As we wrote on the weekend, it’s all too easy for non-Indigenous allies to feel despair at the Australian voting public’s rejection of a Voice to Parliament, it’s easy to feel useless. But, as First Nations people were telling us the entire time – the Voice was never going to be a whole, complete solution. There are lots of things that we and the government can do right now to improve the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people. It is not a mystery, it is not complicated, and the powers required already exist.
These are just TK things that would have a real impact – read up on them, champion them in your communities, and urge your state and federal representatives to take action.
JUMP TO: State & Territory Treaties; Royal Commission into Black Deaths in Custody; Closing the Gap Report; Bringing Them Home Report; United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; Cultural Protection Laws.
State & Territory Treaties
The Voice was constitutional recognition, not a Treaty. Australia is one of the few Commonwealth colonies to not have a treaty with its Indigenous people – we can change this. Each state and territory are at different stages of their treaty processes. We can continue to pressure the federal government to start a national treaty process, and having state treaties in place will help lend weight to the argument.
VICTORIA: Victoria is the most advanced in its state treaty process. In 2018, it established the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria, a democratically elected body to negotiate a treaty. Formal treaty talks were supposed to take place this year, but were delayed due to focus on the federal Voice to Parliament. Victoria’s state budget has set aside $138 million for the treaty process, and $82 million of that money was given to the First Peoples’ Assembly, as announced in May 2023. People voted in the First Peoples’ Assembly Elections until June 3, 2023, to choose who will speak for them in the Treaty talks. Twenty-two Traditional Owners have been elected to represent different parts of Victoria in the Treaty negotiations.
QUEENSLAND: On August 16th 2022, the Queensland Government signed a $300 million ‘Path to Treaty Commitment’, which guarantees $10 million a year to the proposed treaty institute. The timeline of the path, however, is a bit vague. Premier Anastasia Palaszuck says a formal Truth-Telling and Healing inquiry will be conducted by the First Nations Treaty Institute, to inform the treaty creation process. It will run over three years and “investigate the true history of Queensland and the continuing impacts of colonisation on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Queensland.” No timeline has been announced of when this treaty will actually come to fruition.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA: SA first committed to a treaty process in 2016. Dr Roger Thomas was appointed Treaty Commissioner in 2017 and there was a formal framework proposed for the actual treaty. However, when the Liberal government came into power 2018, then-Premier Steven Marshall stopped everything, calling it an “expensive gestures”. When SA Labor came back into power in 2022, they re-confirmed their commitment to establishing Treaties with First Nations peoples. Earlier this year, the state passed their own First Nations Voice Bill and are planning to hold elections for their Local Voice in early 2024.
NEW SOUTH WALES: Has not started a treaty process. Getting the ball rolling was an election promise of new Premier Chris Minns, however at time of writing nothing has happened.
WESTERN AUSTRALIA: Has not committed to a treaty process.
NORTHERN TERRITORY: The NT Treaty Commission published its report on a potential treaty-making framework in June 2022. In December, the NT government responded by creating a special team called the Treaty Unit within the Office of Aboriginal Affairs to oversee the next steps. The Treaty Unit is focusing on a few important things: making rules and laws related to the Treaty; creating truth-telling processes across the Territory; and working with local, regional, and national government representatives to have more Aboriginal voices heard.
AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY: The ACT’s 2021-22 budget allocated $317,000 to facilitate a conversation with First Nations people, activists and community leaders about what a treaty means and might look like in the ACT. Professor Kerry Arabena submitted the final report to the ACT Government in July 2022; the government is yet to respond to the report.
TASMANIA: The Tasmanian government formed an Aboriginal Advisory Group in December 2022. It consists of six individuals from the Aboriginal community who will collaborate with the government to develop a truth-telling and treaty process guided and directed by Aboriginal voices and perspectives. The group had its first meeting in February this year.
Royal Commission into Black Deaths in Custody Recommendations:
Current Status: The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody investigated the disturbing number of Indigenous people who had died while in police custody or in prison. It delivered its final report in 1991, with the conclusion being: “First Nations Peoples had a higher chance of dying in custody simply because they had a higher chance of being in custody.” The report made 339 recommendations – only 64% of these had been “fully implemented” by 2018. The recommendations mainly focus on police interactions and systemic issues that lead Indigenous peoples into custody, including education, health and lack of self determination.
