Wednesday, 3 December 2025

 Natalie HUTCHINS (Sydenham – Minister for Government Services, Minister for Treaty and First Peoples, Minister for Prevention of Family Violence, Minister for Women) (11:26): I move:

That so much of standing and sessional orders be suspended on Tuesday 9 December 2025 to allow:

(1)   The house to meet at 11 am.

(2)   Legislative Council members to be admitted onto the floor of the house from the ringing of the bells and to remain until the question for the endorsement of the apology to First Peoples is put.

(3)   The Premier to table a statement of apology to First Peoples.

(4)   The Premier to move a motion that the house endorses the apology, and the Leader of the Opposition, the Minister for Treaty and First Peoples, and the Leader of the Victorian Greens to speak on the motion.

(5)   At the conclusion of the motion the house to suspend until 12 noon.

(6)   The order of business on resumption to be:

Formal business

Statements by members

Government business

Question time (2 pm)

Constituency questions

Government business

General business subject to standing order 34

Adjournment debate or motion to continue sitting.

(7)   The Speaker to interrupt business under sessional order 2 at 5 pm.

(8)   Condolences under standing order 42 not to take precedence until the next sitting day.

Victoria will take the important step of addressing past injustices towards Aboriginal people and building a stronger, united future with an apology to First Peoples to be made to the Victorian Parliament on Tuesday 9 December at 11 am. The Premier will make a formal apology in the Parliament and the Leader of the Opposition, the Greens and the Minister for Treaty and First Peoples will speak on the apology.

The apology is a key recommendation of Victoria’s nation-leading Yoorrook Justice Commission and was committed to as part of the outcomes of the first treaty following the Statewide Treaty Act 2025 becoming law. The commission heard evidence that colonisation of Victoria was marked by dispossession, displacement and violence towards First Peoples. The final report of the Yoorrook Justice Commission recommended an acknowledgement of the responsibility of predecessors for law, policies and practices that contributed to injustices against First Peoples in Victoria.

The Victorian government has worked with the First People’s Assembly to deliver this apology through the treaty process. This was a key commitment agreed to in the first Statewide Treaty. There have been other apologies in our state’s and country’s history, which have been the right thing to do. There has not been a comprehensive apology on all matters raised by the Yoorrook Justice Commission. This is not just another apology; it is quite unprecedented and needed. The apology, along with Victoria’s treaty, is a chance for Victorians to move forward together. It is a pathway to acknowledge the past and make real, practical changes to achieve better outcomes for First Nations people and close the gap.

The apology will be streamed on the Victorian Parliament’s website, and support is available to affected community members through Lifeline, Yarning SafeNStrong and Beyond Blue.

 James NEWBURY (Brighton) (11:29): I will just make a few brief comments, although we will not be opposing the motion. This will be the fourth apology to Indigenous Australians, which we will be hearing next week. The minister did note the apology next week will be unprecedented for those that may not have been here, and I think we do have a member of this place who will have been here at the time. Former Liberal Premier Jeff Kennett, in this very place, moved an apology on behalf of this Parliament, so to suggest that the fourth apology next week is unprecedented is just wrong. This very chamber passed a motion of apology following the moving of that motion by then Liberal Premier Jeff Kennett.

I do note that confusion has extended to others, not just those now in the chamber. When the Premier apologised last year to Indigenous people she said ‘On behalf of successive Victorian governments, I apologised’ and that she was the first representative of the Victorian government to do so – the first representative of the Victorian government to do so. Again, that was wrong. For those that recall, and I do put on record for the house, almost 30 years ago former Liberal Premier Jeff Kennett moved an apology in this very chamber by way of substantive motion, and that should be remembered. I am sure that this house should remember that. I feel very certain that the former Premier remembers it, and his record in this place stands strong. In fact the apology he moved was 10 years before the national apology, and that should be noted: 10 years before the national apology he moved one in this place. Although the coalition will not be opposing this motion, we note that it will be the fourth apology – the fourth.

Members interjecting.

James NEWBURY: I hear from the government that you cannot apologise enough, and I am sure that it will become an annual thing. Next week’s apology will be the fourth of what I suspect from the government benches will become a repeated apology. The point that I would make and have made previously is that actions speak louder than words. And although we are not taking away from previous apologies, actions speak louder than words – actions. I feel very confident not only that at some stage this house will hear this apology but that one day we will hear a Premier apologising to Victorians for the crime crisis that we are in and the crimes and deaths that have occurred in this state because of the weakness of this government and that crime crisis.

 Chris COUZENS (Geelong) (11:32): I am pleased to rise to contribute to the apology motion. This is one of the most significant apologies this government and Victorians can ever make. I make note of the recent contribution from the member for Brighton in relation to this being the fourth apology. This apology is significant because it comes on the back of the Yoorrook Justice Commission outcomes. We have been able to collate that information. The commission has collated that information through evidence given by First Peoples in this state that we have not actually necessarily heard before. It is their stories of their experience of colonisation in this state, and we have never apologised for that. My understanding of Jeff Kennett’s apology was around stolen generations, and I do not take anything away from him doing that apology, but then he followed on by stripping funding from different organisations and Northland Secondary College, which was an integral part of Aboriginal community in the northern suburbs – stripped them of funding. He also opposed the native title case in Victoria. So what sort of commitment to that apology can you say Jeff Kennett made to First Peoples in this state?

