Wednesday, 15 October 2025

 Steve McGHIE (Melton) (18:01): It is a great honour to speak after the member for Mordialloc’s grievance – it was fantastic.

Treaty is about equity and part of that is letting First Nations Victorians have a say over the issues that affect them. This pathway to treaty has been going on for more than a decade. It is something that was introduced by the state Labor government, the Andrews Labor government, in 2014, with it committing to treaty in May 2016. There have been two state elections since then for our constituents to have a greater say on this, and they did – they carried it with a greater majority. Most of the Victorian community have supported this movement towards treaty, and we are pleased to say they still support it.

I want to raise the issue of a press release that was made back in 2022 by the opposition, in particular the member for Murray Plains, who then was the leader of the state Nationals. The member for Bulleen, who is at the table here right now, would have been the Leader of the Liberals at that time. I will read this press statement; I think it is from June 2022. The heading is ‘Statement on Treaty Authority and Other Treaty Elements Bill’, and it states:

The Liberals and Nationals Party Room has today supported the advancement of Victoria’s Treaty process.

The Treaty Authority and Other Treaty Elements Bill 2022, which will be debated in State Parliament tomorrow, facilitates the establishment of a Treaty Authority, a body that will support future Treaty negotiations between Aboriginal Victorians and the State of Victoria. It also makes other minor legislative amendments.

Shadow Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Peter Walsh said Liberals and Nationals MPs today voted to support the Bill when it goes before the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday.

“The Liberals and Nationals are committed to advancing the Treaty process in Victoria in a way that supports self-determination and reconciliation while strengthening community and connection to country,” Mr Walsh said.

“We will continue working closely with the Traditional owners and Registered Aboriginal Parties to ensure this process drives genuine progress towards Closing the Gap targets, as committed by every Australian state and territory.

…

“Treaty is deeply personal, meaning that the road to achieving it will be different things to all people.

“Moving forward we must continue to ensure this process is delivered in a way that respects, and strives to meet ,all the community’s ideals and expectations, while contributing positively to reducing disadvantage for Aboriginal Victorians.”

Well, well, well – how things have changed in the opposition since 2022. I am proud to stand as part of the Allan Labor government that is working to establish the first treaty in this great country of ours. Treaty is about making sure that First Peoples get a say over their health care, their families’ housing and their kids’ education, the practice of their culture. Now and into the future treaty is about acknowledging the pain and suffering of the past and working together towards a better future, not only for our First Nations people but for all Victorians. I am honoured and proud, and I commend this bill to the house.

 Tim READ (Brunswick) (18:05): Here on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation, in an important meeting place for the eastern Kulin people for thousands of years, with my Greens colleagues I will be supporting the Statewide Treaty Bill 2025. Those who oppose it seem to have forgotten some inconvenient history, so I will start by acknowledging some uncomfortable facts: one branch of my ancestors travelled from Sydney, crossed the Murray and settled just north of Wangaratta on Yorta Yorta country in 1838, and just a few years later, not far away, near Oxley, stockmen led by George Faithfull massacred 150 to 200 First Nations people or more in one day in 1842. My ancestors took land from Aboriginal people, and the economic and other benefits flowed from that land on to me. While nothing I have read suggests that they were involved in the massacre, they surely benefited from the removal of Aboriginal people from the land that they then farmed. Opposition to the treaty bill seems to be based on some idea that it is unfair to give any advantage to First Nations people, as if none of the history documented by the Yoorrook commission had ever happened, as if the massacres at Oxley and elsewhere in Victoria did not happen, as if the land was not stolen, but we cannot pretend that we all arrived at the present day from an equal start. The First Nations people in Victoria were subjected to genocide, and a treaty now, even 200 years late, is the very least we can do.

This bill establishes a new entity, Gellung Warl, with three parts: the democratically elected First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria, which has already done such important work in bringing about this treaty; Nginma Ngainga Wara, an independent accountability body; and Nyerna Yoorrook Telkuna to lead truth-telling in our local communities with the aim of eventual healing and reconciliation. We have heard scaremongering from those opposing this legislation, but this treaty bill is not a radical proposition. It is a first step toward delivering benefits for First Nations people based on self-determined priorities established by the democratically elected First Peoples’ Assembly. We have heard other critiques of this bill, that what it establishes is still limited by colonial institutions like this Parliament and Victoria’s legislative system; however, the Greens have consulted with the First Peoples’ Assembly and the Blak Greens, among others, and as a result we are proud to support this legislation today without amendment. But it is crucial that this legislation is not where the journey ends.

I acknowledge former Greens MP and current independent federal Senator Lidia Thorpe, the First Nations woman in this place who spoke in this chamber seven years ago to the Advancing the Treaty Process with Aboriginal Victorians Bill 2018, the bill that set out the process which has led to this legislation today. Senator Thorpe has since welcomed this legislation and congratulated the First Peoples’ Assembly on getting to this point while emphasising that the measure of this treaty will be in what it materially achieves for First Nations people.

Now, repeatedly we have seen this Labor government talk a big game about truth and treaty while in the next breath spruiking their punitive sentencing and bail changes that disproportionately lock up First Nations people in Victoria, including children. These laws and the entire legislative framework that allow desecration of lands, sacred sites and waterways for the sake of extractive industries, fossil fuel companies and highways help to perpetuate ongoing land theft, criminalisation and colonisation in Victoria. This treaty bill is an important first step, but there is a long way to go, and treaties can help us get there.

It is my privilege to support this historic treaty in Victoria and the work of the First Peoples’ Assembly. We hope that this will lead to further treaties. In the meantime, the Greens and I will keep supporting First Nations peoples’ self-determination, because this journey is far from over.

 Daniela DE MARTINO (Monbulk) (18:09): Today I rise with deep respect and a profound sense of responsibility to speak on the Statewide Treaty Bill 2025, a bill that marks a once-in-a-two-and-a-half-century milestone in our shared history. I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands on which we stand, the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation, who, along with the Bunurong people, are also the traditional owners of the land across the district of Monbulk, the Dandenong Ranges – Corhanwarrabul in Woiwurrung and its foothills. I pay my respects to their elders past and present and acknowledge all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across Victoria along with my colleague and friend in the other place Ms Sheena Watt.

I also want to thank all involved who have contributed in one way or another to the culmination of the first Statewide Treaty undertaken in our nation’s history. Five days ago, 10 October marked 190 years since the shameful declaration of terra nullius by Governor Bourke, which quashed all treaties made prior to that moment in time. Bourke effectively declared that this land did not belong to anyone prior to British settlement. It did not belong to the Aboriginal people who had lived here as the oldest continuous living culture in the world for over 65,000 years – he whitewashed history. We must be honest about our past, The wrongs committed against Indigenous Australians are not confined to history books; they are lived experiences. Dispossession, discrimination and exclusion have shaped the lives of First Peoples for over two centuries. Policies were made about First Peoples, not with them. The Yoorrook Justice Commission laid bare the truth of these injustices, and this bill to establish treaty is a direct response to that truth.

This bill is not about guilt, it is about responsibility. It is not about blame, it is about healing. It is not about rewriting history, it is about finally writing it together. The bill before us today starts to undo the harms caused to First Peoples under British settlement. It puts Aboriginal people at the centre of decision-making about themselves. In the words spoken so eloquently yesterday in this place by Ngarra Murray, it is built on respect, truth and shared responsibility, where First Peoples’ culture, knowledge and authority are not just acknowledged but are central to how we govern, care for country and make decisions together.

Treaty is about looking to the future, it is about healing and about moving forward together. I stress together because much has been said by those opposite that treaty will cause division. Let me be clear: what makes something divisive is not the pursuit of justice but the refusal to acknowledge it. Division comes from denial, from fear and from the unwillingness to listen. Treaty is not divisive, it is unifying. It brings us together in truth and invites all Victorians to walk forward side by side with honesty and hope.

