Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australia Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has criticised a state’s Talking Treaty panel for banning media from attending its event.
The Assembly of First Peoples of Victoria held a publicly funded closed-door debate on Sunday to discuss the creation of a state treaty.
The call for a treaty between Indigenous Australians and the government was enshrined in the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
The Uluru Statement website described it as “the largest consensus of First Nations peoples on a proposal for substantive recognition in Australian history”.
However, Senator Price criticised Sunday’s secret event as the “first warning sign” of how the treaty is likely to be adopted.
He also criticised the Assembly of First Peoples for being an unfair representation of Victoria’s Indigenous population, with only 10 per cent of eligible voters turning out to vote.
“It’s really worrying, especially when you have a body that claims to be representative with such low voter turnout,” Senator Price said. News from heaven Political commentator Peta Credlin.
“You know, it’s like what’s happening in South Australia at the moment with their legislative voting system, again, 10 per cent voter turnout. Where is that going to go?”
Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price (pictured) described the behaviour of the Assembly of First Peoples in Victoria during a treaty discussion event as “deeply concerning”.
The call for a treaty between Aboriginal Australians and the government was enshrined in the Uluru Statement from the Heart
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese openly supported the Uluru Statement from the heart following his election victory in May 2022.
However, following his failed referendum on Voice in October 2023, he has been much more vague in detailing his plan to establish its three pillars: voice, treaty and truth.
Credlin suggested that if the closed-door meetings continued, this would allow the Assembly of First Peoples to fabricate their contents and “push” their treaty proposal through the Victorian Parliament under the guise of unanimous support.
It could also set a precedent for other states to hold private treaty meetings until the prime minister is forced to create a national treaty made up of those created by states, Credlin said.
Senator Price agreed and questioned why the Assembly was allowed to proceed with treaty discussions when there were pre-existing concerns about its electoral processes.
“You cannot suggest that with these kinds of shady events going on behind closed doors and this failure to provide transparency, that this is actually going to be a true democratic process, moving towards legislation in this process,” he said.
“But as we all know, Mr Albanese is sitting in the background waiting for all these states to go through their treaty processes and then force it through, and Australians should be very worried. This will affect each and every one of us.
“But we know there are governance and accountability issues in many organizations. Why would we want to extend them further through this process?”
Following his failed Voice referendum in October 2023, Premier Albanese has been much more vague in detailing his plan to progress the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
The First Peoples’ Assembly announced in July that it hoped to be ready to begin treaty negotiations in November, following a community consultation.
“This is not a treaty that is signed lightly; you have to make sure that you have everything in place to negotiate it properly,” co-chair Rueben Berg said at the time.
He added that the proposed treaty would focus on structural reforms that would allow indigenous groups to provide direct advice to the government.
“Through the treaty, we want to ensure that decision-making is back in the hands of First Nations,” he said.
‘Decisions about the crowd must be made by the crowd.
“We also know that the government needs to be more accountable for the activities it talks about with respect to First Nations; that is also what the treaty will achieve.”
The Assembly’s declaration that it was ready to begin discussions was included in the Trading database and a copy was presented to the Treaty Authority at a ceremony in July.
At Sunday’s meeting (pictured), media were banned from attending, casting doubt on its transparency.
The authority acts as an independent arbitrator that ensures that the parties respect certain standards.
The negotiation framework of the treaty It allows traditional owners to form delegations to negotiate treaties reflecting the priorities and aspirations of a specific area, while the assembly will negotiate a state treaty for structural reforms.
Assembly co-chair Ngarra Murray said they would continue to gather feedback from communities across Victoria, including engaging with traditional owner groups and Aboriginal-controlled community organisations.
“We’re really excited to be able to make all of their aspirations, hopes and dreams come true right now,” Murray said at the time.
Victoria’s opposition withdrew its support for the treaty in January, citing concerns over cultural heritage laws.
Mr Berg said he was open to further talks with all sides of politics.