Elected First Peoples body launches accountability framework as Treaty future hangs in balance

Dechlan Brennan
Dechlan Brennan Published October 31, 2026 at 3.00am (AWST)

The under-threat Treaty framework, facing the axe if the Coalition wins next month's Victorian election, has launched a formal mechanism to ensure its elected members remain accountable to Victoria's First Peoples.

Developed as part of the Treaty legislation passed last year, the new governance structure known as Gellung Warl encompasses the First Peoples' Assembly — an elected body representing Traditional Owners — alongside a permanent truth-telling body and an accountability commission to help oversee the delivery of Closing the Gap outcomes for First Peoples.

On Friday, Larbargirrar gnuurtak tulkuuk — meaning 'Community reckon/count truth' in Djab Wurrung — was announced by Gellung Warl, having been adopted by the Assembly earlier this month, following calls for elected Assembly members to be answerable and accountable to Community.

It is a "reflection on the past decade of invaluable contributions from our Community that will ultimately shape Treaty for generations to come," said newly elected Assembly Co-Chair Djaran Murray-Jackson.

"While we have always known our Community's preference towards Treaty, it is equally important to have a clear sense of direction from the people who elect us."

Larbargirrar gnuurtak tulkuuk is built around four key components: Ngarrakeetoong Martongakeeyt (Community Vision), which outlines Community aspirations for the Treaty era; answerability principles to guide accountability and engagement; the Community Connections Charter, which establishes commitments to meaningful engagement; and a Strategic Plan outlining Gellung Warl's priorities and objectives.

"We have secured Australia's first-ever Treaty, and now we are focused on making sure robust governance and answerability is at the centre of our ways of working," said fellow Co-Chair Meriki Onus.

"Through larbargirrar gnuurtak tulkuuk we stay on the path set by Community."

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In a statement, Gellung Warl said being accountable to First Peoples across the state is about "maintaining relationships, listening with Community, carrying Community's knowledge and aspirations into the work of Gellung Warl, and returning to Community to show the work that has been done".

"This is larbargirrar gnuurtak tulkuuk."

Metro Assembly Member Esme Bamblett, a Bangerang, Taungurung and Wiradjuri woman, said that from the beginning, members had maintained Gellung Warl was "answerable and accountable to Community".

"We exist to represent the hopes, needs and aspirations of Community. We are elected by Community, and therefore we must also be answerable and accountable to that Community," she said.

Despite the announcement, the future of the framework is under threat.

Less than a year after the Treaty legislation passed the Victorian Parliament, the state's Liberal-National Coalition has flagged its intention to repeal the agreement within 100 days should it win next month's election.

The latest polling shows the Coalition is likely to form government for the first time since 2014.

An Opposition spokesperson told National Indigenous Times that Treaty "creates an expensive bureaucracy rather than delivering practical outcomes for Aboriginal Victorians".

"We prefer direct action like our $52 million investment to expand the Urgent Care Pathways initiative as part of Our Plan to deliver for Victorians, giving more Aboriginal Victorians access to vital healthcare closer to home," they said.

One Nation has also committed to scrapping Treaty and dismantling Gellung Warl to help fund its full suite of policies.

Dismantling the entire framework associated with Treaty — including Gellung Warl, the Self-Determination Fund, which helps other Traditional Owner groups negotiate treaties, and the independent negotiating umpire, the Treaty Authority — would save the Victorian budget $247.8 million over the four years of a Liberal government, according to the state's Parliamentary Budget Office.

Speaking to National Indigenous Times this week, Labor's Health Minister Ingrid Stitt said it was vitally important to listen to the concerns of First Peoples across the state.

"I think Treaty gives us the vehicle to do that, and it gives us the architecture as well to be able to fulfil those aspirations," she said.

"That's on the line at this election."

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National Indigenous Times

Disclaimer: This function is AI-generated and therefore may mispronounce.