Treaty
Chris COUZENS (Geelong) (10:05): As Victorians, we should be very proud of the fact that we have now introduced to this place treaty with First Peoples – the first in this country. The fact that we will acknowledge 65,000 years of history and culture and begin to genuinely address closing the gap is so important to our community. I am looking forward to the debate during the next sitting, and we will have a lot more to say then. However, I do want to address the misinformation that this somehow relates to the federal referendum on the Voice – it does not. The Voice was about recognising First Nations people in the constitution. I also want to be clear that Victoria has been on this journey to treaty for almost 10 years, and this process has been available to anyone online and through the reports that we have given, which I think are now up to about five or six. So it has not been hidden, it has not been kept from the people of Victoria; it has been a very open process for the last 10 years. And the fact is that we have won three elections with this commitment to moving towards treaty. To say that it is all hidden and secret is a load of garbage. I would ask the opposition to reconsider their position on this important historical time that we are about to enter. I really do look forward to the debate.