Victoria has made historic process on Aboriginal justice, tabling a bill for a Treaty with Victorian Aboriginal people. The Liberal Government needs to follow Victoria’s lead and implement their promise to Tasmanian Aboriginal people for Treaty.
When the Pathway to Truth-telling and Treaty Report was tabled in Parliament in 2021, former Premier Peter Gutwein promised to implement, in full, all its recommendations. Recommendations 1 and 5 were to implement a Truth-telling Commission and deliver Treaty legislation. Last year, Premier Rockliff’s government announced a Truth-telling Commission process, but then walked away from this promise.
Today, in response to a Greens’ question, Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bridget Archer did not recommit to a Treaty, but spoke about the Truth-telling Commission’s process. Many Tasmanian Aboriginal Elders have condemned the Truth-telling process as meaningless without including a pathway to Treaty.
Treaty is required to recognise sovereignty, restore decision-making authority and return lands to Tasmania’s Aboriginal people. There can be no genuine movement towards improving Closing the Gap outcomes without these matters first occurring. Self-determination is critical to providing justice for Aboriginal people about the trauma and loss inflicted by colonisation.
We hope Minister Archer agrees that the genuine justice and healing for Tasmanian Aboriginal people that could come from the Truth-telling Commission’s process can never occur if her colonial government constrains its outcomes.
Justice for Aboriginal Tasmanians includes a Treaty.
The Greens will continue to advocate for justice through Treaty, the return of lands, and an Aboriginal Heritage Act that properly protects Country.