This is a really important event following on from treaty, following on from the Yoorrook Justice Commission report, and I am immensely proud –

Members interjecting.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Members will be removed from the chamber without warning.

Chris COUZENS: that the Premier of this state and the Minister for Treaty and First Peoples will be making that apology alongside the opposition and the Greens, I understand. This is a really momentous occasion for First Peoples in Victoria, but not just for First Peoples, for all Victorians, because many of us have been waiting for this apology, we have been waiting for treaty and we are now taking on the Yoorrook commission’s report on what actually occurred, what the experience was for First Peoples during colonisation. Part of the recommendation from that was about a full apology to First Peoples. As I said, I am really proud that this government is committed to that full apology, and that will happen on Tuesday regardless of the comments from the other side of this chamber.

The commission did hear evidence that the colonisation of Victoria was marked by dispossession, displacement and violence towards First People – we know that. It is now documented and I think many of us already knew that. There were bits and pieces of information that had come out over the years, but to have that contained within that Yoorrook commission report is really, really important. That will go out to our schools for education, and people will learn about this. It is not about blaming and pointing fingers right now, it is about acknowledging the truth.

James Newbury: You just did. You literally just did.

Chris COUZENS: No, I am not. I am talking about the truth that was put in front of us through the Yoorrook Justice Commission. To deny that ever happened is just wrong, and to actually say that we have apologised to First Nations people for what has happened in this –

James Newbury interjected.

Chris COUZENS: Well, no, I will not take that from the opposition. We have not done a full apology as requested by the Yoorrook Justice Commission. We have apologised for a number of bits and pieces. This is a really significant apology. We are the only state in this country that has committed to treaty. We are leading the way on this and other states are looking to us, so it is shameful for those on the opposite side to start complaining about having to do an apology ‘that has been done four times’. No, you are completely wrong. They are not the facts.

James Newbury interjected.

Chris COUZENS: No, it is not the fact. I think it is really important that we continue on the journey that we started 10 years ago. I know that the minister, who is in the chamber today, has spent the last 10 years working through this with First Peoples. We have given them the right to lead this process. We have had the deep listening, which is really important. We have had the Yoorrook Justice Commission do their work – extraordinary work – for all Victorians, and now we are at the point where we will deliver the apology next Tuesday, and we will also continue our journey on treaty, which is such a big thing for this state. I know everyone on this side of the chamber is immensely proud of the work that we have done, but more particularly the work that First Peoples have done. It has been a long journey for them.

As proud as I am of all that, I think we have to acknowledge that the apology will be traumatic for a lot of people. They will come into this place next Tuesday, they will be online, or they may read Hansard. I do want to acknowledge that this can be very traumatic for First Peoples. The cultural load that they carry in their lives every day is extraordinary, but they have continued on. They have fought to get to where we are today with treaty being through both chambers only a few weeks back. I do want to say that the apology will be live streamed from the Parliament, and there will be support to those that may need it through Lifeline, Yarning SafeNStrong and Beyond Blue. I am sure there will be many attending next Tuesday to hear that apology, because that can be part of their healing process. I know it is going to be traumatic for many people, but we are acknowledging that this is a difficult time and also celebrating that we have achieved treaty in Victoria. We will see that celebration on 12 December at Federation Square, where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will come in from all corners of this state. There is huge excitement about it. There is huge excitement about the apology next week, but there is also that understanding of how traumatic that will be, particularly for many of the elders that will come into this place. I think we need to show due respect when they come into this place.

We need to respect the fact that many of them have shared their story at the Yoorrook Justice Commission and given evidence or written submissions. So I think we need to be very respectful of what is going to be happening next Tuesday. We know that there has been a lot of hard work over the last 10 years to make sure that treaty gets to where it is now by the people involved. We will have the First Peoples’ Assembly sitting here to hear that apology. We will have people online, particularly elders, as I said. I know people coming from my electorate on Wadawurrung country will be here. I know that there are many members here in this place today that will have Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people coming in to hear that apology from their countries.

This is a really significant apology that we are going to have next Tuesday. I want to thank the Premier and the minister for making sure we have kept this commitment to do the apology as part of the Yoorrook recommendations and as part of the treaty process. These are commitments that we have made. We have done the deep listening. We have supported the Aboriginal community, or First Peoples, in this state to develop that framework, to develop treaty in consultation with many others, including the government, including the Minister for Treaty and First Peoples and the previous Minister for Treaty and First Peoples and the work that she has done. There is a huge amount of work that has been done to get to this point, and I am just so pleased that the Premier and the minister will address the chamber next Tuesday and deliver that apology to First Nations people in the state of Victoria. I commend this to the house.

 Jackson TAYLOR (Bayswater) (11:42): It is a great privilege to rise and support this motion, and I obviously thank the minister for moving the motion – the minister has done a great deal of work working with the First Peoples’ Assembly – and of course the important work of the Yoorrook Justice Commission.

Just to restate: the apology is intended to be made here in this house, which will be a significant moment next week, on Tuesday. The Premier will table a statement of apology to First Peoples. The Premier will move a motion that the house endorses the apology, and the Leader of the Opposition, the Minister for Treaty and First Peoples, and the leader of the Victorian Greens, will speak on the motion.

