Australia Indigenous Treaty: Historic Agreement Explained

• 

  Meike Wijers

  Australia and New Zealand correspondent

For the first time in Australia, a treaty has been concluded between a state government and the local indigenous population. In the state of Victoria, where Melbourne is located, it was passed in parliament amid loud applause and tears.

“This treaty gives the Aboriginal community the power to shape the policies that affect their lives,” said state Premier Jacinta Allan. “This is how we build a fairer and stronger Victoria for everyone.”

The local treaty comes two years after a national referendum on a vote for indigenous people in the constitution failed. That was about a constitutional amendment to recognize the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the original inhabitants of the country, and to enshrine a role for them in the constitution. Nearly 60 percent of the Australian population voted against.

Despite the great disappointment about this among the indigenous inhabitants, work has continued at local level on initiatives to give them more influence. “Always was, always will be Aboriginal land” is a popular expression in Australia, which emphasizes that the indigenous population has never formally given up their sovereignty. We have been working on the implementation of the treaty in Victoria for more than ten years.

The aim is to reduce the gap between Indigenous people and other Australians. About 3.8 percent of Australians are of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent. This population group is doing much worse than other residents in all areas, such as health, education, work and income. For example, indigenous Australians live on average nine years shorter, suicide is more than twice as common and the group is overrepresented in prisons.

This largely has to do with Australia’s bloody, colonial past, which still has an effect today. In 1788, Australia was incorporated as a penal colony by the British crown. The indigenous population was hunted, poisoned and murdered. Until the 1970s, a ‘White Australia’ policy was in effect and indigenous children were systematically removed from their parents.

For years, the atrocities that the original population experienced during and after colonization were pushed under the carpet. Even today, Aboriginal people still face discrimination and racism.

Part of the treaty is to continue the work of the Yoorrook Commission, which has been engaged in truth-finding in recent years. That commission (Yoorrook means “truth” in the Wemba Wemba language) states, among other things, that since the colonization of Victoria, more than three-quarters of the indigenous population was killed within twenty years. The stark conclusion: a genocide has been committed against the indigenous population.

In addition, a democratically elected body will be created to represent the interests of the indigenous population. The Gellung Warl Commission, named after the expression for “spearhead” in the indigenous Gunaikurnai language, will now be consulted on laws and policies affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It is still unclear what the price tag will be for the elaboration of the treaty. It is estimated that the new commissions will cost tens of millions of dollars per year.

It is of great importance to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people that the truth about Australia’s colonial past comes to light. The treaty also includes an agreement on teaching materials at schools in the state. A new curriculum should give children more insight into this black history.

More and more states in Australia are engaged in a process of reconciliation with the indigenous population. For example, in South Australia a special committee has been appointed that is the ‘voice’ of the local indigenous population. In Victoria, the state government will also issue a formal apology to the original residents.

Jill Gallagher, director of the local health board, told public broadcaster ABC that she hopes it will be an example for more treaties in other parts of the country. “We can show the rest of Australia that this is not something to be afraid of. In fact, this actually brings us closer together.”

The treaty will enter into force in December. The local opposition is fiercely opposed and has promised to scrap it immediately if it comes to power. There will be local state elections in Victoria at the end of 2026.