Treaty advancement
Mr FOWLES (Burwood) (10:01): This week the Treaty Authority and Other Treaty Elements Bill 2022 was introduced into Parliament. With this bill we take another step on our historic journey towards treaty and to realising genuine self-determination for Aboriginal Victorians. The Andrews government first committed to advancing treaty with Victoria’s First Peoples in 2016. This commitment was then formalised in law with the passage of the Advancing the Treaty Process with Aboriginal Victorians Act 2018, the first treaty legislation in Australia’s history. In 2019 the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria was elected, the first democratically elected representative body for traditional owners and Aboriginal Victorians in the state’s history. Now this week we have introduced legislation that will support the establishment and ongoing operation of the Treaty Authority. As the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, who I note is in the chamber, said in her second-reading speech on the bill, treaty is a shared opportunity to create a better and fairer Victoria. Every Victorian has a part to play in reconciliation, and I share that sentiment wholeheartedly.