Up until this point we have been an international outlier when it comes to having a treaty with our First Peoples. It is far more common for treaties to exist than not across the world. That we are the first jurisdiction in Australia to finally do this fills me with an incredible sense of pride. It is almost overwhelming when one stops and considers the significance of this moment. Not many have occurred in this place that come close. Women’s suffrage is one of the very few that I can think of, and imagine a place today where that had not occurred. I hope in a century’s time people cannot even imagine life before treaty.

As noted by a number of my colleagues who have spoken in support of treaty, I know that I am on the right side of history. When my grandchildren, if I am ever blessed to have any in the future, ask me one day, ‘Nonna, what are some of the things you are most proud of in your work?’, I will answer without hesitation supporting the first state treaty in Australia’s history and sitting in this place to hear the words of Ngarra Murray and Reuben Berg ring out across the chamber and into the records of Hansard into perpetuity.

I often reflect on how lucky I am that my immigrant grandparents chose to come to this country, which has been so lovingly cared for for over 65,000 years by the First Peoples of our nation. I have often reflected on how ignorant I had been when it came to knowing and understanding the history and contributions of the First Peoples across time. What we were taught in school was so rudimentary as to be insulting and, shamefully, what I taught in my early teaching years a quarter of a century ago was not much better. Thankfully we are embedding truth-telling into the Victorian school curriculum.

A member interjected.

Daniela DE MARTINO: ‘Hear, hear’ to that indeed. Yesterday morning on the steps of Parliament I felt deeply honoured to have participated in the smoking ceremony performed by Uncle Andrew Gardiner and Thane Garvey-Gannaway. Wominjeka means come with purpose, they told us. We come with purpose. I come with purpose to stand and speak in support of treaty. What a privilege and honour it is to do so. I commend this bill to the house.

 Tim RICHARDSON (Mordialloc) (18:14): It is indeed a profound honour to rise and speak on the Statewide Treaty Bill 2025. It is a moment and time of substantial significance. I want to acknowledge the Wurundjeri people and pay my respects to your elders past and present, and the Bunurong people in the Mordialloc electorate who have cared for country since the Carrum Carrum Swamp sustained life and country, and Port Phillip Bay, which of course was a flat plain that sustained life until it flooded some 8000 to 10,000 years ago. Do you know how we know that? Because 85 per cent of the species in Port Phillip Bay are uniquely Port Phillip Bay, which shows there was a great flood that has been passed down through storylines and generations.

In the limited time I have got, I think we need to call out – and I think this will be my contribution here – some of the things that have been said by the opposition quite clearly. I would have loved to have done 30 minutes on how significant this is for Victoria, but we need to say, and those who are commentating outside this place about treaty need to understand: the referendum has nothing to do with treaty. We have taken the treaty to three elections now. We have had a readiness for treaty and a pathway to treaty for years. The referendum was about a change to the federal constitution. The treaty is with Victorian First Nations peoples. It has been through a number of elections. It has been voted on, it has been endorsed and it was supported policy by the former Leader of the Opposition, the member for Hawthorn. It was at one point supported by the Nationals. It is upon them to decide and determine why they have walked away from that, but it needs to be acknowledged that this has been to elections and it has been through that process.

The new body, the First Peoples’ Assembly – those opposite have commentated on this new body being something that is being created in addition to or outside of the legislature or the executive. Shock, horror – it has been going on for a number of years now. Where has everyone been, when the First Peoples’ Assembly has been addressing the pathway to treaty for a number of years? And guess what – I walked out this morning, I looked up and the sky was still blue, the sun still came up, and policy was enhanced because of the First Peoples’ Assembly. The absolute comments that I saw from those opposite around it not being representative – it is representative. It literally was an election that went through of First Peoples to then be representative on country and land, so let us get rid of that myth.

The notion that we are setting up a body that is in addition to or to the exclusion of Victorians with First Peoples – well, guess what their answer to not supporting treaty is? An Aboriginal affairs portfolio. I just heard that. They keep reading this out, and I keep going, ‘Why is the media not questioning or calling this out?’ They have gone with an Aboriginal affairs portfolio that is exclusive, that focuses on policies particularly for First Nations people and that will be funded targeting Closing the Gap initiatives – education, health and outcomes – which is exactly what the Victorian government is doing through treaty. What nonsense. What nonsense to come in here and say that – and how disrespectful as well.

And then the notion – and I want to be very clear about this – that the lived experience and living experience of people is littered throughout portfolio policies across government. I mentioned two massive royal commissions, the Royal Commission into Family Violence – lived experience is at the heart of everything that we do in that space – and the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System. Both of these royal commissions had multi-partisan support. The lived and living experiences are at the heart of that. We literally have a funded levy into perpetuity that acknowledges a disproportionate need to fund into the future. I could name thousands more portfolio policies that do that. And yet, why is it that when we talk about treaty or First Nations peoples it suddenly stirs up opposition and interest? Again, it will be for those opposite, when they go into committee in the other place, to deal with this.

In the final time that I have got here – and I hope that answers clearly the absolute gaping contradictions by those opposite of trying to navigate their opposition to this. But I want to say one important thing: treaty is for everyone. It should be the greatest pride and place in Victorians – in every single Victorian. Whether you are First Nations and have 60,000 years of continuous connection, whether you arrived the other day as a permanent resident with a hope and a dream to be an Australian citizen one day or you have been here for generations, it is a pride of place that we can all celebrate – a long story, a long line, and a long connection to country and water. This is a moment of pride for Victoria and a moment of pride for our nation like we have never seen before, and it should be the greatest uniting moment. I thank the First Peoples’ Assembly for all the work they have done, the Minister for Treaty and First Peoples, the parliamentary secretary and the Premier for their leadership. Let us get it done.

 Eden FOSTER (Mulgrave) (18:19): I am incredibly proud and honoured to stand here today in support of this momentous legislation, the Statewide Treaty Bill 2025. I would like to acknowledge the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation as the traditional owners of the land on which we are gathering today here in the Parliament of Victoria and also acknowledge the Bunurong people, whose lands include my electorate of Mulgrave. I want to acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded and that Victoria is and always has been Aboriginal land. I also want to extend a thankyou to those involved in this process: the First Peoples’ Assembly, the ministers that worked on this and everyone who was in support of this bill.

This bill represents the first treaty put to a Parliament between Indigenous people and the government in any jurisdiction in Australia. This is simultaneously an incredibly radical and conservative action. It is radical in the sense that this represents the biggest change in our relationship as a state with its Indigenous population since colonisation, giving them a say on matters that affect them and greater ability to advocate for their rights. With the assent of this treaty, we will be standing at the forefront of the nation on reconciliation and cementing Victoria as a leading light of First Nations empowerment. Conversely, this reform is conservative in that we will become just one of many postcolonial nations that have had treaties with their Indigenous populations for more than a century. The Treaty of Waitangi, the foundational document of New Zealand, has been in place for close to 200 years. In following in the footsteps set by other jurisdictions, we too embark on the next stage of our long and winding journey towards reconciliation.

I just want to note a personal connection to why treaty is so important to me. It goes back to my heritage. My mum is from India, of Anglo-Indian descent, but growing up she led a life disconnected from her Indian heritage and culture thanks to colonialism. She does not know Bengali or Hindi. She has never performed traditional dances and has rarely worn a sari. My personal experiences are very similar to this, but my own estrangement from my culture is even more pronounced. My mum at least studied Bengali and Hindi at school; I cannot even count to 10 in those languages. My family’s lived experience mirrors that of broad swathes of our rich multicultural communities. Many have had their ancestral homelands taken from them by colonialism, and in finding a new home here they live in an identity purgatory. They do not feel wholly Australian or wholly of their ancestral culture, because they feel unable to engage with both aspects of themselves, and as such they struggle to belong and connect.