It is refreshing, I believe, if I heard correctly, that the opposition will not be opposing the motion. That is good. However, I am just a little concerned about some of the commentary and the rhetoric. I think it is fair to say I am a pretty bipartisan chap, I like to think, on most occasions. But I call it as I see it, and I have got to say some of the commentary around this – the fourth apology – I think is a little cheeky and not overly constructive to the conversation. I think what we can do is understand that this is something that was called for through a significant process, something that has gone on for years – enough of us as a Parliament dictating to First Nations people. I think for a lot of it, it was really good work, really bipartisan across Parliament, and I want to see that continue. Despite some of what I frame as cheeky or not overly constructive comments, let us turn a page. We will try again, and we will keep trying, because it is the right thing to do.

Again, the opposition are not opposing, so I assume in many respects they are supporting, which is good, but let us keep making sure that we do not politicise this, that we keep listening to First Nations people and that we respect the mountain of work done by them and what they have asked us to do in this as part of treaty, as part of that important work – the first of its kind in Australia, of all the state jurisdictions. We need to continue to do that work, and this is part of that work. Let us not forget that for a moment.

This is not just another apology. This is a culmination of years of work. I would ask the member for Brighton to remember that. Member for Brighton – who I do not mind – I would ask you to remember that.

Members interjecting.

Jackson TAYLOR: I like to see the best in people. The member for Brighton then going on to say that we are going to make this a yearly thing again I do not think is kind. I do not think it is overly constructive, I think it is cheeky and I think it really lessens the significance of this moment. We can be better than that; we can. I know the member for Brighton is, and I appreciate he will be supporting the motion.

Victoria will take an important step towards addressing past injustices towards Aboriginal people and building a stronger, united future with the apology, as stated, to First Peoples to be made here next Tuesday at 11 am. As said, it is a key recommendation from the Yoorrook Justice Commission. The commission heard evidence that the colonisation of Victoria was marked by dispossession and displacement of and violence towards First Peoples. The final report of the justice commission recommended an acknowledgement of the responsibility of predecessors for laws, policies and practices that contributed to injustices against First Peoples in Victoria. Of course we know the Victorian government has worked with the First Peoples’ Assembly to deliver the apology through the treaty process. This, as has been stated here already, was a key commitment agreed to in the first Statewide Treaty.

One of the points raised as well, in fairness, was an apology made by a former Premier. The apology that we will make next week in this place will comprehensively acknowledge the impacts of colonisation, not singular policy decisions. This is important. As it has been described on numerous occasions, it is a line in the sand to continue towards a better and stronger future via treaty, by listening to our First Nations people and by working with the First Peoples’ Assembly.

I reflect on some of the remarks I made in the contribution I put to this house when were debating the Statewide Treaty Bill 2025, and I just reflect on some of the words I used and some of the words of the chairs of the First Peoples’ Assembly. I remember talking about how this was over 200 years in the making, the Statewide Treaty Bill, and this is one of the first outcomes of that treaty. The rest of this debate, the rest of the conversation and the rest of the coverage are important as well. What people say is really important, and I hope our friends in the media are kind and courteous about this apology. It is important how we speak about it, because that is a reflection on all of us and it is a reflection on society. It is indeed over 200 years in the making. I hope we see positive, thoughtful, considered contributions on what exactly this means. I want to leave the culture wars – I am not saying any of that has been present here today, which is good, and I do not expect it to be – and all of that at the door. Get rid of it. This is too important. We cannot keep playing politics. We cannot keep stuffing around with this stuff; we simply cannot. I believe, as Rueben put it:

Good intentions have too often outlived good outcomes …

That was such a poignant thing that he said, and it is absolutely so true. He said:

To the Parliament: I remind you that treaty lives beyond the page; it must live beyond these walls.

I think that this apology is one of those moments, so let us not stuff it up. I said, when I was talking on treaty in terms of passing the Statewide Treaty Bill, that:

Today is one of those times that we will reflect on in life … those moments that you remember where you were when that happened.

This again, as part of that, one of the first outcomes from the treaty bill, is one of those moments. Let us get it right. How do you put a value on that? It is subjective who is on the right side of history, who writes history. It is subjective to some extent, what is the right side of history. But I think we are going to look back at this. We saw that with the national apology that former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made, and we know that the former opposition leader Peter Dutton has regrets about his position. Let us all mark this moment and acknowledge it with the dignity, respect, time, courtesy and coverage it not only needs but absolutely deserves.

I am very hopeful. I know everyone comes to this place with the right intentions. We all have a different way of doing things as individuals but obviously of the parties we respectively represent and of course are preselected by. This is one of those things that is not a political issue. We need to continue on this matter to rise above politics. I spoke before about that priorities argument. There are a lot of priorities when you are in government. Obviously the opposition have a role to play in our democracy, as do the Greens and as do independents. They all have a role to play in a democracy and they all have their own priorities as well.

I remember during the Voice there was this pretend argument that got a little nasty, that pretended that government and parliaments cannot walk and chew gum. Now, we have had a lot of additional sitting weeks because we know that we are here to represent the Victorian people, we have to do their work. We know that a number of issues, including crime as well as health and education, are of significant importance. For the reform that has been made and the continuing reform around childcare and the continuing reform around crime and law and order we had additional sitting days to address those matters. The government and all governments should be able to walk and chew gum, and if you cannot, you should not be in government. We can have lots of priorities. This is absolutely one of those priorities, and so it should be.

