By Jed Lanyon
Aboriginal communities are taking a historic step forward in the treaty process as Victorian Aboriginal communities begin to vote in the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria election.
The assembly will play a powerful role in supporting Aboriginal communities through the treaty process as the vote will determine which Victorian Traditional Owners are elected to 21 of 32 assembly seats.
The other 11 seats are guaranteed for formally recognised Traditional Owner groups and additional seats will be created if more groups are recognised.
While the assembly is not being set up to negotiate a treaty, the assembly will help create the framework for negotiations, which will set how treaties can be agreed in Victoria.
“Our Ancestors have been demanding treaties for hundreds of years. Today, we take a big step towards making it happen,” said Treaty Advancement Commissioner and Gunditjmara woman, Jill Gallagher.
“You cannot underestimate how significant this moment is,” she said.
“Australia is one of the only Commonwealth nations without a treaty with its First Peoples. That is so wrong. And we are slowly but surely setting it right.”
Mutthi Mutthi Wemba Wamba woman Vicki Clark is the Local Aboriginal Community Leader for the North West region of Victoria.
Ms Clark believes the election of the First People’s Assembly of Victoria is a great step for Indigenous Australians in Victoria.
“With the elections happening now, people are looking at who are the best persons or the warrior as I call them, to negotiate the terms of what a treaty would look like,” she said.
“We will see some diverse ideas and opinions but we would have a consensus about what we as Aboriginal people in Victoria want.
“Another reason why the treaty is important is that anything that has been developed over the years has come from a deficit position.
“It has come about because we are over represented in the prison system, from youth issues or poor housing conditions. It’s always been coming from a deficit model.
“This is different. This is coming from a positive model and it will give us the opportunity to move away from managing welfare and moving into managing economic development.”
To vote, eligible Aboriginal community members must enrol, face to face or online at www.firstpeoplesvic.org
Once enrolled, people can vote face to face, via post or online.
Yarra Ranges community members will be able to vote at the Healesville Indigenous Community Services Association (HICSA) at 1A Badger Creek Road, Healesville from 10:30am–5:00pm on Friday 4 October.
For more information, or support, call 1800 87 32 89.