I bring these experiences to this debate because I have always felt a parallel between our struggles and those of our Indigenous communities. Generation after generation have been estranged from their culture, identity and heritage, and this is just a fraction of the pain inflicted upon them. In the last 250 years these communities have been enslaved, disenfranchised, kidnapped, incarcerated and subjected to what amounts to systemic genocide of the longest-living continuous culture in the world, a culture we should be so proud of. However, some in this place cannot find the good in themselves to tolerate treaty for even a hundred days if they were to gain power – and that says a lot. Future generations of our First Peoples will carry the scars and burdens of their disenfranchised forebears. Similarly, all of us are lesser for the loss of millennia-old cultural knowledge that passed with the victims of colonisation, not to mention the impact of transgenerational trauma that continues to this day and will only continue unless we, this Parliament, take the steps towards treaty, a step that our First Peoples have been calling for. When will those opposite listen, and truly listen with open minds and open hearts, to those who cared for this land for tens of thousands of years?

To build a brighter future, this government and all that succeed it need to be accountable to our First Nations community in Victoria and commit to working collaboratively to resolve the vexing issues they face, rather than dictating what is best for them. The treaty’s provision for Gellung Warl is a crucial step towards realising our shared aspiration for the voice that has been heard around the state since 2019 to become an entrenched part of our democracy. That should be a moment of pride for everyone in this place and beyond. Similarly, the Yoorrook Justice Commission has done incredible work and serves as a crucial mechanism by which trust in our institutions is enhanced throughout our Indigenous communities. Together, these reforms and the dozen others included in this landmark legislation will inform and support us as legislators to make a real difference in supporting First Nations communities and closing the gap in generations to come.

The Statewide Treaty Bill is our opportunity to take the next steps on our path to reconciliation. Together let us walk in pursuit of a closed gap and a brighter future. I am so proud to be part of a government that is the first in the nation to bring a treaty to Parliament, and I wholeheartedly commend this bill to the house.

 Belinda WILSON (Narre Warren North) (18:25): I would like to also start by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land where we are today and paying my respects to their elders past and present. Yesterday was a really big day. For decades laws passed in this Parliament enabled forced removal of Aboriginal Indigenous children from their families not because they were unsafe but simply because of their culture, their language and the colour of their skin.

I actually feel really personal about this. I am sorry. I sat there yesterday while the opposition gave some remarkable reasons why they would not support this bill, while a room of people looked at us all, and we are the ones deciding about this, and it really weighed on my shoulders.

We have got a chance to be part of the change, and a gallery full of incredible human beings have been looking on us for the last two days with smiles and anticipation and hope that has been so long coming. This bill is about building a future where First People are not just consulted, but they are heard and valued. And I want you to know that I take this responsibility really seriously.

I am sorry. I am sorry for what has happened in the past. I am sorry for my ancestors, my family that came from England, Ireland and Scotland and invaded this land. It is actually only in my older years I have felt and taken this really personally. I am not actually really interested in looking back on my family history. That is probably something that my family will read back in Hansard in many years to come and curse me for, but that is okay. But it really weighs on me, and I am so proud to stand in this chamber, to be part of this change and to have this opportunity to be part of this incredible government that is passing treaty. I cannot tell you how proud I am.

This bill recognises that First Peoples are not only stakeholders; they are sovereign peoples with the right to shape the systems that affect their lives, the right to advise the government, to make decisions on matters directly affecting First People and help build capacity in communities across the whole state of Victoria. This is not just about listening; this is building something lasting that is led by community and grounded in culture, education and truth. This is not about attempting to rectify past injustices. It is about making sure the next generation of Aboriginal Indigenous children show up in a state that respects their identity, respects their culture, their voice and their right to shape the systems that directly affect their lives and their future.

This is not the first time this government has walked this path, or I should say, not the first time a government has walked this path. It is countries like New Zealand, Canada and the United States that have long recognised the importance of treaty in resetting relationships with their First Peoples.

Many people have spoken about New Zealand and the modern treaties that they have in place. Victoria now joins them in acknowledging that justice begins with truth, and progress begins with partnerships. To those unsure about treaty, I ask you to look at the history we have inherited and ask: what is the alternative? More silence? More delay? More of the same?

Doing nothing is not neutral, it is a choice. And it is one we have made for far too long. This bill is not about division. It is about recognising that the systems we have built have not always served everyone equally, and now we are doing something about it.

This is our moment to stand on the right side of history – to say clearly and without hesitation that we are ready to do better. And with this bill, we begin. I commend the bill to the house.

 Gary MAAS (Narre Warren South) (18:30): I rise today to proudly contribute to history in this great state. Before I do that I wish to acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woiwurrung people of the Kulin nation as the traditional owners of the land upon which we are gathering today and their elders past and present. I also acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands on which my electorate of Narre Warren South sits, the Bunurong people of the south-eastern Kulin nation.

The Victorian government is committed to true reconciliation, truth-telling and treaty with First Peoples, and it can only occur by empowering and supporting our Indigenous people through self-determination. True reconciliation begins with understanding our past and acknowledging First Peoples’ continued custodianship of country. The Labor government has been on the truth and treaty path for nearly a decade now, and I acknowledge all the remarkable and indeed painful work that has informed the process. I also acknowledge the impact of the findings from the Yoorrook Justice Commission, which brought to light the experiences of First Peoples and uncovered the uncomfortable yet deeply important lessons from that.

Treaty puts all of this into action, and it will improve outcomes for First Peoples going forward. The first negotiated Statewide Treaty agreement brings together First Peoples through the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria and the Victorian government to build a new relationship based on respect, trust and integrity. It acknowledges our past and is a chance for all Victorians to move forward together. Victoria is the first Australian state to introduce treaty to its Parliament, making this a particularly historic moment and one that I hope sets a precedent for other states in our country. Treaty does not take away anyone’s rights. It is about improving services and lives for First Peoples across areas like health, housing and education. It will help all Victorians to build a shared connection with Aboriginal history and bring our communities together. In the oldest continuing culture in the world, one with over 65,000 years of history, why would you say no? The Victoria that I know and the one that I love is one based on respect, inclusion and understanding. I see this every single day in my community in the outer south-east of Melbourne, which is home to thousands of people from many different backgrounds. My constituents understand how our First Peoples have struggled for recognition, acceptance and respect. Like many have said in this place, many of these constituents have come from lands foreign to this one, but they see their own stories are adjacent to the plight of our First Nations people. Our modern Australian story is built on immigration, and it is time that we recognise that all of those who were here before us can now work together for our collective future.

I say thank you to our First Nations people for the very generous invitation that you have given to us to work and walk alongside you. Those opposite have said no to Mabo. They have even said no to the simple acknowledgement of country. They say no to welcome to country, they have said no to the Voice and they have said no to treaty in Victoria. I very proudly say yes, and in doing so I know that my Labor parliamentary colleagues and I stand on the right side of history. Those opposite are building quite a record on so many issues as they continue to dig themselves into a deeper hole of irrelevance. The idea that you would dismantle treaty in your first 100 days of government – something that is relevant, something that is a thing – shows that you should never have the honour of governing in this state.

Now is the time to recognise, respect and work together on outcomes that benefit all Victorians. Now is the time for treaty in Victoria.

In bringing us to this point can I just say thank you to all members of the Yoorrook Justice Commission and all current and former members of our First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria. I am proud to stand here in support of treaty, and I am proud to commend this bill to the house.

 Kat THEOPHANOUS (Northcote) (18:35): I acknowledge the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation as the traditional owners of the lands on which we meet and by which the Northcote electorate is encompassed. I pay my deep respects to their elders past and present, to their culture and connections to the lands and waters and to their strength, resilience and enduring spirit.

In the inner north the story of Aboriginal resistance, leadership and empowerment runs deep. It is in the work of giants like William Cooper, Aunty Marge Tucker, Uncle Bill Onus, Aunty Elizabeth Morgan, Uncle Doug Nicholls and Lady Gladys Nicholls. It is in organisations like the Aborigines Advancement League, which in 1969 became the first Aboriginal-run organisation to fully control its own affairs in Victoria – a huge milestone for Aboriginal civil rights and self-determination. It is in the establishment of Australia’s first Aboriginal women’s refuge, known now as Elizabeth Morgan House in Fairfield, and in the statewide peak bodies that stand proud in the inner north: the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service, the Victorian Aboriginal Community Services Association, the Victorian Aboriginal Child and Community Agency, the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service and the Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Incorporated – all steeped in the history of Aboriginal activism and the call for services that meet community needs. The suburbs cradled by the Merri and Darebin creeks are enmeshed with this story. They echo with the voices of Aboriginal educators, artists, athletes and advocates who have shaped generations and propelled this cause forward. There is a kinship and an allyship that continues today across our community, grounded in truth, respect and shared purpose.