Related Organisations:
Closing the Gap Report:
Current Status: The Closing The Gap report investigates the disparity between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians on key health, education and economic opportunity targets. It has been released annually since 2009. Unfortunately, the most recent 2022 report proved some gaps are increasing. Children’s school-readiness, incarceration rates, suicide rates and child-removal rates have all significantly worsened; healthy birth weights, enrolled children in preschool, reduction in the rate of young people in detention and square kilometres of land owned are considered ‘on-track’ to closing, but are not closed.
What needs to change? There are absolutely solutions to close various gaps, including using more targeted approaches to achieving Indigenous health equality within our medical and education systems, in partnership with Indigenous organisations and community leaders. Australian institutions and organisations just have to, wait for it, actually listen to Indigenous people and treat them as experts in their own experience.
Bringing Them Home Report:
Current Status: The Bringing Them Home report published in 1997 was an inquiry into the forced removal of Indigenous children from their families. It is estimated that between 1 in 10, possibly as many as 1 in 3, Indigenous children were removed from their families and communities between 1910 and the 1970s due to assimilation policies. The report also listed 54 recommendations in response to their findings, including apologies be made by federal and state governments. Kevin Rudd made the national apology to the Stolen Generations on 13 February 2008. Many of the recommendations remain ignored – in 2022, the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care urged state, territory and federal governments to publish their plans to finish implementing the recommendations.
What needs to change? Although National apologies were given, there is still a lot of fear within First Nations communities, seeing that many of the recommendations from the report have not been implemented, continuing the ripple effect of the Stolen Generation. AIATSIS writes: “The reality is that the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in state care has continued to rise. This is not just an issue of our past. It is happening today. While the intent of child removal today may be different to that experienced by the Stolen Generations, the effect is the same: a loss of identity and the exacerbation of intergenerational trauma.”
The Healing Foundation works with communities to address these ongoing traumas, and has also released an ‘Action Plan For Healing’, that includes the need for continued acknowledgement, further investigation and policy changes.
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples:
Current Status: In 2009, Australia endorsed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). It is a commitment to respect and protect the rights of Indigenous peoples in line with international standards. The main points are self-determination; protection of culture and land rights; and consultation with Indigenous communities when making decisions that affect them. Despite endorsing the agreement, the government has not done anything to enshrine these principles in law.
What needs to change? Signing UNDRIP doesn’t make it legally binding. To make it real, Australia would have to pass legislation that sets out exactly what the declaration means in this country, laws protecting it, and a formal process for people to make complaints if these rights are being violated.
Cultural Heritage Protection Laws:
Current Status: Cultural Heritage Protection laws are supposed to ensure that ancient artefacts, significant or sacred sites, and objects of importance to Indigenous communities are not destroyed – particularly by mining and resource companies. Think: Rio Tinto blowing up sacred rock shelters at Juukan Gorge. Because these laws vary by state and territory, it has created a complex web of regulations that leaves many gaps in protection. Recently, the WA government reverted its cultural heritage laws to return to how they were in 1972.
What needs to change? Indigenous communities are resolute in their demand for immediate and comprehensive reform of these laws. These reforms need to happen now, before it’s too late and even more sites are destroyed. These laws must be designed in collaboration with First Nations groups to ensure their specific cultural values and perspectives are respected and reflected.
Your have power too – use it
We can and should continue to channel the positive intentions of the referendum campaign into demanding better of the government, our own communities and industries. We can still demand transparency, accountability, and push for Indigenous involvement in decisions that affect them. As our editor says, “If we can do the honest self-reflection and take the hard lessons from it, this could be a transformative moment in the personal politics of an entire generation.” This doesn’t have to be the end of the fight, in fact it can’t be. First Nations Peoples deserve our continued solidarity, attention and action. How, when and where can you, personally, contribute?
Smart people read more:
The referendum did not divide this country: it exposed it. Now the racism and ignorance must be urgently addressed – Guardian Australia
Being a Better Ally to First Nations Folks – 5 Things to Consider
Well, now what? – Thinking About It newsletter
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