I want to thank everyone who will speak on this motion. I of course look forward to the apology. It will be a significant moment in this place, in the history of this state and in the history of this nation. I look forward to hearing the contributions from colleagues, and of course if any others in the opposition or our friends in the Greens or independents or otherwise would like to say a few words, I look forward to hearing their thoughtful words as well. I support this motion.

 Daniela DE MARTINO (Monbulk) (11:52): I was listening and reflecting upon the impassioned contributions of my colleagues and something that the member for Bayswater just mentioned: that this will be a seminal moment where we will remember precisely where we were. Because on 13 February 2008, pregnant with my daughter, living in Wagga but actually travelling down to Albury for my husband to undergo his citizenship test prior to becoming an Australian, I sat in the car and I cried as I heard the apology to the stolen generations delivered by then Prime Minister Rudd. I still recall precisely where I was, and I know that the same will happen – there will be an echo not just in this place when we come back next Tuesday and not just across the state of Victoria but beyond and across the rest of the country, as they look to us and see what we are doing, having actually genuinely listened to the First Peoples of our state.

I would like to acknowledge the minister herself for all the work that has been done. She has been the minister for Indigenous affairs for 10 years, with the tenacity and the vision to see the fruition of Voice, truth, treaty and, to finish it off, this apology. My daughter, who I just mentioned, said to me, ‘Mum, why are you going back to Parliament next week? What’s that day for?’, and I said there could not be a better reason for it. We are going back to mark a historic moment in time. We are going to apologise wholeheartedly and fully, not just for aspects. And I do appreciate and acknowledge there have been other apologies – but not like this. This will be in totality, and this is driven by our First Peoples, and that is incredibly important. As the member for Bayswater said, we have listened. As the member for Geelong in her impassioned contribution said, this is coming from our First Peoples. This is precisely why we need to do it, and I cannot think of a better reason to return to Parliament next Tuesday than to be here and be present for it. I am incredibly proud that I am part of a government that has driven this, and I thank everyone who has been involved. That moment in this chamber when we heard our First People speak in here with clarity and conviction still resonates with me to this day. Watching us pass treaty has been one of the most profoundly moving experiences I have had in my life, let alone in my parliamentary life – in my life, full stop.

I reflected in my contribution then when were talking about treaty on how ashamed I felt of what I had been taught and of what I then taught only 20 years ago. We have come so far, but we still have a long way to go, and this apology marks the next important, crucial and critical step in the journey together.

It is about bringing Victorians together. It is not about anything else. It was disappointing to hear some glib comments coming from the member for Brighton. I did think he would be better than that, I have to say. One of the comments shot out across the chamber was the interjection ‘Definitely leading on apologies’. Do you know what? I think it is wonderful that we are able to stand up and apologise. It is a mark of our government, a mark of respect and a mark of the moral fibre that we possess to be able to acknowledge the past harms, because without true apology there can be no healing. In order to move forward we must stop and sit in it and understand the damage that has been done and continues intergenerationally. What was wreaked upon our First Nations people by European settlers was horrendous, horrific and distressing, and it is time that we do what we are doing. Again I say I am so proud that we are doing it here in Victoria first. I genuinely hope that this continues and echoes around the country and the rest of the states and territories follow suit. I am beyond thrilled that this apology will take place and that it has come out of the negotiations on treaty and it will be full hearted and full throated and with conviction.

I do also want to acknowledge that there will be many who feel trauma and who feel anguish as they listen to the apology, because this will resonate so deeply with them, so there is support available, as the minister outlined. It is wonderful that it will be streamed live so anyone anywhere around the nation, around the state and anywhere else in the world will be able to tune in and watch this historic moment. As I say, I still recall with acute clarity that moment that the apology to the Stolen Generations was made, and I know that this will leave an indelible mark on all of us.

Once again, I express my incredible pride that this is happening and my eternal gratitude and thanks to the First Peoples’ Assembly and to every First Nations person who spoke their truth, no matter the pain that it may have caused them, that they would have felt so deeply when giving their contributions to the Yoorrook Justice Commission. It is not easy to speak of past traumas and hurts, and we know that in this place because many of us sometimes have to go into our emotional depths when we contribute on certain bills. Empathy is what I ask of everyone when we sit through this and listen and understand how much courage it takes for people to speak of a truth that has hurt them so much, so I am eternally, eternally grateful to everyone. All I can say is I am very pleased the opposition will not be opposing this. I look forward to Tuesday, and as I say, what a fabulous reason to come back for one last sitting day for this year.

 Paul EDBROOKE (Frankston) (11:58): It is an absolute pleasure to speak on this motion this afternoon. I firstly just want to acknowledge some members of the First Peoples’ Assembly in the gallery today, even though we should not do that. Victoria will on the 9th take a very, very important step towards addressing past injustices towards our Aboriginal people in Australia and building a stronger and united future here in Victoria.

I note that a lot of the members on this side have spoken about the importance of this apology and how it is unprecedented, and I believe it absolutely is unprecedented. We have never had a process before like the Yoorrook Justice Commission where we have listened to truth and people’s sometimes horrifying, tragic, traumatic lived experience. This apology is entirely different from what has been cited, the apology from the Kennett era, which I think was on 17 September 1997.