It is from that local connection that I rise in strong support of the Statewide Treaty Bill 2025, a bill that enacts the commitments made by the state of Victoria in Australia’s first negotiated treaty with First Peoples. This is a historic moment for all Victorians, one that calls on each of us to show courage and resolve and to share with pride. Its significance was so powerfully elucidated by Ngarra Murray and Rueben Berg in this chamber yesterday. Since colonisation First Peoples have been dispossessed and excluded from the social and economic opportunities that most Victorians take for granted. Even today, with all of the goodwill that exists in our community, those inequities remain – the ripple effect of government policies and practices that now send chills up our spines. Treaty gives us a way to change what is not working. And let us be clear, what has been tried has not been working. It is about giving First Peoples a real say over the policies that shape their lives, their health care, their children’s education, their families housing and the practice of their culture now and into the future. It is how we close the gap, how we build something lasting, grounded in the recognition that our state is stronger when it reckons honestly with its history and when we walk forwards together.

Victoria has formally been on the truth and treaty path for nearly a decade. For so many it has been much longer than that. In 2022 I spoke in support of the Treaty Authority and Other Treaty Elements Act 2022, establishing the framework for negotiations – one that invited First Peoples, the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria and the state of Victoria to come together in an act of healing. Then last year on a sweltering November day we gathered in the Darebin Parklands for a ceremony that formally commenced negotiations. This site in Alphington, where you can feel the soul of the land, embraced us in arms both hopeful and heavy – hopeful because for the first time in generations there is a chance to walk together into a different future; heavy because the weight of injustice does not lift easily but instead sediments, solidifies and forms the bedrock that fortifies for the struggle ahead. That struggle does not dissipate today, but it shifts, carried forward with new strength and new resolve.

The treaty bill will establish Gellung Warl as an ongoing democratic representative and deliberative body for First Peoples in Victoria. Its role will be to make decisions on policy and programs for First Peoples to provide an independent accountability mechanism for closing the gap and to build on the truth-telling of the Yoorrook Justice Commission. At its core it is about a future where Aboriginal children grow up knowing that their culture is respected, their rights are upheld and their communities are safe and strong.

To those opposite who have sought to cast doubt on this process and have committed to unravelling it if they come to power, who say that treaty will divide us or that it is unnecessary or that it will take something away, I say this: open your hearts and your minds. Treaty does not divide us; it brings us closer together. It empowers every single one of us to create a fairer and more just Victoria. To the Aboriginal community in my electorate and across the state: your leadership and persistence has made this possible. And to the next generation of young people watching today: this is your future being built in real time, a future founded on respect and equality, not denial and silence. When history looks back on this moment, it will see a Labor government that had the courage to do what is right. I am proud to stand on the side of justice and to lend my voice in this Parliament to a treaty in Victoria. I commend the bill to the house.

 Anthony CIANFLONE (Pascoe Vale) (18:41): I rise to support the Statewide Treaty Bill 2025. In doing so, I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the lands on which we meet and pay my respects to the elders past, present and emerging, the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation, but particularly my First Nations colleagues in this place and beyond, the member for Geelong, the member for Northern Metropolitan Region Sheena Watt and of course the Victorian Senator Jana Stewart. I acknowledge the members of the First Peoples’ Assembly, including inaugural co-chairs Marcus Stewart and Aunty Geraldine Atkinson and today’s co-chairs Rueben Berg and Ngarra Murray, and Uncle Andrew Gardiner, who represents the Wurundjeri people in the Assembly. In doing so I rise to express my pride in being part of a Victorian Labor government that is leading the nation when it comes to progressing the aspirations of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, through Voice, the creation of the First Peoples’ Assembly, the truth through the establishment of the Yoorrook Justice Commission and treaty through this bill, the nation’s first treaty bill.

I am proud to be part of a Victorian government that has continued to listen, respect and help elevate the views and aspirations of generations of advocacy by First Nations people, which will culminate through this bill and which is built on extensive consultation, engagement and action since we came to government in 2014. Because, as resoundingly demonstrated by the Yoorrook Justice Commission, over many generations previous Victorian governments and parliaments actively disempowered, silenced and ignored First Peoples when it came to making decisions about their interests. For far too long, this has led to a lack of understanding, often producing harmful and ineffective laws and policies, the legacy of which we continue to see today in the form of employment, education, health, wellbeing and socio-economic outcomes – all gaps that we must close. That is why it is critical, despite previous good intentions, that we now begin to reset that relationship between the state and First Peoples to ensure the mistakes of the past are not repeated. That is why this Statewide Treaty Bill places self-determination at the heart and helps us continue striving towards closing those gaps, reconciliation and making a practical difference to help First Nations people with health, wellbeing, education, socio-economic and many other outcomes.

The bill will give effect through a range of new measures, but there are three in particular I just want to highlight. The future of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria, the Gellung Warl, the ongoing First Peoples’ representative body, the Assembly of Gellung Warl, elected by First Peoples, will be the central decision-making arm of Gellung Warl and is answerable to First Peoples via its democratic nature and cultural obligations. Number two: the Nginma Ngainga Wara, which comes from the Wadi Wadi language, will be the independent accountability mechanism required under the national agreement to close the gap, and it will help be the mechanism to hold the state accountable for achieving its commitments to First Peoples. And number three: Nyerna Yoorrook Telkuna, in the Wamba Wamba language, will be the ongoing truth-telling office and will provide for non-judicial, place-based and self-determined truth-telling, healing and reconciliation intended to build on the Yoorrook Justice Commission official public record of the history of the colonisation of Victoria.

But of course treaty, sadly, is no longer a bipartisan area of policy in this place. The Liberals and Nationals have pledged to introduce legislation to repeal the treaty bill should they form government within the first 100 days. Fancy that – you are going to the election and your first commitment, should you be elected, is to repeal the bill that brings reconciliation and First Peoples together.

Instead they propose a new First Nations Victoria body, a standalone department, in their own words, to work alongside Indigenous Victorians – ‘alongside’ not ‘with’ – reportable to a new minister. This flies in the face of the work that has been done by Labor and this place through Voice, treaty and truth. It totally ignores the extensive consultation and engagement we have done over these years to get to this point. It is not what First Nations Victorians have asked for, and the Liberal–National approach is a return to the paternalistic government that these conservatives only know to always fall back on.

Look at the claims here. They claim to be a party of economic rationalism, but the Productivity Commission has also recommended this approach of self-determination through this bill. That is the way we get better economic outcomes – through self-determination in this bill. They claim to be the party of families, but through their approach here, as I will demonstrate shortly, they are all about division. They are not about bringing together families. They are about dividing families and communities. They claim to be the party of smaller government, but their own election commitment here is actually about creating more government – a new bureaucracy, a new portfolio – which flies in the face of that claim. They claim to be the party of deregulation, but their approach again is about more regulation, more bureaucracy. Here we are actually proposing self-determination and decentralisation of government policy. It is unbelievable, and they wonder why the Liberals and Nationals continue to lose public support, confidence and trust.

