Legislation to be introduced later this year will give Victoria’s First Peoples’ Assembly direct access to government ministers and the power to make appointments to government boards.
In a joint statement released on Friday, the Assembly and the Government announced that Victoria’s path to treaty “has taken another step forward” as negotiations focus on how to evolve the Assembly “into an ongoing representative body to provide advice to government and make decisions over matters that affect First Peoples.”
Established in 2018, the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria is the state’s democratically elected body of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. Its role is to agree a treaty – an Australian first with First Nations people – with the Victorian Government.
Victoria’s Statewide Treaty Bill is proposed to give the Assembly’s 33 representatives decision-making powers “to make sure First Peoples’ communities can design and deliver practical solutions for their communities,” says the statement.
The legislation will empower the Assembly to “make decisions and rules about specific matters that directly impact First Peoples”, provide advice to government and question ministers. In addition, ministers and departments will be required to consult with the Assembly on laws and policies “that are specifically directed to First Peoples.”
In addition, the Assembly will have the power to make statutory appointments for designated First Peoples’ seats on government boards and entities, such as First Peoples appointments to the Heritage Council of Victoria. It will also take control of the government’s community infrastructure program, which provides funding for infrastructure upgrades, new builds, and planning.
If the treaty bill becomes law, the Assembly will become a statutory corporation that will sit within Victoria’s existing parliamentary and democratic structures. Victoria will then become the second jurisdiction in Australia to have a permanent Indigenous voice to parliament – South Australia was first when it passed the First Nations Voice Bill in 2023.
The Assemby would be subject to oversight bodies including the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission, the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office and the Victorian Ombudsman.
The Assembly will not have power to veto government policy or legislation “as such power does not exist under Victoria’s parliamentary system.”
Negotiations are also continuing on how to provide for the Assembly to:
- Form the independent accountability mechanism that is required by the National Agreement to Close the Gap and provide concrete solutions and recommendations to improve outcomes for First Peoples.
- Lead ongoing truth-telling, healing and reconciliation across Victorian towns and regions, including capturing stories and retaining an archive of this information to support education of the broader public about our shared history.
- Celebrate over 60,000 years of First Peoples’ culture, including by bringing it into the ceremonial life of Victoria.
- Run the Victorian Aboriginal Honour Roll and important events like NAIDOC week.
- Build on First Peoples’ knowledge and leadership to strengthen self-determination in the treaty-era.
“These developments in negotiations are the latest on an almost decade-long path that Victoria has been on towards achieving Australia’s first treaty,” says the statement. “Treaty is a pathway to acknowledging the past and making real, practical change to achieve better outcomes for First Peoples in Victoria and close the gap.”
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