I just read that apology, actually, and I am stunned, to say the least, that we would be here today – even though there is bipartisan support for this motion – actually talking about how there was an apology 28 years ago about something totally different, because it was really about the Stolen Generations. I did actually take the member for Brighton up and look up that apology, and I will put into Hansard what it actually was so that people are clear what Mr Kennett said:

That this house apologises to the Aboriginal people on behalf of all Victorians for the past policies under which Aboriginal children were removed from their families and expresses deep regret at the hurt and distress this has caused and reaffirms its support for reconciliation …

It is entirely appropriate that we return on the ninth, after Yoorrook Commission, which uncovered and educated us, to make another apology specific to what we have found and what has been recommended. Funnily enough, when you type ‘apology’ and ‘Jeff Kennett’ into your Google search, you also find a couple of really disturbing things. I am sure the Jeff Kennett fan club will get up and be about –

James Newbury interjected.

Paul EDBROOKE: One of those things is that when you make an apology, you really need to take action or the apology is worth nothing.

Members interjecting.

Paul EDBROOKE: For the person that we are talking about, who was called on in 2022 to resign from the Hawthorn Football Club after those Rioli revelations –

James Newbury: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, on relevance, this is a procedural motion.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: It is actually, I believe, a substantive motion on the motion. I do not uphold the point of order.

Paul EDBROOKE: Thank you for schooling the member for Brighton on basics with Parliament. It is a substantive motion and the supporters group from the Hawks in 2022 – this is on the news in Google – called for Kennett to resign from Hawthorn, with the Hawks releasing a statement apologising to Cyril Rioli and his wife for the racism they experienced at the club.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, on relevance, how is sledging relevant?

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member may have strayed from the motion, and I encourage him to come back.

Paul EDBROOKE: I will come back. My line here is around the fact that when you apologise, if you are actually in any way committed to that apology, we would not be seeing headlines like that years later. It is entirely horrible when you type those two words ‘apology’ and ‘Kennett’ into Google and see things like Jeff Kennett calling a woman at a Young Liberals function a bitch.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, the member is defying your previous ruling.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member is allowed to rebut previous debate. I encourage the member to be on the motion.

Paul EDBROOKE: The line of argument from those opposite, as I sat here and heard, was that there have been four apologies, so we really do not need another apology. When you think about that, it means we do not need another apology because everything has changed. Everything in our world has changed because that apology happened. What I am displaying here is the fact that we might need to apologise every year, every day until things change, because there is a cultural issue. When you can have a leader in this house apologise and then be accused of those things – that is not what an apology is. An apology is – I am just going to change my tone, as we have got some kids coming in – when you are sympathetic, when you are compassionate to someone’s cause and when you have educated yourself about what has happened. The key here is education. When I went to school, we learned a lot about Japanese history, Chinese history and Russian revolutions. Sadly, we did not learn anything about our own proud history at all.

It was only years later, well out of university, that I was educated by friends and by reading about what actually happened in Australia, what actually happened in Victoria and what John Batman actually did, right on this space here and now. To be standing here today and to hear that we probably do not need to apologise, that it is somehow superfluous after what came out of the Yoorrook Justice Commission, is absolutely mind-blowing, but I think I can connect that back to a lack of education. There is a direct correlation between naivety and people not reading the Yoorrook commission or not tuning in to see what was happening. As an Australian and as a Victorian, I was devastated by what I heard, and I learned a lot. Unfortunately, a lot of what we witnessed was not actually in the history books because a lot of it was oral history. To hear family members coming out and telling us what their family members went through, what has happened generation after generation; it is amazing that they could do that. But it also lends itself towards the fact that we need – and this government has been doing this – to educate people better. And I look across the chamber and I think that there is no better example of why we need that education and why we need the next generation to know what went on.

So when I am here on the ninth, proudly apologising, I hope I can have a discussion with my children – who are a little bit older than Mr Groth’s children over there, and not as cute these days either – and I hope they can ask: Why are we apologising? I even hope they say, ‘Why do we have an apology at an Australian level, at a national level, why do we have an apology at a state level?’ so I can sit them down and we can have a really good chat about why we do this. After all, is it that big an ask, after what has happened in 200 years? Is it that big an ask to come into Parliament and make it an historic day and fulfil one of the recommendations of the Yoorrook commission? I actually do not think it is, and again I think it comes down to education. If people want to come in here and say, ‘We’re bipartisan, but we really don’t need to do this because Jeff Kennett did it a long time ago’, 28 years ago. I think that is a very long bow to draw when it was an apology about something totally different, years before treaty even became something set as a serious policy.

For those opposite, I do understand that there is concern. I do understand that some of those fears will not be able to be allayed until people educate themselves, until people actually read some books. I would have expected that we would be standing here today and there would be wholehearted, united support for this, not just a ‘Yes, we’ll do it, but we don’t think there is a reason we should do it again’. I would love to hear some of those opposite get up and say, ‘This is what we should do, it’s the right thing, and we should do it again’. Because it is an apology that is totally different to anything we have heard before, and it is the right thing to do. I commend this motion to the house.