They opposed the yes vote of course, and look at where Peter Dutton led them in the federal election. They got decimated. He lost his own seat. Their federal Liberal leader lost his seat. They have opposed welcome to country ceremonies. They have opposed anti-vilification reforms in this place that we have sought to strengthen to protect people from vilification on the grounds of sex, gender, faith, culture and disability. Their heir apparent, federal Liberal leader Andrew Hastie, is off and about demonising migrants again. He is saying the Liberals have to go further to the right to get One Nation votes, and they have got Jacinta Price as well demonising Indian migration. And in this place, while we are debating treaty, in the other chamber they are in the process of debating a matter that is all about taking away recognition for Indian and Sikh communities. As a son of migrants myself I will always stand up for minority communities, multicultural migrant communities and First Nations communities, because that is what we do on this side of the house. We always do what is right, and history always reinforces that approach. It is a world away from the Sir Robert Menzies era of this Liberal Party. He would not recognise where they are today. It is this party that has always progressed Voice, treaty and truth. This bill does that at the Victorian state level for the first time, introducing a new treaty in this country, and I commend the bill to the house.

 Mathew HILAKARI (Point Cook) (18:47): I too rise to support the Statewide Treaty Bill 2025. In this place yesterday Uncle Andrew Gardiner of the Wurundjeri people, one of their elders, reminded us of the dual meaning of ‘wominjeka’, and that of course is ‘welcome’, something that is well known across our community, but also ‘come with purpose’. I am glad to be on the side of politics that has come with purpose on this day and yesterday in this place, because there have been too many missed opportunities for our whole community. We missed the opportunity to deal with treaty in the settlement in 1803, we missed the opportunity in the short-lived Batmania and Melbourne’s establishment in 1837 that followed, we missed the opportunity when the colony of Victoria was established in 1851 and we missed the opportunity in 1901 at Federation. We come with purpose. We do not intend to miss this opportunity again.

Aunty Joy Murphy Wandin spoke in this place several years ago during NAIDOC Week, just in the chamber next door to here, and what she said was I think probably one of the most generous things that I have heard and certainly the most generous thing that I have heard in this place, which was to invite all the parliamentarians of this Parliament to keep making laws on behalf of all Victorians, including Aboriginal Victorians. Think of what generosity that statement is when this is the place that has been the centre of colonialisation in Victoria, the centre of dispossession, the centre of so many laws which have impacted in a negative way Aboriginal Victorians. Of course I pay my respects to the Wurundjeri people, the oldest living culture the world has ever seen – something that we should celebrate every single day in this place, and I know many of my colleagues do. I know what weight Aunty Joy placed on us in thinking about the types of laws that we pass in this place, and I take that with me in the decisions that I make in this place.

I want to also acknowledge Sheena Watt, my friend from the other place who has been such a comrade through all these years.

In this chamber yesterday Ngarra Murray reminded us that Aboriginal governance is the oldest system of government. Rueben Berg in this chamber reminded us that treaty is not charity, it is justice. I invite listeners to reflect on the words that they spoke in this chamber, because we have a lot to learn. I live on the land of the Bunurong people and work on that land too. The words of N’arweet Benbow were recounted to this Parliament in 1858 at a select committee of the Legislative Council. They recounted the strong oral tradition of the Aboriginal community and in particular of the Bunurong people. Part of this was to talk about the history of Port Phillip Bay. The land that we now call Melbourne extended right out to the heads of the bay. Port Phillip Bay was a large, flat plain. It was a place for hunting kangaroos, for hunting ‘opossums’ and for cultivating yam daisies. I thank N’arweet Professor Caroline Briggs for her essay recently in Meanjin improving on the retelling of the oral tradition that that Parliament heard and putting it into its contemporary place. I will quote from that essay:

… one day there came a time of chaos and crises. The Boonwurrung and the other Kulin nations were in conflict. They argued and fought. They neglected their children. They neglected their land. The native yam was neglected. The animals were killed but not always eaten. The fish were caught during their spawning season. As this chaos grew the sea became angry and began to rise until it covered their plain and threatened to flood the whole of their country.

The people went to Bundjil, their creator and spiritual leader. They asked Bundjil to stop the sea from rising. Bundjil told his people that they would have to change their ways if they wanted to save their land. The people thought about what they had been doing and made a promise to follow Bundjil. Bundjil walked out to the sea, raised his spear and directed the sea to stop rising. Bundjil then made the Boonwurrung promise that they would respect the laws.

The place the Kulin then chose to meet is where the Parliament of Victoria is now located. They debated issues of great importance to the nation; they celebrated, they danced.

This land will always be protected by the creator, Bundjil, who travels as an eagle.

It was not until the 20th century that we accepted this truth – this true history. We only accepted this when we found the old riverbeds of the Yarra and Werribee rivers that crossed across our bay up to the heads. Imagine 10,000 years of accurately retelling the history of our place. We can often only remember what happened last week, and sometimes only barely so, but this was 10,000 years of oral tradition. If we listen, we have a lot to learn. I hope that if this bill passes – and I am confident and hopeful that it will – this story will be told by the Bunurong people in language by representatives of their people in the Gellung Warl and this treaty will lead to renewed leadership and relationship between Aboriginal people and the state of Victoria. I commend this treaty to the house.

 Nathan LAMBERT (Preston) (18:53): It is a pleasure to rise as the 45th Labor speaker in favour of the Statewide Treaty Bill 2025. I certainly will not repeat all of the wonderful earlier contributions, including those of Rueben Berg and Ngarra Murray at the top of the debate, but I will use my time to briefly, but importantly, acknowledge the very strong local support for treaty across Preston and Reservoir. We are very lucky locally to have a significant First Nations population amongst our friends and neighbours. It is not quite on the level of Mildura and Shepparton and some regional areas, but I believe that of the 55 metro electorates, Preston ranks fifth in that respect.

As I mentioned in my inaugural speech, Preston is very lucky to be home to a number of our key Aboriginal controlled community organisations, and I think I said it was the place where you are most likely to run into one of our great First Nations leaders getting coffee or groceries. I will not list them all, but Senator Jana Stewart and Marcus Stewart are based locally. The Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service on High Street is led by Nerita Waight, who was here yesterday. We have Dardi Munwurro further up High Street, led by Uncle Alan Thorpe. I know Yoorrook Justice Commissioner Travis Lovett is very familiar with our area. I think he will not mind me saying he is a fan of Preston Health and Fitness, the iconic gym on Murray Road that I also am a fan of. It is a great gym. And then further south, the Victorian Aboriginal Child and Community Agency on Bell Street, that I think the member for Northcote mentioned, is run by Aunty Muriel Bamblett. The Victorian Aboriginal Health Service has a major service further along Bell Street, run by Mick Graham along with ambassadors Aunty Lynette Briggs and Uncle Alan Brown. Uncle Alan Brown is very involved in our local Darebin area as well. And then further along Bell Street is the old Northland Secondary College, which was a famous leader in First Nations education prior to the Kennett government attempting to shut it down.

A member: Shame!

Nathan LAMBERT: I know – shame. Here in the chamber today, I will not mention them, but we have some fantastic First Nation advisers who have done a wonderful job on treaty. They will not want to be named, but I know they know the Reservoir area well.

Suffice to say, people locally do not need to be convinced of the value of self-determination and of the value of First Nations leadership on First Nations issues, because they see the benefits of it and the realities of it in those strong, locally-based organisations. We all know that true, genuine collective decision-making can sometimes be messy and contentious; we know that in this place, but it is powerful, it brings people along, and certainly for First Nations people it has a legitimacy that institutions with a colonial origin can never have. We very much look forward to the way that Gellung Warl will build on the work of Aunty Jill Gallagher and Marcus Stewart and Aunty Geraldine Atkinson and others, and we look forward to the way that it will further interact with our local ACCOs and other parts of our rich First Nations civic life to, most importantly, improve outcomes for First Nations people.

And I say that not because it is my opinion, but because it is the opinion of many, many local people who have contacted me about today’s bill. I have not got time to quote all of them, but I will finish by quoting Melissa Collins. I have not actually met Melissa, but she emailed to say that she and her family deeply support the new treaty legislation in Victoria, and she went on to say:

[QUOTE AND NAME AWAITING VERIFICATION]

We particularly support truth-telling in schools. Both of our children learned Woiwurrung as their LOTE in primary school with a local First Nations elder, and this significantly shaped their knowledge and understanding and attitudes of local Woiwurrung culture and history.

