Defending Country has seen Truth-telling in our commemorative institutions, starting with the Australian War Memorial, as part of a broader imperative. Defending Country has 'the primary objective of ensuring that the Australian War Memorial properly recognises and commemorates the Australian (Frontier) Wars.This objective is a key part of Truth-telling leading towards Reconciliation.'
Whatever the Memorial and shrines around the country can do on Truth-telling is only part of that wider picture. Defending Country has followed the work of the Victorian Yoorrook Justice Commission, which has now led to the Treaty, legislation for which was introduced this week in the Victorian Parliament.
This post does no more than extract some key paragraphs from the Victorian Treaty, unveiled this week. We focus especially on extracts relating to Truth-telling.
There was this week and will be in the future much analysis (for example, The Age and First People's Assembly Co-Chair Rueben Berg interviewed on Victorian Aboriginal News) even before the legislation passes, and work gets under way to set up Treaty-related bodies and mechanisms, and have them do the work set out for them in the Treaty.
Treaty has taken too long; it is well before time it got under way in Victoria. Meanwhile, we look forward to the Australian War Memorial and other commemorative sites making their contribution to Truth-telling about our Black and White history.
Prime Minister Paul Keating once said, if you change the government, you change the nation. Perhaps changing the roles of these iconic commemorative institutions - and changing what we expect of them - can change the nation, too.
EXTRACTS FROM THE NEGOTIATED TREATY (STILL TO BE PASSED BY THE VICTORIAN PARLIAMENT)
The place we now call Victoria holds the oldest living cultures on Earth – a truth that belongs to all Victorians and a legacy to uphold with pride. Victoria today is shared by many cultures, each adding to the richness of its story. One of Victoria’s greatest strengths is its courage to face the truth – to listen with open hearts, and to move forward with honesty.
Yet the relationship between First Peoples and the State of Victoria has been profoundly shaped by colonisation and its enduring harm. Our shared history bears the weight of injustice, dispossession, disruption of Country and acts that sought to erase First Peoples and silence cultures. The Yoorrook Justice Commission revealed how deeply this pain and trauma runs – and how it continues to shape lives, families, and communities today.
We stand together committed to a better future – one that is just, fair, and equitable, and honours the rightful place of First Peoples.
Treaty is how we make that future possible ... (Page 3)
Through the truth-telling process instigated by First Peoples and established by agreement between the Assembly and the State, the Yoorrook Justice Commission has illuminated this painful history, making clear that ‘the past is the present’. For the first time, many of these truths have been spoken plainly. Truth-telling has not been easy to hear, but it has opened a door – to understanding, and to a more honest conversation about who we are as a state. The injustices that began with colonisation – dispossession, racism, and discrimination – continue to shape the lives of First Peoples today.
Treaty is the next step through that door. It is not about dwelling in the past, nor laying blame. It is about acknowledging that the past still shapes the present and choosing to do better from here.
First Peoples come with a humble request: that Victoria finally honours the dignity of First Peoples, and that together we build a future that is fairer, more honest, and fosters respect for all who make their lives here ... (Page 4)
This Statewide Treaty is shaped by an unbroken resolve passed through countless generations to bring us to this moment. Its foundation is resistance, its spine is truth, and its purpose is clear: to claim, at last, the dignity and justice of being treated as First Peoples always should have been – as equals in their own Country and the first custodians of this land that we are all fortunate enough to live in.
At the heart of this Statewide Treaty, lies recognition of the enduring connection between First Peoples and Country – a connection unlike any other. This Statewide Treaty acknowledges this unique position: as both residents of Victoria and Traditional Owners, First Peoples express their belonging to Country in diverse ways, but always as part of an unbroken relationship with the lands and waters of this place.
The State on behalf of all Victorians acknowledges this. The State recognises the deep and continuing injustices endured by First Peoples – dispossession of land, the forced removal of children, and the discrimination woven into laws and institutions. Through the truth-telling of the Yoorrook Justice Commission, these harms have been brought into the open, revealing how past and present State actions have left lasting wounds on families, communities and Country ... (Pages 4-5)
7.2 Gellung Warl
a) The Parties recognise that the Statewide Treaty Act establishes a First Peoples’ representative and deliberative body, to be known as Gellung Warl ...
b) The Parties recognise that one of the main purposes of the Statewide Treaty Act is to establish Gellung Warl: ...
