Tax Exemptions, Political Positions Among Demands From Victorian Aboriginal Group

As Victoria negotiates on a Treaty with its Aboriginal people, an elder has presented a list of 10 demands, which the premier says will be considered.

Crowds hold up a placard of the Australian Aboriginal Flag during a "Walk for Yes" rally in Melbourne on Sept. 17, 2023. William West/AFP via Getty Images

Victorian Indigenous elder and former Treaty Advancement Commissioner Aunty Jill Gallagher has presented a list of 10 demands which she said “must be part of a statewide treaty.”

The Treaty negotiation process—committed to by the state Labor government in 2018—officially commenced in 2022, with the introduction of empowering legislation in the Victorian Parliament following an agreement with the “First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria.”

It established a Treaty Authority as an “independent umpire” to oversee negotiations between the government and Aboriginal Victorians and to resolve any disputes. The Framework doesn’t preclude one party from advancing a non-negotiable list of demands, but nor does it appear to envisage it.

Ms. Gallagher’s list includes exempting Aboriginal people from land tax—including stamp duty and council rates; providing Aboriginal People with interest-free loans to purchase homes; and creating “designated seats” on local councils.

Under the proposal, traditional owners would be “fully resourced” to maintain languages and cultures at a local level; a “perpetual infrastructure fund” would be created; and all Aboriginal students in the State would receive free tertiary education.

“Aboriginal history—the true history of this country—must be taught in all Victorian and Australian schools,” another demand read.

Local cultural learning places would be established to “ensure our mobs are culturally strong” and to help educate the wider non-Aboriginal community. Further, an Aboriginal-specific Productivity Commission would be established in Victoria to hold the government to account.

Ms. Gallagher said a treaty between the government and the state’s Indigenous peoples would “secure the future for the next generation.”

“Treaty has been a long time coming, and the work of many, many generations has gone into getting us to where we are today. Make no mistake, the possibilities and potential Treaty brings are monumental for our communities.”

She described improving the visibility of Aboriginal culture as “the big one”.

“If there’s one thing that frustrates me more than anything else, it’s the lack of visibility of Aboriginal cultures in this state, and in this country and in the world,” Ms. Gallagher said.

Premier Says Everything is on the Table

Premier Jacinta Allan said she had not seen Ms. Gallagher’s list, but she was sure it would be “on the table” when Treaty negotiations commenced later this year.

“This and a whole range of other matters will be put on the table for negotiation,” she said.

“We are going through a treaty process and out of respect to the negotiations … I’m not going to engage in a separate negotiation through the media with treaty representatives. So I’m not in a position today to rule anything in or out about what might be considered through those treaty negotiations. That would be highly inappropriate and disrespectful to the treaty process,” the premier said.

“We have established, through legislation, the framework for those negotiations to be undertaken.

“The First Peoples Assembly [are] doing their work at the moment in how they establish their part of the negotiations. The government is also doing its work on how we come to the table.