2024 NAIDOC at Infoxchange: 'The Journey Towards Treaty' with Tracey Evans
Gunditjmara woman Tracey Evans talks us through the next steps since the Voice to Parliament campaign.
“Make no mistake, we are in the fight of our lives.” - Tracey Evans, Gunditjmara woman and Member for Melbourne Metropolitan Region, First Nations Assembly of Victoria.
It’s NAIDOC this week, and the year’s theme is Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud & Proud. The theme honours our First Nations peoples' enduring strength, vitality, rich culture, wisdom, and diversity.
After the immeasurable disappointment of the 2023 referendum, it’s more important than ever to stoke the fires and continue moving towards a brighter future for all people living in Australia—a future where First Nations peoples have self-determination and sovereignty as decision-makers in their lives and communities.
As part of Infoxchange's ongoing commitment to reconciliation and NAIDOC week activities, Infoxchange was delighted to host a staff Lunch & Learn on The Journey to Treaty with Tracey Evans, a proud Gunditjmara (Eastern Maar Traditional Owner of Victoria) woman and a member in her second-elected term of the First Peoples Assembly of Victoria for the Melbourne Metro Region. Below are some of the key learnings.
What is Treaty?
Treaty is a topic that has progressed greatly in Victoria in the last five years, setting the standard for the country in how State and First Nations representatives can build dialogue and successful outcomes. Treaty will:
- Recognise historical wrongdoings and support healing
- Put First Peoples in the driver's seat
- Promote human rights and support First Peoples wellbeing
- Uphold and celebrate Aboriginal lore, law and cultural authority
- Help to reshape systems across many Government domains, removing prejudice and improving cultural safety.
- Create a new relationship between First Peoples and the Government with self-determination at its heart.
"We're trying to undo the history of what's occurred to Aboriginal people here in Victoria, and hopefully, what we could do can help the other states to look at what we're doing and take the very best of what we've done and do better for their people. No other states are as far down in the Treaty journey as what we are." - Tracey Evans, Member for Melbourne Metropolitan Region, First Nations Assembly of Victoria.
What does Treaty look like?
There are two types of Treaty:
- Traditional Owner treaties
- State-wide Treaty – represented by the First Peoples Assembly with elected leaders representing the Victorian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
The First Peoples Assembly will negotiate with the government to allow First Nations people to have a say in the areas of truth-telling (the priority), land, water, cultural heritage, civil and criminal justice, education, funding, employment, data sovereignty, environment, welfare, language, political participation, economic and community development and health and wellbeing.
Last week, Premier of Victoria Hon. Jacinta Allan MP announced the launch of the Treaty Negotiations Database by the Treaty Authority, taking the state another step closer to Treaty negotiations in Victoria.
"At some point in the next year, the First People's Assembly will trigger that they are ready to talk Treaty with the state, and the state will trigger to the Assembly that they are ready to talk Treaty with us, and that is the is historical moment where Treaty making can begin. We might say we want to add extra layers of protection for cultural heritage for the Traditional Owner groups, or we might say that there needs to be a more significant investment in child protection or that the rights of organisations, Aboriginal communities and Aboriginal communities controlled organisations should be holding the purse strings and making the decisions on behalf of mob. Nothing is off the table," shared Tracey.
So what can we do next?
Reconciliation is a critical step. Infoxchange is on the journey towards upgrading our Reconciliation Action Plan (Innovate) and aims to build relationships with Aboriginal Communities, Traditional Elders and Leaders, and Community Controlled Organisations.
Tracey left us with an invitation to involve more First Nations peoples in our work and consider how our decisions can help empower First Nations voices first.
“Be a good ally. Be curious, ask questions. Be flexible, respectful. Involve my people," says Tracey.