outcomes for First Peoples in housing, health and education.
"For too long government policies have actively excluded Aboriginal people from getting ahead in life and we still face unfair barriers and carry the burden of deliberately created disadvantage," the Gunditjmara man said.
"We need to reset the system, so Aboriginal communities have the economic opportunities we've been denied. That way we can create prosperity that we can hand down the generations, just like everyone else has been able to do."
The Assembly will soon enter into treaty negotiations with the Victorian government, and the "voice" of First Peoples in the state repeatedly arguing that nothing was "off the table".
Mr Berg said one of the focuses of the talks was going to centre on how to best transfer the decision-making powers from the Government to First Peoples.
"Obviously Aboriginal people are the experts when it comes to Aboriginal matters," he said.
"So, when it comes to Aboriginal communities and cultures and things like looking after our sacred sites and burial grounds and so on, of course we think it should be us making the decisions."
During his appearance before Yoorrook in April, Mr Berg - who previously worked for the Heritage Council of Victoria - highlighted some of the difficulties in changing government methods, arguing that even well intentioned governments can fall victim of a "kind of inertia" when it came to changing well-established practices of operation.
"Where things are undertaken a certain way, where business is undertaken a certain way…[it] can be challenging to shift that mindset and approach," he said at the time.
"Often, we will see at a Minister level, at a Secretary level, there is a strong willingness for commitment. When it gets down to the actual public servants…that's where you can come up against some of the difficulties in changing that mindset and breaking away from 'this is how we always do stuff."
This was reiterated by First Peoples Minister Natalie Hutchins, who told the commission in April the view inside governments for a long time was that self-determination was only about consulting with First Peoples, but was now about "embedding change and handing over power".
Fellow co-chair Ms Murray said Premier Jacinta Allan's acceptance of her ignorance of the massacres perpetrated against Indigenous people in Victoria during her historic appearance in front of Yoorrook was a "powerful reminder" of the needs of all Victorians to better understand the impacts of colonisation.
"A lot of people don't know the true history of this place and the extent of what was done to our people, so it's hard for them to understand the problems that grew out of that history which we still face today and need to fix," Wamba Wamba, Yorta Yorta, Dhudhuroa and Dja Dja Wurrung woman said.
Mr Murray, who has been an advocate for dual-naming recognition across the country, said she was confident Treaty would ensure First Peoples cultures and languages are properly recognised and respected, arguing it would benefit all Victorians.
"When Aboriginal communities are thriving, we can come together on equal footing and create a better shared future," she said.
"We have a lot to offer, and I think most people who call Victoria home want to know more about our cultures, our languages and expand their knowledge on our shared history."
