The State of Victoria has passed the first treaty in Australia to recognize and strengthen the representation of Aboriginal people. A one-of-a-kind agreement that will establish a new assembly that will finally have the power to influence local legislation.
The historic approval by the Victorian Parliament marks a turning point, therefore, since it will officially recognize Aboriginal populations as the traditional owners of Australian lands, a concept that has been denied for centuries by the country’s colonial history.
This treaty responds to long-standing demands from Aboriginal rights activists and aims to regulate the relationship between indigenous communities and institutions. One of the main innovations is the creation of Gellung Warla self-governing body that will be democratically elected by the Aboriginal population itself. The Gellung Warl, which means “spearhead” in one of the local Aboriginal languages, will have the power to influence state government decisions.
Because this historic step was necessary
The colonial policies and those followed after the independence of Australia have had a devastating impact on the Aboriginal populations, destroying their traditional lifestyle and relegating them to a condition of marginality and discrimination. Aboriginal people, who represent approximately 3.8% of the Australian population, often live in conditions of serious disadvantage, with a life expectancy lower than the national average.
In Victoria, around 78,000 people identify as Aboriginal, equivalent to 1% of the population. The treaty approved by the state government marks a significant part of the process of recognizing the historical damage caused by colonization. Although the treaty has been supported by the centre-left state government, the opposition has said that if it wins the next election, one of its first acts will be to cancel it.
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The Gellung Warl will be made up of the Assembly of First Peoples, an already existing elective parliament, and two commissions provided for by the treaty. The Assembly, which represents more than 7,000 people, will be responsible for advising the Victorian Parliament on all matters affecting Aboriginal people. It will also be able to interact with all levels of state administration, including the police and social services.
The two commissions, named with terms from local Aboriginal languages, are the Nyerna Yoorrook Telkuna and the Nginma Ngainga Wara. The first will collect testimonies and document the abuses suffered by Aboriginal populations due to state and federal policies. The second commission will be responsible for monitoring the impact of the laws on Aboriginal people and may recommend changes to eliminate racial bias from Victorian regulations. Both commissions will have an advisory role, without the power to produce laws independently.
The treaty also provides:
The Gellung Warl follows the idea of a similar body that the centre-left federal government had planned to introduce in 2023, to advise the national Parliament on issues relating to Aboriginal people, but this plan was brutally rejected in a referendum, marking a sharp division on the issue at the national level.
The bill will now go to the Governor of Victoria for official signature (Royal Assent), acting as representative of King Charles III in Australia.
