Wednesday, 12 November 2025

 Chris COUZENS (Geelong) (13:23): The treaty bill has passed the Legislative Council, and what a momentous and emotional moment it is to celebrate the passing of the treaty with the First Peoples in Victoria. At last Victoria, thanks to the Allan government, will acknowledge the 65,000 years of history and the experiences of First Peoples and work towards progress together. Ensuring the autonomy of First Peoples is the first step in this long process towards bridging the gap. Through entrenching the First Peoples’ Assembly the traditional owners of Victoria will be properly represented to government. The First Peoples community have parliamentary representation. Our First Peoples can work towards having a say about secure and equal access to housing, education and health care. Treaty is the beginning of guaranteeing a fair and equitable future for the traditional owners of the lands.

I am incredibly proud and privileged to be part of this historic occasion. All of those who responded, advocated and negotiated towards achieving treaty should be recognised. To the First Peoples’ Assembly, the Premier, the Minister for Treaty and First Peoples and her team, to my parliamentary colleagues for their incredible and heartfelt contributions and, importantly, to the First Peoples of Victoria, I acknowledge and thank all of them for being on the right side of history. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for First Peoples in our great state.