 Iwan WALTERS (Greenvale) (12:09): Deputy Speaker, thank you for staying in the Chair so that I can contribute in support of the minister’s motion. I would like to, at the outset, thank the minister for her work and that of her team in bringing this motion to this place and in laying the groundwork for the apology that will take place at 11 o’clock in this chamber on Tuesday. I am glad that the opposition are supporting the motion, and I look forward to there being contributions from across the chamber in the context of that apology.

There has been some debate about the need for a further apology to be undertaken by this Parliament, noting that there have been previous apologies. My understanding is that the apology that has been mentioned in the context of the Kennett government some 28 years ago was perhaps – and I do not diminish that in any way – a narrower apology in the sense that it was targeted or framed around the specific issue of the Stolen Generations, whereas the apology that will be delivered by the Premier is a broader based apology that seeks to engage with the complexities of Victorian history that I talked about in my contribution some weeks ago on the treaty bill as it was then, and I am glad to say, the Statewide Treaty Act 2025 and the treaty as it is now as a consequence of its passage through both houses.

In that contribution I discussed that we were seeking to give an apology in this chamber, in this Legislative Assembly, and the debate around the treaty took place in the context of a Westminster democratic institution that reflects a significant part of Victoria’s history. But with that history of good, which has created democratic institutions to which we all belong and values that we can commonly share, there is a really problematic history, one of dispossession and suffering and trauma that is not just parked in the history books, although it is a prominent dimension of that history, but it echoes and manifests into the present day in the context of significant and inexcusable, I think, gulfs in outcomes between First Nations Victorians and broader populations that reflect that history. These are not abstract or arcane ideas; they are they are real, they are practical.

That is why I think it is appropriate that this Parliament, in giving an apology next Tuesday, led by the Premier, in some ways takes a form of corporate responsibility for the actions which were undertaken in the name of previous parliaments. They were actions and policies which in some respects I am sure those who were seeking to design them perhaps thought there was a positive intent behind them. But they have caused so much harm, real harm, to the Aboriginal Victorians who were subject to those laws and policies, but also to their descendants, who we represent in this place as modern-day, contemporary Victorian members of Parliament.

Apologies are often contested in some respects because they can be pejoratively termed as being predominantly about symbolism rather than about substance and form. I think the essence of that debate has been present even this morning and this afternoon. Symbolism, firstly, I think is important. Deputy Speaker, much of what happens in this place is inherently symbolic: the mace on the table, your role in overseeing debate, the colours in this place. All of that is loaded with meaning and substance, although fundamentally it is also symbolic.

But an apology is not just about that symbolism. Important though I think symbolism actually is, it does also reflect substance and form that have been manifest in the context of the Yoorrook Justice Commission, which has been a comprehensive process whereby First Nations leaders have worked with government and interrogated government and the executive about policies and legislation, their effect and impact upon Victorians as a whole and in particular First Nations Victorians and the extent to which those policy settings contribute to closing the gap or indeed exacerbate that gap in the first instance. This apology stems from that process of the Yoorrook commission.

I am also conscious that while this will be the first apology that I have been party to or privy to as a member of this chamber in the context of First Nations Victorians, it is not the first apology that has been offered on behalf of this house by the Premier. It was a humbling experience and a privilege to have been here to see the Premier offer an apology to Victorians who experienced historical abuse and neglect as children in institutional care. That apology was offered on the back of a really comprehensive process of consultation and dialogue between the government, and particularly the Premier in her personal capacity but also obviously as the head of government in Victoria, and those who had experienced harm, neglect and abuse in what should have been settings of care but were so far from that.

The apology, again, in that context was important. It was symbolic, but it also catalysed a process that was really substantive, I think. I had the great privilege in many respects of being able to represent the government and the Premier in working with the children, now adults, who had been in those institutional settings and their representatives, seeking to co-design a substantive redress scheme that sought to give effect to the intent of the apology and to provide practical manifestation of this government’s and this Parliament’s regret and genuine sorrow for the experiences that those people had as children and for the legacy that they had.

I conceive of this apology that is being proposed through this motion in similar terms, whereby the apology is an important step; it is loaded with symbolism, but it is also something of substance in that it is bound into the process of treaty, whereby we are seeking to empower Aboriginal Victorians to be at the heart of decision-making about things which impact them and their communities, so that together and collectively we can close the gap in education, in health care, in life chances and opportunities and in economic outcomes. That remains, I think, an enduring challenge, obviously, but a real scar on our society. I think all of us are drawn to this place because we believe in promoting and sustaining a better and stronger society, but it is very hard to say that we have achieved that or that we are doing so successfully while there is such an enduring gap in life chances and outcomes between those who are Aboriginal and those who are not. This apology, I think, is an important and indeed substantive part of the process towards closing that gap.

I am mindful of the apology that was offered by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in February 2008, I think, as one of the first acts of that Labor government and of that Parliament after the 2007 federal election. It was one of those moments, I think, where people remember where they were and how they watched it. I remember being in Hobart at the time and watching it with family and being very moved by the words and by the presence of representatives of Aboriginal Australia and their communities to whom that apology was directed. Again, there were those who pejoratively suggested that that apology was solely about symbolism. I do not think it was; I think it catalysed a renewal of effort on the part of government to work proactively and substantively to close that gap with an entirely new framework, implemented by that government subsequent to the apology, noting that the apology was one of the first acts of the entire government and the Parliament in order to give effect to the sentiments that were captured within the apology.

