{"id":845987,"date":"2025-11-11T01:00:53","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T01:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalvoices.org\/?p=845987"},"modified":"2025-11-10T07:02:04","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T07:02:04","slug":"victorian-parliament-passes-australias-first-indigenous-treaty-legislation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalvoices.org\/2025\/11\/11\/victorian-parliament-passes-australias-first-indigenous-treaty-legislation\/","title":{"rendered":"Victorian parliament passes Australia\u2019s first Indigenous treaty legislation"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_846035\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=SM3Xl-goF2M\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-846035\" class=\"size-large wp-image-846035\" src=\"https:\/\/globalvoices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Treaty-celebrations-800x461.png\" alt=\"Indigenous Treaty celebrations outside Victorian parliament\" width=\"800\" height=\"461\" srcset=\"https:\/\/globalvoices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Treaty-celebrations-800x461.png 800w, https:\/\/globalvoices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Treaty-celebrations-400x231.png 400w, https:\/\/globalvoices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Treaty-celebrations-768x443.png 768w, https:\/\/globalvoices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Treaty-celebrations.png 900w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-846035\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Indigenous Treaty celebrations outside Victorian parliament. Screenshot NITV <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=SM3Xl-goF2M\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">YouTube video<\/a>: \u201cVictoria makes history as Treaty legislation passes parliament\u201d. Fair use<\/p><\/div>\n<p>In a historic first, the State Parliament of Victoria has passed Australia\u2019s first formal treaty with Indigenous First Peoples. It follows ten years of work with traditional owners.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Treaty Victoria\" width=\"650\" height=\"366\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2zA1921Kzus?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>First Peoples\u2019 Assembly of Victoria Co-Chair Rueben Berg talked to ABC News Breakfast the next morning abou the historic treaty:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DQdT0z9jCkd\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:650px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\">\n<div style=\"padding:16px;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DQdT0z9jCkd\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\"> <\/p>\n<div style=\" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\">\n<div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;\"><svg width=\"50px\" height=\"50px\" viewBox=\"0 0 60 60\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\"><g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><g transform=\"translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)\" fill=\"#000000\"><g><path d=\"M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631\"><\/path><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/svg><\/div>\n<div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\">\n<div style=\" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\n<div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\">\n<div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: auto;\">\n<div style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\n<div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The treaty is part of efforts to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.closingthegap.gov.au\/national-agreement\/targets\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">close the gap<\/a> between Indigenous people and the rest of the Australian community.<\/p>\n<p>The legislation establishes three key bodies: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2025-10-19\/victoria-treaty-aboriginal-language-words-gellung-warl\/105874164\">Gellung Warla<\/a> (the First Peoples\u2019 Assembly of Victoria as a permanent representative body), <a href=\"https:\/\/firstpeoplesvic.org\/treaty\/treaty-in-language\/\">Nyerna Yoorrook Telkuna<\/a> (a truth-telling body that will also incorporate truth-telling into Australia\u2019s school curriculum), and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2025-10-19\/nginma-ngainga-wara\/105887688\">Nginma Ngainga Wara<\/a> (an accountability body). Additionally, an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2025\/11\/07\/australia-adopts-first-treaty-with-indigenous-peoples-0\">infrastructure fund<\/a> will be created to give First Peoples greater control of the development projects that affect their communities.<\/p>\n<p>Ngarra Murray, elected Co-Chair of the First Peoples\u2019 Assembly of Victoria, <a href=\"https:\/\/firstpeoplesvic.org\/treaty\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">explained<\/a> why a treaty was needed:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Treaty recognises that Aboriginal people are the experts when it comes to our Country, culture and communities \u2014 and makes sure we can use our local knowledge to come up with and deliver practical solutions to improve health, education, and housing outcomes for our communities.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The news was greeted warmly by many Aussies. Mastodon user @susan60 joined others who would like to see it extended nationally:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"mastodon-embed\" style=\"background: #FCF8FF; border-radius: 8px; border: 1px solid #C9C4DA; margin: 0; max-width: 540px; min-width: 270px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0;\" data-embed-url=\"https:\/\/aus.social\/@Susan60\/115489222059002456\/embed\">\n<div style=\"color: #787588; margin-top: 16px;\">Post by @Susan60@aus.social<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-weight: 500;\">View on Mastodon<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script data-allowed-prefixes=\"https:\/\/aus.social\/\" async src=\"https:\/\/staticcdn.aus.social\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>However, not all Australians welcomed the legislation.<\/p>\n<p>Some opponents believe it will be racially divisive and that it goes against the national sentiment expressed in the rejection of the Federal <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2023_Australian_Indigenous_Voice_referendum\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Voice<\/a> referendum proposal in 2023.\u00a0<span style=\"font-size: 1.25rem;\">The Voice was to be a permanent consultative body written into the Australian Constitution to offer Indigenous citizens more representation in Parliament; however, it was\u00a0<\/span><a style=\"font-size: 1.25rem;\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/why-did-the-voice-referendum-fail-we-crunched-the-data-and-found-6-reasons-228383\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">rejected<\/a><span style=\"font-size: 1.25rem;\">\u00a0after more than\u00a0<\/span><a style=\"font-size: 1.25rem;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2023-10-16\/why-the-voice-failed\/102978962\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">60 percent<\/a><span style=\"font-size: 1.25rem;\"> of voters voted no on the referendum.