Melissa goes on to make the case for teaching more First Nations languages and culture in schools. I quote that because it is just emblematic of a general attitude that is not only supportive of treaty but supportive of the fantastic further initiatives and further bills that we will no doubt see in this house as a result of having treaty and from having the very important collective decision-making apparatus that we are putting in place with this bill today, and which stands in such contrast to the frankly shameful alternative propositions put forward by the opposition. So on that basis and on the basis of its very strong local support in Preston and Reservoir, I commend the bill to the house.

 Martha HAYLETT (Ripon) (18:57): I would like to begin by acknowledging those who came first to the lands that I live and work on: the Barengi Gadjin people, the Dja Dja Wurrung people, the Eastern Maar people and the Wadawurrung people. I pay my deep respects to their elders past and present, and I acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woiwurrung people, the traditional owners of the land on which we all meet today. I want to thank the members of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria for their tireless work to get us to this point. I thank the Yoorrook Justice Commission for their incredible work over four years to listen to and share the truths of thousands of First Peoples and to develop the Truth be Told report tabled in this place on 1 July this year.

This week in Parliament is historic, and a culmination of so much work by so many. It is the product of listening, of difficult conversations and of long-term commitment. It has been an almost 10-year process and will be the first treaty of its kind in our nation. That fact alone should fill us with humility and purpose. This bill is about righting the wrongs of the past and building a stronger state for the future. It acknowledges and reckons with the truth of what was done to Aboriginal people so we can create a better future together. It will give Aboriginal communities the freedom and power to deliver practical solutions at a local level, and it will provide recognition, voice and a platform for partnership between First Peoples and all Victorians.

One part of this bill I am particularly excited about is how it will create better and ongoing education about the impacts of colonisation on First Peoples and about the diversity, strength and resilience of First Peoples in our schools. Education shapes us. Education shapes how future generations understand one another and how they choose to act. I remember as a 16-year-old student on Dja Dja Wurrung country at Bendigo Senior Secondary College, choosing to do year 12 Australian history because I wanted to learn more about Indigenous history. We spent only one week on the over 65,000 years of Indigenous history and culture in this country, and so much more time on the settlers and the gold rush. Even at 16 years old, I remember being angry about this. I wanted to learn more, and now students will get that opportunity.

Business interrupted under sessional orders.

Mary-Anne THOMAS: I move:

That the sitting be continued.

Motion agreed to.

Martha HAYLETT: I was just saying that at 16 years old I remember being angry about spending only one week learning about Aboriginal history in this country. I wanted to learn more, and now students will get that opportunity, because if we do not learn about our history, especially the toughest parts of our history, we are doomed to repeat it. We must give every young Victorian the chance to learn the truth. I was proud yesterday to join the smoking ceremony with my 13-month-old son Liam. That moment was a privilege and a reminder of why this work matters. It was a moment I will remind him of in decades to come. When we think of treaties and truth-telling we must think about the legacy that we are creating for our children and grandchildren. We must ask what kind of Victoria we want them to inherit.

This bill will bring everyone who calls Victoria home closer together. It will help us to move beyond denial and division toward shared responsibility and shared hope. This bill is not just a piece of legislation, it is a promise – a promise to listen, to learn and to lead with courage. It is a commitment to walk alongside First Peoples, not ahead of them, and to build a future grounded in truth, justice and respect. I want my son to grow up in a Victoria that is honest about its past and brave about its future, a Victoria where First Peoples are not just recognised but empowered. This bill is a step toward that Victoria, and we are ready. I commend the bill to the house.

 Josh BULL (Sunbury) (19:02): I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land and pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging. I acknowledge the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nations as the traditional owners of these lands.

There are days in this Parliament and there are days. Some days are those that in years to come will blur into one and some days like yesterday will stand in our memory forever – historic, significant and monumental. Our historic treaty, delivered in this bill, will not erase the pain and trauma of the past. It cannot bring those that were murdered back, and it cannot return those that were stolen, nor will it fix the countless injustices committed towards our First People. But finally, after so long, after so much work and so much fight and commitment, a treaty between our First People and our state will be delivered.

Treaty is justice, treaty is self-determination, and treaty is how we close the gap. Treaty makes us a better place, a fairer place and a place we should strive to create. So many jurisdictions around the world have delivered treaty, and now we join them. Despite all of this, and despite the pain and the trauma and the grief and the determination to bring today forward, those opposite remain opposed. That is not leadership, and history will judge those opposite poorly. History will again prove those opposite to be focused on fear and division, not on bringing people together and not on hope.

I want to take the opportunity to thank every member of the First People’s Assembly, the Yoorrook Justice Commission, the commitment of the Premier, the Minister for Treaty and First Peoples, the outstanding parliamentary secretary, ministers, members of the government and people within my community like Raquel Stewart from the Sunbury Aboriginal Corporation and Kylie Spencer, who have put in countless work each and every day, and today is a proud day for them.

Above all I want to thank every single person who has fought to see this treaty delivered – to see healing, to see a way forward and to see hope. This is a historic moment for our state, and I proudly commend this bill – the treaty bill – to the house.

 Dylan WIGHT (Tarneit) (19:05): This evening I rise to make a contribution on the Statewide Treaty Bill 2025. Before I begin, I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. I also pay my respects to the traditional owners of the lands that I represent, the Bunurong people. This was and always will be Aboriginal land. I would also like to acknowledge the co-chairs of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria, Ngarra Murray and Reuben Berg, and every current and past member who has played such a significant role in shaping this process. Their commitment and leadership are what has brought us to this historic moment.

We are here today not just debating a bill. It is a defining step in how our state recognises truth and builds lasting partnerships. Here in Australia we are home to the world’s oldest continuing cultures. For more than 65,000 years First Peoples have lived on these lands with deep knowledge and custodianship. This bill represents what true reconciliation looks like in practice: it is not about rewriting history, it is about strengthening the relationship between the state and the First Peoples who have always been here. It is about taking practical steps to ensure that self-determination, truth-telling and accountability are permanent features in Victoria’s democracy. On this side of the house we believe that progress happens through inclusion. We believe that Aboriginal Victorians must have a real say in the decisions that affect their lives and their communities. This bill delivers on that principle. It establishes new institutions to ensure First Peoples are heard in policy, service delivery and law making. It recognises that the best outcomes come when people are partners in the work that shapes their future. For too long decisions were made for Aboriginal people rather than with them – the difference matters. Such change leads to better programs, stronger communities and a fairer society for everybody.

Some Victorians will see this bill as a moment of pride and progress. Others may feel unsure about what the change will bring. To those who seek to divide communities and misrepresent what this bill does: this bill is about moving forward together, not divided. We have seen across time that progress takes courage and consistency. Successive Labor governments under the leadership of former Premier Daniel Andrews and of course Jacinta Allan have stayed the course on this journey. Each has built upon the work of the last, guided by the belief that reconciliation must be ongoing, practical and real. This bill is the culmination of years of good governments that listen to those who are impacted by our policies.

Premier Allan said that this bill reflects and gives effect to the rights and principles enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It is important to understand why that matters, because we are talking about universal principles. We are talking about a United Nations declaration that Australia endorsed some time ago. What is happening here is not untested and unprecedented, as some have stated. Treaties have been established all around the world. Australia endorsed UNDRIP – this is exactly what it envisaged. How do we know that? All we have to do is to read the declaration. The declaration affirms that Indigenous peoples are equal to all other peoples. The declaration notes the concern that Indigenous peoples have suffered from historic injustices as a result of colonisation and the dispossession of their lands, territories and resources, thus preventing them from exercising in particular their right to development in accordance with their own needs and interests. The declaration recognises the urgent need to respect and promote the rights of Indigenous peoples, affirmed in treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements with states.

I would say to those opposite, ‘Take this opportunity. Walk with the First Nations people of this state and this government towards treaty. And for once, read the room, read the leaves and be on the right side of history.’ I commend the bill to the house.