I think and I hope something similar will take place as a consequence of the apology that is being proposed to be offered by the Premier on Tuesday, that it can more fully complete Victoria, that it can recognise that we have a history that has built institutions like this one and that has enabled us to have a vibrant, liberal democracy, but that at the same time there is a complexity to our history that is unresolved. It is unresolved because a gap endures. So we offer an apology for the harm that has been perpetrated on Aboriginal Victorians, and I hope that in doing so we can build a brighter future.

 Kathleen MATTHEWS-WARD (Broadmeadows) (12:19): I rise today very proudly to support the motion. Actually the motion is just to invite the Legislative Council members in here, to give the apology, and I think it is a really important thing to do. Often we invite them in here, and we all squeeze in, for those really historic moments, and we will have that happening again next Tuesday. It is also actually one of the only days we are sitting during school holidays for some of our kids who are in high school, and I am hoping to bring my children in here next week to witness this historic occasion. First Peoples have suffered so much under colonisation, and we heard so many stories through the Yoorrook Justice Commission, and this is an opportunity to apologise on behalf of those past governments, on behalf of those who colonised this country and treated those people, our First People, with such disrespect.

We know there was genocide. We know there was horrible abuse. We know there was denying of language. We know there was every attempt taken to take away their culture and their dignity. We have seen that throughout history with people, and unfortunately we have seen it so often through the British colonisers. They did it to my ancestors in Ireland. We have seen it all over the world. The First Peoples have asked for an apology through the treaty process, and it is a humble request. It is not asking much, but it will mean so much to so many. It will mean that their voices, their stories, are heard and acknowledged. We know as members of Parliament how important it is for people to be heard and to feel heard and to know that their stories mean something, that their part of history is not forgotten and that our children learn that and future generations learn that and new people to this country learn that. It is so important that those stories are recognised, and an apology is the least we can do. It is such a humble request.

I was so, so proud to be here when the treaty bill was passed in this house. I would have loved to have been here when it was passed in the other house too, but I am so pleased we are doing the celebrations on Friday night, which I hope to get to as well. I am honoured to be part of treaty. I am honoured to be part of the apology that will happen next Tuesday.

I really want to thank the Minister for Treaty and First Peoples. What an incredible legacy she will leave behind, getting treaty through, being here for the apology that they have humbly requested. And the Premier delivering that is so very important, as the leader of our Parliament, as the leader of our government, as the leader of our fabulous party, who has driven this historic apology and historic treaty. I say ‘driven’, but I probably should say ‘walked alongside with’. This whole process has been a partnership where we have allowed that self-determination, and it should not be ‘allowed’ – it should be a right to have your voices heard, to have the ability to self-determine the decisions that are made for your people. Governments should have the respect to do that.

I want to also thank the parliamentary secretary. She has done a power of work, and it was beautiful to hear her speak so well every time with such heart. She truly understands our First Peoples and speaks for them every time, rationally and fairly and with true representation and partnership, walking side by side. I also want to acknowledge previous ministers who have worked really hard to get us to this space where we have treaty and we have an apology as has been asked for.

Treaty was a very long road, and a lot of people have been involved. I want to acknowledge Marcus Stewart and Aunty Geraldine for their work as the first co-chairs of the First Peoples’ Assembly. What an incredible thing to lead that work and ask for the truth-telling that resulted in the Yoorrook Justice Commission, which was chaired by Aunty Eleanor Bourke. I want to thank her for her incredible work and for hearing those stories. The parliamentary secretary talked about the trauma and the re-trauma and the cultural load. It is so heavy, and it is so hard for the people who carry that. They also carry so much discrimination, and it is getting worse. It breaks my heart.

There is so much disrespect, and trying to explain their position, trying to explain their stories and trying to be heard takes a huge toll. I thank them, because I know how important it is. Sharing stories is the only way we help each other understand. I know in my community, which is a very multicultural community, there is a lot of misunderstanding and there is a lot of prejudgement, and it is only when people come together and hear each other’s stories and can understand where people are coming from that you have that true understanding that builds cohesion. So this will be part of that. The truth-telling was part of that.

I also want to thank our current co-chairs Rueben Berg and Ngarra Murray for their power of work. They should be so very proud, and all of the First Peoples Assembly. I have worked closely with. Uncle Andrew Gardiner and Gnerick Gnerick Gary Murray. We have worked for many years on the Ballerrt Mooroop project in Glenroy, and I was proud to provide another support letter for the grant application that they are putting in at the moment. I also of course want to thank Travis Lovett, deputy chair of the Yoorrook Justice Commission. It was another historic moment that I was so proud to be part of, meeting him on the stairs here at Parliament and being part of that when he held over the message stick. To still have the oldest continuing culture on earth and be part of that is such a privilege. I am so grateful that we have had that opportunity. Of course I thank the Aunty Jill Gallagher, the treaty commissioner, for her work over so many decades, and all of the people who have worked so hard. Of course there are too many to mention here.

As the parliamentary secretary said, the trauma will be raised next week, as it is whenever there is an apology. I remember the stolen generations apology, seeing the people in the gallery and the deep feelings and the trauma that you could see. That will happen again next week. I just want them to know that we are here for them. We want to be part of that healing. We hope that helps in a small way to lessen the burden and to support them for the pain that they have suffered. There will be support available, and I thank the government for supporting that and the First Peoples’ Assembly for organising that. I think it is really important. And I of course, and all of us, will be very respectful of the day.

