Indigenous Victorians in Custody Enrolled to Vote in First Nations Treaty Negotiations

Ronald 'Ringo' Terrick, an elder the Wurundjeri tribe sits on the steps of Parliment House during Sorry Day May 26, 2007 in Melbourne, Australia. Simon Fergusson/Getty Images

Indigenous prisoners in the state of Victoria have enrolled to vote for the body that will negotiate treaties between the Victorian state government and First Nations groups.

This comes almost a year after Victoria became the foremost Australian jurisdiction to strike a deal with the First Nations Assembly that will provide a framework for First Nations groups in the state to negotiate an area of land with the state government.

Currently, more than 7,000 Indigenous Victorians over 16 have enrolled to vote in assembly elections—a figure that has tripled since 2019, reported The Guardian. Of the 7,000 Indigenous Victorians registered to vote, around 700 to 1,050 enrolled while in custody.

The assembly comprises 32 seats, 11 reserved for First Nations groups approved by the state government, and Indigenous Victorians elect 21 seats.

Additionally, 11 Registered Aboriginal Parties (RAP) in Victoria cover 74 percent of the state, according to the Aboriginal Heritage Council.

Amy Rust, the head of engagement and communications at the First Nations Assembly, said on June 14 that a statewide treaty would push for a “permanent Indigenous decision-making body”—which she described as a “black parliament.”

This is similar to what is in New Zealand’s parliament.

Indigenous groups can enter into separate negotiations with the state government.

Rust added that this would differ from the proposed Voice to Parliament as it would not just advise the government but have the power to make decisions on policies that affect Indigenous Victorians.

Indigenous Leader Says Australia Has Record Indigenous Groups

However, Warren Mundine, Indigenous leader and director of the Centre of Independent Studies’ Indigenous Forum, said there are “record numbers” of Indigenous people in the federal and state parliaments across the country.

“There are Aboriginal Land Councils, numerous Native Title representative bodies, Native Title-prescribed body corporates, Aboriginal education consultative groups, Aboriginal medical and legal services, as well as their peak lobby and industry bodies,” Mundine wrote in an op-ed for The Epoch Times.

“In Aboriginal cultures, no Aboriginal person can speak for another country, only their own. That is our lore. How are individual First Nations represented in this Voice? Where is the seat at the table for the Bundjalung (my country on my father’s side) or the Gumbaynggirr or Yuin (my country on my mother’s side)?

“We have tried Indigenous representative bodies, Indigenous advisory bodies, and Indigenous consulting bodies multiple times over the decades. None have lifted Indigenous people out of poverty. None have ‘Closed the Gap’.”

However, Mundine added that if the Voice to Parliament was passed, he would do what he could “to make it work.”

“I’d be committed to that even though I don’t support it.”

According to a Resolve Strategic survey published in The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH), support for the Voice to Parliament has fallen from 53 percent to 49 percent, with Queensland, Western Australia, and South Australia backing the ‘No’ campaign, while Victoria and New South Wales are at 56 percent and 53 percent in support of The Voice.

Resolve Strategic’s director, Jim Reed, said advocates for The Voice were failing to gain a national majority.

“The No voters report being more committed in their choice than the Yes voters,” he said.

“This tells us that those people who have moved to No are locking in behind that choice, whereas the remaining Yes voters are wavering.”

Treaty Negotiations in Victoria on Track

Negotiations between the First Nations Assembly and the Victorian state government over a statewide treaty are expected to take place later in 2023.

According to the Victorian state government, there will be “one overarching statewide treaty,” as well as “multiple local treaties” with individual First Nations groups; these will cover “matters as diverse as political representation, land and water, and economic development.”

“[The] treaty will deliver long-term, sustainable solutions because First Peoples will be in the driver’s seat, making decisions about the matters that impact their lives,” according to the state government.

Victoria is also the first Australian jurisdiction to enact all elements of the Uluru Statement from the Heart manifesto.