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Margaret Chambers at right-wing thinktank Institute of Public Affairs <a href=\"https:\/\/ipa.org.au\/read\/two-years-since-victorians-rejected-the-voice-now-we-have-a-treaty\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">argued<\/a> that:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8230;the treaty will function as a Voice on steroids, creating a separate and parallel parliament based on race.<\/p>\n<p>[The treaty] will ensure that our democracy is transformed into a two-tier system based solely on ancestry.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Conservative parties opposed the treaty at both the State and Federal levels.<br \/>\nThe conservative rural-based National Party and some of their Liberal Party allies <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skynews.com.au\/australia-news\/politics\/bring-the-state-to-a-standstill-victorians-warned-of-sweeping-powers-given-to-states-newly-passed-indigenous-treaty-body\/news-story\/c1d5eafe02fb4227b7963f3aaa598628\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">doubled down<\/a> on their earlier opposition to The Voice. Nationals Senate Leader Bridget McKenzie called Victoria\u2019s treaty legislation \u201cappalling\u201d, while Liberal Victorian MP David Davis suggested that it would bring the state to a standstill.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Victorian Liberal leader Brad Battin was condemned for his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2025-10-14\/victoria-liberal-opposition-first-peoples-treaty-scrapped\/105888108\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">promise to repeal<\/a> the new law if elected to government in 2026. The pro-treaty \u201cTogether for Treaty\u201d movement started an online <a href=\"https:\/\/act.togetherfortreaty.org.au\/petitions\/battin-dont-wreck-treaty\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">petition<\/a> calling for Battin to back down as part of its ongoing campaign.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\">David Anthony\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SkyNewsAustralia\/posts\/pfbid02vHKbPTUUk2mfVYCVw6veUGoQAYC9haf8tdkFKPB77rniSXx9FFE9fLR7TEu2zrTAl?comment_id=1334342014350542\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">comment<\/a> on a SkyNews Facebook welcomed the treaty, which he described as unifying, not divisive.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Great to see Victoria embrace the Treaty. I still lament the loss of the Voice referendum as the perfect opportunity to \u2018close the gap\u2019 and make Australia a greater place. But state Treaties will be a huge help in improving the lives of thousands of people. Victoria coming to a standstill? That\u2019s a pretty hysterical assertion made without evidence. Time for unity, not division.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Most of the replies to Anthony\u2019s comment were very negative, as might be expected on the right-leaning SkyNews, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch\u2019s News Corp. Brian Wray\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SkyNewsAustralia\/posts\/pfbid0rZXQB9aP5CKPyfb7ksQXVmX89kq2NvmrbskTb6cVpQGK1nhsWsUNDjqY1oZpkMkZl?comment_id=1334342014350542&amp;reply_comment_id=1180391514010347\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">response<\/a> reflected many of the anti-treaty views:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>I agree it\u2019s time for unity, the rest of your rant is purely delusional. The Australian electorate voted NO. This action by the Allen government is treachery. Nothing less.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Similar arguments took place on several Reddit posts. This was a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/AustralianPolitics\/comments\/1ojws2j\/the_votes_are_counted_and_the_quiet_shattered_as\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">typical thread<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The official Treaty website emphasises that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.treatyvictoria.vic.gov.au\/what-treaty-will-deliver#what-this-statewide-treaty-bill-won%E2%80%99t-do\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the new law<\/a> will in no way: Change the Victorian or Commonwealth Constitution, establish a \u201cthird chamber of Parliament\u201d in the legislative chamber or house of Victoria\u2019s Parliament or change tax laws or provide individual financial \u201creparations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The day after the vote, Indigenous person Big T, sounded a note of optimism on BlueSky:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"bluesky-embed\" data-bluesky-uri=\"at:\/\/did:plc:fmhcivfv7wohipiuhxsh3cbj\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3m4j2i4dfxs2f\" data-bluesky-cid=\"bafyreiefzxfngd4dekvw2ikueia5u5kwu5qsuscfwxw4cxj4zvilkhafli\">\n<p lang=\"en\">Yesterday Victoria signed a Treaty.Today the sun is rising, so I guess it didn&#39;t cause the end of the world. \u2764\ufe0f<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/did:plc:fmhcivfv7wohipiuhxsh3cbj?ref_src=embed\">Big T (@big-tony.bsky.social)<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/did:plc:fmhcivfv7wohipiuhxsh3cbj\/post\/3m4j2i4dfxs2f?ref_src=embed\">2025-10-31T17:58:15.940Z<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/embed.bsky.app\/static\/embed.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The full legislation can be read <a href=\"https:\/\/content.vic.gov.au\/sites\/default\/files\/2025-09\/Negotiated-Statewide-Treaty-Subject-to-assent-05092025.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Yesterday Victoria signed a Treaty. Today the sun is rising, so I guess it didn&#8217;t cause the end of the world.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":569,"featured_media":846035,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[214,701,304,1477,262,265,212,287,221],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-845987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australia","category-english","category-feature","category-good-news","category-indigenous","category-law","category-oceania","category-politics","category-weblog"],"acf":[],"geo":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalvoices.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalvoices.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalvoices.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalvoices.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/569"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalvoices.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=845987"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/globalvoices.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":846177,"href":"https:\/\/globalvoices.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845987\/revisions\/846177"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalvoices.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/846035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalvoices.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=845987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalvoices.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=845987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalvoices.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=845987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}