We have spoken about the stolen generations apology, and for me that was a very historic moment. Unfortunately at Peter Khalil’s election auction I missed out on a signed copy of that, and I would love that in my office instead of the printed copy I have got, because it was historic. It was a terrible time in our history, and we should apologise for that. There are so many things that should be apologised for and we will be doing that on Tuesday, and I am very, very proud of that. I fully support the apology that acknowledges the Yoorrook Justice Commission, which they have called for, that acknowledges the responsibility of predecessors for laws, policies and practices that contributed to the injustices – (Time expired)

 Katie HALL (Footscray) (12:29): I too would like to rise in support of this motion put by the Minister for Treaty and First Peoples and in doing so reflect upon the most significant thing that has happened in this place since I was given the great privilege of representing my electorate of Footscray, and that of course is the passage of treaty. It is a great honour to be part of a government that has worked so tirelessly with our First Peoples, and the minister has done such an enormous amount of work to get us to this point.

That was a historic day, when we had passage of the treaty. Now it is only fitting that we conclude this parliamentary year with our first act in response to treaty, which is the commitment to an apology that has been negotiated.

I would also like to acknowledge the deputy chair of the Yoorrook Justice Commission Travis Lovett and acknowledge how powerful it was in our community when he was getting to the final stages of his walk for justice across Victoria. There were hundreds of people from my community there to meet Travis and other members of the Yoorrook Justice Commission. The main message of that was to walk alongside our First Peoples and to acknowledge the hurt and the trauma and the pain and the suffering that has been caused as a result of colonisation.

I know that next week will have a very significant impact on members of my community. I was really, really touched by some of the cards and the letters I received, which I have hanging on the wall in my electorate office, urging the government to keep going with the treaty process. Not many people would necessarily associate Melbourne’s inner west with the rich First Nations culture that it does have, because many people identify the inner west with our industrial legacy that was shaped post colonisation. But the Maribyrnong River Valley was a meeting place for the Wurundjeri, Woiwurrung and Bunurong people. It was a significant place for trading. William Cooper called Footscray home, and it was from Footscray that he led perhaps the first calls for treaty in the 1940s and 1950s when he wrote to I believe it was King George calling for a treaty with our First Peoples. He established a group of activists who worked out of a little house in Footscray and did an enormous amount of advocacy on behalf of our First Peoples. I know that this will be a significant day for members of my community.

One of the most extraordinary things that I reflect upon is that if you look at comparable nations such as Canada – people like to think that we are very similar to our Canadian cousins – in Canada they have 29 treaties in place already across the country. In New Zealand the Treaty of Waitangi has been in place for almost 200 years. But here in Australia Victoria is the first and only jurisdiction to have established a treaty with our First Peoples, and that has been more than a decade’s work, including the establishment of the First Peoples’ Assembly.

The final report of the Yoorrook Justice Commission recommended an acknowledgement of the responsibility of predecessors for laws, policies and practices that contributed to injustices against First Peoples in Victoria. Some people have reflected on the national apology for the Stolen Generations in 2008, but here in Victoria we have absolutely come a long way through the work of Yoorrook, through the work of the First Peoples’ Assembly.

I remember the day that we were in here with Aunty Geraldine and Marcus Stewart as the inaugural chairs of the First Peoples’ Assembly, and what a powerful moment that was. It is a significant event when we have members of the Legislative Council join us in here. We know that reflects an important moment. As you noted in your contribution, Acting Speaker Walters, of course symbolism is important as well as the actual steps forward that we take together. It is important that collectively as Victorians we acknowledge the past, the wrongs that occurred and the ongoing intergenerational trauma that is experienced by our First Nations community across Victoria. May this be the beginning of a healing process and a change – a cultural change, a cultural shift – in the way we deal with public policy and decision-making for what is the longest continuing culture in the world: our First Peoples. I very much look forward to next Tuesday at 11:00 when the Premier will make a formal apology. The Leader of the Opposition, the Greens and the Minister for Treaty and First Peoples will also speak on the apology.

There is much to note in the apology, because the Yoorrook Justice Commission heard evidence about the colonisation of Victoria, which was marked by dispossession, displacement and violence towards First Peoples. It is very important that as part of that truth-telling process there is that formal apology. It will be streamed on the Parliament of Victoria website and I know people in my community, especially young people, will be watching. During the referendum some of the polling places in my electorate voted 90 per cent in favour of the national Voice to Parliament. It is something that I am often asked about when I visit schools, and I say with pride that Victoria is again a leader in this nation, and it is a leader in truth, justice and treaty. This is a pathway to acknowledge the past, make real and practical changes and better outcomes into the future, and of course to close the gap. That is something that has of course been foundational in why we have pursued these reforms.

I would like to acknowledge the minister at the table – and the former minister as well – for all of the work. The band is back together. As Victorians we are indebted to you and your staff, and also to the parliamentary secretary who spoke so beautifully before, as she always does, around these issues. Her understanding around the trauma and the injustice that is felt across Victoria within our First Nations communities is unprecedented. Thank you for your work. I commend the motion to the house.

Motion agreed to.