 Bronwyn HALFPENNY (Thomastown) (19:10): I also rise and acknowledge the traditional owners and custodians of the land on which the Victorian Parliament is, and I also acknowledge that Parliament House was actually built on traditional ceremonial land, as explained to us by Uncle Andrew Gardiner, a Wurundjeri elder. It was an important meeting place where decisions and laws were made for thousands of years before European settlement.

Today is a historic day, a day that I know I will always remember as we debate the Statewide Treaty Bill 2025 in the Victorian Parliament. This is a bill that will give effect to this first Statewide Treaty with Victoria’s First People. I am so proud to be standing here to speak in favour of treaty with First Nation people in Victoria and so proud to be a member of the Allan Labor government that in partnership with Aboriginal people is reforming the relationship between Aboriginal people and the state, a relationship that should be built on equality, respect, trust and honesty.

I thank Aboriginal Victorians for giving us this chance despite the dark history of colonisation and the role governments have played, implementing policies to the detriment of Aboriginal people, policies and actions that have devastated communities, with impacts reverberating through the generations.

I also wish to thank the elected members of the First Peoples’ Assembly, co-chairs Rueben Berg and Ngarra Murray, as well as first chairs Aunty Geraldine Atkinson and Marcus Stewart for steering us to this point, and I thank them for their generosity and vision. I also of course want to thank all members of the First Peoples’ Assembly and the Yoorrook truth-telling commission.

Change is often feared and requires leadership and courage to push forward. It is much easier to do nothing. I recall when the Hawke Labor government announced the introduction of Medicare, universal health care in Australia. Many Australians opposed the change, influenced by scare campaigns from the private medical profession and free marketeers who claimed it would reduce the quality of health care and deny patient choice.

It sounds incongruous now, but this was very effective then. Just as the opposition’s claims against treaty may be effective in stoking fear and playing on prejudices to divide now, I believe they will be exposed for what they are over time – petty, patronising, ignorant and unjust. A number of opposition members quoted individuals and told us of constituents who were opposed to treaty, but I also know that they received messages from constituents supporting treaty, but they chose to listen only to those that did not.

Several constituents wrote to me supporting treaty with Victorian First People. They wrote to me with comments such as:

[QUOTE AWAITING VERIFICATION]

Any path forward requires respect for First Peoples agency.

The bill is consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. I support treaty because I believe in equality and a better, safer country for us all.

We talk about colonisation and the policies of government as if this was all in the past, but the actions of government continue to cause harm. That is why we need to walk together and support self-determination, so Aboriginal people can be part of the decisions that will forge all our future together. Treaty is not just about or for the benefit of Aboriginal people. It is necessary for all Victorians. We need a new perspective to deal with the challenges societies across the world are facing.

I see every day the uncompromising effort and effectiveness of organisations in the electorate of Thomastown. The Bubup Wilam child and family centre, created by women such as Lisa Thorpe with board members such as Uncle Andrew Gardiner, who is also a member of the First Peoples’ Assembly; and the First Peoples’ Health and Wellbeing centre, operated by people such as Karinda Taylor, a Wamba Wamba woman. These are the examples that we have, and we can all learn so much from these as part of the treaty in Victoria.

 John LISTER (Werribee) (19:15): Werribee – it is the name of my electorate. It is the name of the waterway that winds its way through the heart of the city where I live. However, this name is only borrowed. The word comes from the Wadawurrung language, Weariby Yallock, which means streamed, shaped like a backbone or spine. Like the spines most of us possess, the river runs through the body of our community and is the link between different Kulin nation groups, the Wadawurrung, Wurundjeri and Bunurong, and I would like to pay my respects to their elders who may be here, past and present as well. Along the river they dance and celebrate their connection to this country with every group that came.

Before I reflect on why I support the particulars of this bill, I want to recognise this history of the land that I and thousands of others now live on in the Werribee electorate. As I said in my inaugural speech, I am here to echo the voices of my community. In preparing my contribution today, I wanted to thank Wadawurrung elder Aunty Judy Dalton-Walsh for her guidance on many matters but notably on discussing with me why treaty is important to our Victorian Aboriginal community. Parts of my contribution today have also been written by young people from Wyndham Central College, not just Koori students from young mob but also students from many cultural backgrounds. As a former teacher, I worked in schools where the population of First Nations people is significant. I understand the importance of giving a voice to First Nations people. On the smallest of scales, I worked with members of our young mob group to develop programs at school and to hear from them how we could improve relationships between students and teachers, because change comes when we listen, we learn and we act.

The bill before us today codifies the relationship between the government and First Nations people. With this bill, we are focusing on fixing the imbalance that First Nations people have endured in the past. This treaty is aiming to have a positive impact on the lives of First Nations people, giving the community a voice in the Parliament of Victoria and government and acknowledging them in decisions, resulting in more equality and fairness in our state. The treaty opens a gateway to healing and breaking the generational cycle of trauma as well as boosting community outreach. Victoria will be the first Australian jurisdiction to enter into treaty, and it opens the doors for other states to follow.

These words that I have just spoken were from young people in my electorate, because treaty does not just affect our actions today but paves the road for future generations to continue to work towards reconciliation – the past and the future.

I hate to go too deep into the opposition policy thought bubble we have heard about, but in reflecting on the past I wanted to draw the house’s attention to previous debates on civic recognition of marginalised communities. In October 1908 this house debated universal suffrage and the extension of voting rights to women. We were following the lead of the rest of the country and most of the Commonwealth on this reform – reform that no-one today would bat an eye towards. When you read those paternalistic comments of those who opposed the legislation back then, you could substitute, in Hansard, words like ‘ladies’ and ‘women’ with ‘Aboriginal’ or ‘First Nations’, and you would end up with almost the same speaking notes that the Liberals and Nationals have spurred in this contemporary debate. Nine people at the time, in 1908, voted against those reforms: a Mr Bayles, Keogh, Langdon, Livingston, Mason, McCutcheon, Robertson, Bowser and Thomson. I would like to encourage those opposite to not be on the same dishonour roll for people who stood in the way of civic recognition. Cross the floor and do the right thing, because if you do not, you will be remembered with this same handful of past members of this house, and we will make sure of it.

To end on a positive note, I wanted to reflect on a gig I attended last year in the heart of Werribee. Some say they did not know treaty was happening. Well, to those people, they did not hear the sweet sounds of Dan Sultan at that gig floating across the train tracks in Werribee that night. Never would I have thought, sitting on the grass next to the mighty Weariby Yallock watching this gig, that I would be here today, adding my name to the right side of history. But this is not about me. It is about those kids who were dancing at the front of the stage that night, dancing just like those people in the past danced along the Werribee River with every group that came. This is treaty, and I commend this bill to the house.

 Lauren KATHAGE (Yan Yean) (19:19): I rise to speak on the Statewide Treaty Bill 2025. The electorate of Yan Yean takes in the boundary between the lands of the Taungurung and the Wurundjeri. These two groups are in relationship with each other through meeting at what cartographers draw as a line. What they draw as a line on a map is in reality a relationship. Through knowing clearly where that line is, in respecting that meeting point between their lands, they can be in the right relationship. Relationship is central. It has been my experience that when moving through or staying in Aboriginal communities there is a desire to place you, to understand how you fit in the community, and that is often achieved by learning what your relationship is to a particular person. Then you can be placed in the web of relationships of the community, and someone you meet then knows how they can relate to you. It is a privilege to be in relationship. Treaty places us. It is not a burden, it is a gift. It brings all Victorians together into relationship with each other. The line that we meet at today, which at first appears as a boundary, is in fact a line in the sand. The First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria is standing at the line waiting for us.