iii) to provide for ongoing truth-telling and healing; ... (Page 10)
j) The Parties recognise Part 10 of the Statewide Treaty Act – Nyerna Yoorrook Telkuna – will advance the following object:
i) to establish Nyerna Yoorrook Telkuna within Gellung Warl, governed by rules provided for in Part 4, in order to:
A) provide for non-judicial and self-determined truth-telling across Victoria that is capable of being localised and place-based;
B) allow for the sharing and recording of experiences of historical events and the impact of colonisation on First Peoples; and
C) support the aim of enabling healing for First Peoples and healing between First Peoples and the broader community ... (Page 12)
b) The Parties agree that:
i) Part 10 of the Statewide Treaty Act establishes an ongoing truth-telling mechanism, to be known as Nyerna Yoorrook Telkuna, as an arm of Gellung Warl; and
ii) the establishment of Nyerna Yoorrook Telkuna implements the recommendation of the Yoorrook Justice Commission (Yoorrook for Transformation Third Interim Report, Volume 1: recommendation 1) to establish an ongoing truth-telling body to continue to take First Peoples’ testimony and build the public record ... (Page 13)
11. Statewide Treaty reforms
a) The Parties agree to the following Statewide Treaty reforms as detailed in Schedule B:
i) physical and other recognition of Victoria as a Treaty State, including agreeing protocols in relation to the function of Gellung Warl to participate in the ceremonial life of the State, and for the use of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags, and other physical markers of Treaty;
ii) inclusion of truth-telling in the Victorian Curriculum;
iii) Victorian public sector Treaty principles regarding a culturally capable workforce, including to support understanding of this Statewide Treaty;
iv) place naming of specified geographical features, to increase opportunities for the use of traditional or language place names;
v) a First Peoples’ Infrastructure Fund; and
vi) First Peoples’ programs and events, including the Victorian Aboriginal Honour Roll ... (Page 14)
B2 Inclusion of truth-telling in the Victorian Curriculum
a) The Parties agree that, subject to the powers of the responsible Minister under the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (Vic):
i) the State will include truth-telling in the Victorian Curriculum F-10 Version 2.0 (Victorian Curriculum F-10, meaning the Victorian Curriculum for the years Foundation to Year 10):
A) the methods by which truth-telling is included in the Victorian Curriculum F-10 will be co-designed between Gellung Warl, the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA), the Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Incorporated (VAEAI) and the responsible department, subject to approval by the responsible Minister (the relevant bodies);
ii) the State will use the Yoorrook Justice Commission Official Public Record as a resource to support the implementation of truth-telling in the Victorian Curriculum F-10;
iii) the State will include truth-telling in the Victorian Curriculum F-10 and the use of the Official Public Record as a resource for any school that delivers the Victorian Curriculum F-10;
iv) the State will develop reporting mechanisms as part of its implementation of the inclusion of truth-telling in the Victorian Curriculum F-10 and use of the Official Public Record as a resource. These mechanisms will include but are not limited to:
A) incorporating truth-telling into existing annual reporting processes undertaken by the responsible department, the VCAA and the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority;
B) establishing truth-telling in the Victorian Curriculum F-10 as a policy requirement of the responsible department, against which the existing Victorian Government school review process can monitor compliance;
C) future monitoring, compliance and implementation of truth-telling in the Victorian Curriculum F-10 and use of the Official Public Record as a resource by any Victorian Government school;
D) by agreement with the relevant bodies, future monitoring, reporting and implementation of truth-telling in the Victorian Curriculum F-10 and use of the Official Public Record as a resource by any Victorian non-Government school that delivers the Victorian Curriculum F-10; and
v) Gellung Warl, VAEAI and VCAA will co-design curriculum resources, related to the Official Public Record, subject to approval by the responsible Minister. (Page 23)
Picture credit: detail from a Federal Cabinet paper of 1938 showing the signature of Prime Minister JA Lyons, ensuring that a petition from Australian First Nations people about their rights was not forwarded to King George VI. The story summarised, with the Cabinet paper shown in full.
On behalf of the Australian Aborigines League, William Cooper had sent Prime Minister Lyons a petition for the attention of the King. The petition asked the King to intervene in Australia ‘to prevent the extinction of the aboriginal race; to secure better living conditions for all; and to afford aboriginal representation in parliament’. Over 1800 First Nations people from across Australia supported the petition.
As well as failing to forward the petition to the King, the government managed to lose the document. The 1938 story is part of the tortuous history leading to the Victorian Treaty 87 years later.
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