For the first time, an Australian government will commence treaty negotiations with the First Peoples of Victoria, in what the premier has described as a chance to reset. The nation-leading process holds the promise of a genuine shift in relations that makes peace with a painful past, but there’s a long way to go.
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00:00For hundreds of years, this is the day Aboriginal people have waited for.
00:11It's the first time an Australian government will start treaty negotiations with its Indigenous
00:16peoples.
00:17Treaties are a bridge, not just between us and the state, but between the past and the
00:22future.
00:23That's what treaty is, a practical way to achieve practical change.
00:28On Wurundjeri Country at the Darabin Parklands, the occasion was marked with sacred business.
00:35Many mobs came together to begin the healing process.
00:38Treaty will also spark many opportunities for everyone who calls Victoria home to come
00:43closer together.
00:47At the top of their agenda, leaders will ask for a permanent body to have a powerful say
00:51in the laws and policies that impact their communities.
00:55From today, state-wide treaty will begin negotiations for systemic changes in five key areas that
01:03affect all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Victoria.
01:06We've taken the best from overseas models, but we're negotiating treaties to suit the
01:10local needs of a modern Victoria.
01:14Today's promise has been a long time coming, especially for co-chairs of the First Peoples
01:18Assembly.
01:19I do share some of Reuben's impatience.
01:23But the wait would be even longer under a change of government, because the opposition
01:27doesn't support it.
01:29We don't believe treaty is the way to go.
01:31For First Nations across the country, today marked a long realised dream, but there is
01:36still a long road ahead as Aboriginal leaders and the Victorian government begin the difficult
01:40task of negotiations.
01:42Both parties will need to agree on the best way to right the wrongs of the past, to continue
01:47closing the gap, and to walk forward as one.
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