There has been a lot of talk of journeys the last two days in the chamber. Those opposite say we all want to get to the same place; they just have a different map of how to get there. I looked at their map, at each of the points that were proposed, and I saw that they want to take us to places that we have already been. Each of the things they propose are already happening. Their spokesperson for Aboriginal affairs did a lap of Victoria, had a few meetings, came back and has a plan, so here are some examples of how what those opposite propose is already being fulfilled. They suggest a ministerial advisory council to ensure that we are working with them, made up of Aboriginal leaders across regions and sectors. They should check the history of the Aboriginal Executive Council. Maybe they should learn about the Aboriginal Justice Forum or the various education forums. They spoke about devolving decision-making to those areas that are on the ground; there are regional versions of those forums. They suggest capacity building for funding for Aboriginal community controlled health organisations when that is already in place and well established. They suggest an Aboriginal workforce strategy. Well, it is called Barring Djinang. It is in its second stage. They might like to learn that it already exists and it is being done by the Victorian Public Sector Commission. It has been in place for a long time. They suggest annual reporting to Parliament on Closing the Gap progress. That happens in June. Where were you last June? I was here; I heard the report. It is tabled every June. You are welcome to be here. They suggest devolving power to ACCHOs to ensure that what the Victorian government is doing is actually delivering on need. Well, they might like to look up the self-determination frameworks that exist for each department in their implementation plans, the long-term funding arrangements that are being established to ensure flexibility of funding to be based on need, and the minister here, the Minister for Treaty and First Peoples, might well know the example of the strengthening lifelong Aboriginal health and wellbeing initiatives. We have been there.

As I said earlier, the First Peoples’ Assembly, representing Aboriginal Victorians, are standing at the line waiting for us, waiting to go on the journey with us. They do not want to revisit all the places on the map provided by those opposite or indeed by the government. We are going somewhere new. They want to hold the map this time. They know how to get to a place better than this one. I am keen to get there. I commend this bill to the house.

 Michaela SETTLE (Eureka) (19:24): It is truly an honour and a privilege to stand and speak on the Statewide Treaty Bill 2025 here on the land of the Wurundjeri people. We stand on land that was a meeting place for the Wurundjeri and Bunurong peoples for millennia, a place for important discussions between clans. This bill heralds the start of important discussions on truth, justice and self-determination. I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people of the Kulin nation, and I pay my respects to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all First Nations people of Victoria. In my electorate I would like to acknowledge the Wadawurrung people, the traditional owners of the lands around Ballarat, Bacchus Marsh and Moorabool Valley. I thank Uncle Bryon Powell for his work representing our people, the Wadawurrung, on the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria. Thank you for your guidance to us all.

This bill before Parliament is historic. It is the next step in a journey that began with the commitment to treaty in 2016, a bold and defining moment when Victoria became the first jurisdiction in the nation to begin formal treaty discussions with its First People. That commitment recognised what many of us already knew: that a relationship between First Peoples and the state must be built on justice, on self-determination and on truth. Since then we have seen years of dedicated, often difficult and always deeply personal work by the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria. I want to acknowledge every member, past and present, for the extraordinary leadership that they have shown on behalf of their communities. They have walked this path with courage, with grace and with a steadfast belief that their voice must be heard and must be respected. I thank the current co-chairs Ngarra Murray and Rueben Berg for their powerful and important address to Parliament just yesterday. I would also like to acknowledge Jill Gallagher AO for her tireless advocacy and her role in building the foundations of this process.

This legislation builds on all that has come before: the establishment of the First Peoples’ Assembly in 2019, the creation of the Treaty Authority and the truth-telling process through the Yoorrook Justice Commission. Each step has deepened our understanding of truth, healing and justice. In my community the importance of truth-telling is clear. In Ballarat we know the stories of the stolen generations of children taken from their families and placed in orphanages and institutions in our city. Those truths are part of our shared history, and they must not be hidden in silence or shame. This legislation ensures that what happened to them is not forgotten but understood as a part of the truth that we must confront together. Uncle Murray was taken from his family and sent to Ballarat. With dignity and courage he forged a life for himself and his family in Ballarat, and he worked tirelessly for the recognition of children forcibly removed from their families. Uncle Al Harris shared that generosity of spirit, sharing his stories and music to help us all towards reconciliation. I am forever grateful that our First Nations people have shown us such dignity and generosity as we walk together towards treaty.

This bill sets the foundation for enduring respect between government and First Peoples, guided by principles of self-determination and equality. That is something that makes our whole state stronger. To the members of the First Peoples’ Assembly, to leaders like Jill Gallagher and Bryon Powell, to the elders and the communities who have carried this movement for decades, we thank you. Your strength and persistence have brought us to this moment. I would also like to acknowledge the minister at the table, the Minister for Treaty and First Peoples, for all of her work in making this historic moment come to our Parliament. This bill is an act of respect, it is an act of reconciliation and it is a promise that in Victoria we will continue to walk together toward justice and truth. I commend the bill to the house.

 Pauline RICHARDS (Cranbourne) (19:29): My heart is singing to be here on this day in this place and to be able to have an opportunity to contribute on behalf of my community on this extraordinary bill, Statewide Treaty Bill 2025. I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of this land and pay my deepest respects to elders past, present and emerging. I also acknowledge that this land was never ceded and put on the record my gratitude to Wurundjeri elder Uncle Andrew Gardiner for the smoking ceremony that took place yesterday on the steps of Parliament – a reminder that this was the place where people have been coming together for centuries on this land to make collective decisions on behalf of First Nations communities.

To Rueben Berg, Ngarra Murray, Marcus Stewart and Aunty Geraldine Atkinson, thank you for your leadership. And of course, as so many people have recognised, to Aunty Jill Gallagher AO I pay my deepest respect and gratitude – because in a previous life I got to spend some time with Aunty Jill – for the leadership she showed not just at the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation but across the state. I pay my gratitude of course to the member for Geelong and Ms Sheena Watt from the other place for their tenacity and the leadership they have demonstrated, and to the Minister for Treaty and First Peoples, who is here today. I would also like to acknowledge the Minister for Public and Active Transport and Mr Gavin Jennings, a former member of the other place, for the work that they have done to bring this treaty to us here, and our Premier, who has been steadfast. In my local community of course there is Josh West and all of the other mob who look after Cranbourne.

Quite a few years ago the minister for treaty, who is here at the table, brought to my attention that there were a bunch of kids in my community who were First Nations kids and that I should perhaps find out a little bit more about whether there was an opportunity for these kids to vote on this very first assembly. So I went and had a glass of orange juice and a sticky bun with some Koori kids at Cranbourne Secondary College. I would like to dedicate this contribution to those kids, because boy, did I learn a lot from them, and I have continued to learn a lot from my local Koori kids.

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Juanita Isherwood is our local Koori engagement support officer, and she has been running Marrung Mob Kids Deadly Day. She ran one recently at Cranbourne Gardens, and the member for Bass was there. What an extraordinary group of people we have in my community. I am so grateful at a local level to the Casey Aboriginal Gathering Place and Uncle Joe – Joseph Anthony Swindle – who won an award recently for his contribution from the City of Casey.

We know treaty is an opportunity not to divide Victoria but to complete it. It is significant that Victoria is the only state in the Commonwealth so far to have a treaty, but I know that the other states and jurisdictions are watching, because it is time. Great progress has been made in my local community, especially with Dandenong and Districts Aborigines Co-operative Limited, and I am very much looking forward to working with DDACL on our new community-controlled First Nations hub in Cranbourne. They do amazing work.

We have been gifted something beautiful and today is a day for happiness. We have been given something which recognises respect and partnership and truth. So we are not going to turn our head away; we are going to turn our hearts towards this gracious offer. Of course I have been disappointed that this has not been something unanimously supported in this chamber. I love this place. I love hearing the contributions from colleagues, and today my heart continues to sing at the tenacity and contributions that I have heard, because we are moving forward in partnership with First Nations people. We are moving forward to improve health and wellbeing outcomes and to achieve the promise of a better way that only we as Victorians can offer. I am proud to be the final speaker in this chamber on treaty 2025. I am proud of this Parliament. I know truth is hard, but I commend the bill to the house.

 James NEWBURY (Brighton) (19:34): I move:

That debate be adjourned.

Motion agreed to and debate adjourned.

Ordered that debate be adjourned until tomorrow.