Friday 5 April 2024 @ 1800 (Wrap up for the day)
A bit of a break from about 1130 through to 1530 when Aunty Jill Gallagher took to the stage and spoke about some of her aspirations for Treaty – statewide and local. (We’ll be talking more about some of the differences between statewide and local treaties over the course of the weekend…and coming weeks and months.)
For those who have heard Aunty Jill talk about Treaty before then there should be no surprise that high on her list of aspirations is that “…all Traditional Owner groups be resources to bring back language and culture at a local level. Not just a static museum!”
She spoke also of the critical need for Victorian Aboriginals to act in unity, especially in light of the State Government’s backflip on treaty support earlier this year (see our post on that here).
The microphone was then handed over to the co-chairs of the Assembly, Ngarra Murray and Rueben Berg.
Ms Murray echoed Aunty Jill’s calls for unity, saying: “For so long we’ve been striving for Treaty. We’ve be yearning for our inherent rights as First Peoples to be respected and upheld.
“We’ve been fighting for our voices to be heard. We’ve been working to build collective power and the ability to have a genuine say over the matters that affect us.
“Now, if we decide to come together with a united voice, we can get Treaty done.
“We can herald a new era of Treaty and Aboriginal self-determination. Nothing about us, without us.”
Ms Murray went on to comment about the State Government’s response earlier this week to the Yoorrook Justice Commission’s first round of recommendations. (See our post on that here.)
“And of course you might have seen that just this week the Government gave it’s response to Yoorrook’s first round of recommendations.
“It came nearly a year after the report was submitted, so pretty frustrating to see the Government dragging its feet, and to be honest the Government’s response is a bit of a mixed bag.
“It’s vague on really important topics and disappoints with a slow timetable for raising the age of criminal responsibility. This means that in the meantime Aboriginal kids are still at risk of getting caught in the quicksand of the youth justice system.
“But look, it does also give us plenty to work with – somethings they’re already doing, somethings they’ve agreed to in principal and somethings we’ll certainly be able to pursue in Treaty negotiations.
“Don’t worry – we are wary of promises written in the sand! The Assembly will be dogged and focussed on holding Government to account and keeping them to their promises.”
With her fellow co-chair, Rueben Berg, taking the microphone for the closing address of the day, the Gunditjmara man was typically straight and to the point.
In outlining the four key focus areas for a statewide Treaty currently being discussed within the Assembly, he noted:
- A process and timetable for transferring decision-making powers from Government to First Peoples – at both a statewide level with the Assembly and at a local level through Traditional Owner Treaties
- How key recommendations from the Yoorrook Justice Commission’s truth-telling process should be implemented
- Expanding the Assembly’s roles and responsibilities so it can also provide advice to government and ensure accountability (in addition to exercising decision-making powers)
- Ways to properly respect and celebrate First Peoples’ culture and languages .
There’s no doubt that each of those key focus areas will be discussed in greater details over the weekend, and we’ll do our best to keep you updated.
Friday 5 April 2024 @ 1025
Great welcoming cultural dances to get the increasing number of attendees feeling
Friday 5 April 2024 @ 0955
Well, the event’s kicking off with Aunty Judith Walsh from the Wadawurrung providing a Welcome to Country.
There seem to a couple of hundred people here already, which bodes well for the rest of the weekend.
As the co-chairs (Ngarra Murray and Rueben Berg) take the microphone, Ngarra Murray said: “Today is really about our cultural business.”
Each of the Assembly members in attendance introduced themselves. At this stage only 18 of the members are here, but we’re expecting the majority of them to turn up over the weekend.
Friday 5 April 2024 @ 0917
It looks like a solid lineup of Assembly members that will turn up, already with Uncle Andrew Gardner, Uncle Shane Charles, Ngarra Murray (co-chair), Rueben Berg (co-chair), Alan Thorpe among others on deck.
Friday 5 April 2024 @ 0830
As we start off a long weekend – Friday to Saturday – of community discussions about a statewide Treaty between the Victorian State Government and Victorian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, at least 20 staff members from the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria (FPAV) we setting up at the Geelong Football Stadium.
According to FPAV Chief Executive Officer Andy Gargett, this gathering is the kickoff for a series of community engagement across the state in the leadup to the historic statewide Treaty.
”Over the course of the weekend we’re expecting around 600 people from right across the State to attend one or more of the three days,” Mr Gargett told VAN.
Day one of the event is expected to be relatively low key with a focus on cultural events and some speeches from leaders including Aunty Jill Gallagher AO who was the Victorian Treaty Advancement Commissioner responsible for establishing the FPAV.
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