Hundreds spoke their truths on impact of colonisation
* Victoria's Indigenous-led truth-telling inquiry, the first of its kind in Australia
* Led by five commissioners, of whom four are Aboriginal
* Established with royal commission powers
* Independent of the Victorian government and the elected First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria, the body tasked with leading statewide treaty talks
* Yoo-rrook means "truth" in the Wemba Wemba/Wamba Wamba language
WHAT WAS ITS PURPOSE?
* Create an official record of the impact of colonisation on Indigenous people in Victoria
* Support the treaty-making process, including through recommendations for reform
HOW DID IT COME ABOUT?
* The Victorian Labor government committed to a truth and justice process in July 2020
* The commission and its mandate was unveiled in March 2021
* It officially launched in March 2022 following COVID-19 lockdown-related delays
* The government granted a 12-month extension for its work to the end of June 2025
WHO APPEARED AT YOORROOK?
* Public hearings began in April 2022 and lasted 67 days in total
* Aboriginal elders such as Uncle Jack Charles, Uncle Johnny Lovett, Aunty Alma Thorpe and Aunty Eva Jo Edwards were among more than 200 witnesses
* Premier Jacinta Allan and other government ministers also gave evidence
* Then Victoria Police chief commissioner Shane Patton apologised for police treatment of Indigenous people
* The commission also received more than 1300 submissions and 10,000 documents from the state
WHAT ARE ITS FINAL REPORTS?
* Yoorrook for Transformation - Yoorrook's third and final report containing 100 recommendations over five volumes
* Yoorrook Truth Be Told - a official public record that includes a detailed account of the history of Victoria since the start of colonisation and story of the commission
WHAT ARE ITS KEY FINAL RECCOMENDATIONS?
* The government must fund the First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria to set up a permanent truth-telling group to keep collecting stories and build a public record
* Decision-making powers, authority, control and resources must be transferred to First Peoples to give full effect to self-determination
* The government must shift prison healthcare from the Department of Justice to the Department of Health
* The government must provide redress for injustices caused by the colonial invasion and occupation of First Peoples' lands, as well as damage and loss
WERE THERE ANY CONTROVERSIES?
* Three commissioners quit within the space of six months in 2022, and another resigned in 2023
* Commission chair Eleanor Bourke slammed the government in 2023 for delays in producing documents
* Only four of Yoorrook's 46 recommendations from an interim report on Victoria's child protection and criminal justice systems were accepted by the government in full. Twenty-four were accepted in principle and three rejected outright
* Yoorrook later said it was "beyond disappointed" with the government's inaction
* Three of the five commissioners did not endorse the inclusion of the key findings in the Truth Be Told report
HOW HAS THE GOVERNMENT RESPONDED TO THE FINAL REPORTS?
* It has acknowledged the final reports and will "carefully consider" its response to the findings and recommendations
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Advertiser
40 minutes ago
- The Advertiser
North Korean crosses heavily fortified border to South
An unidentified North Korean man has crossed the heavily fortified land border separating the two Koreas and is in South Korean custody, the South's military says. The South's Joint Chiefs of Staff on Friday said the military identified and tracked the individual near the central-west section of the military demarcation line and conducted a "guiding operation" before taking the person into custody on Thursday night. It said authorities plan to investigate the border crossing and did not immediately say whether they view the incident as a defection attempt. The Joint Chiefs said it notified the US-led United Nations Command about the incident and had not detected any immediate signs of unusual military activity by the North. According to the Joint Chiefs, a South Korean military team approached the unarmed North Korean man after detecting him and, after identifying themselves as South Korean troops, guided him safely out of the mine-strewn Demilitarised Zone divides the two Koreas. Border tensions have flared in recent months as the two Koreas traded Cold War-style psychological warfare, with North Korea sending thousands of rubbish-filled balloons toward the South and South Korea blasting anti-Pyongyang propaganda through loudspeakers. Since taking office last month, South Korea's new liberal President Lee Jae Myung has made efforts to rebuild trust with North Korea, halting the frontline loudspeaker broadcasts and moving to ban activists from flying balloons carrying propaganda leaflets across the border. In April, South Korean troops fired warning shots to repel about 10 North Korean soldiers who briefly crossed the military demarcation line. The South's military said the soldiers returned to North Korean territory without incident and that the North didn't return fire. In June 2024, North Korean troops crossed the border three times, prompting South Korea to fire warning shots. Experts suggested these crossings may have been accidental, occurring as North Korean troops added anti-tank barriers, planted mines and carried out other work to bolster border defences amid escalating tensions between the Koreas. Diplomacy between the war-divided Koreas has derailed since the collapse of denuclearisation talks between Washington and Pyongyang in 2019, which prompted North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to accelerate the expansion of his military nuclear program and threaten nuclear conflict toward Washington and Seoul. South Korea's previous conservative government responded by strengthening its combined military exercises with the United States and Japan, which the North condemned as invasion rehearsals. An unidentified North Korean man has crossed the heavily fortified land border separating the two Koreas and is in South Korean custody, the South's military says. The South's Joint Chiefs of Staff on Friday said the military identified and tracked the individual near the central-west section of the military demarcation line and conducted a "guiding operation" before taking the person into custody on Thursday night. It said authorities plan to investigate the border crossing and did not immediately say whether they view the incident as a defection attempt. The Joint Chiefs said it notified the US-led United Nations Command about the incident and had not detected any immediate signs of unusual military activity by the North. According to the Joint Chiefs, a South Korean military team approached the unarmed North Korean man after detecting him and, after identifying themselves as South Korean troops, guided him safely out of the mine-strewn Demilitarised Zone divides the two Koreas. Border tensions have flared in recent months as the two Koreas traded Cold War-style psychological warfare, with North Korea sending thousands of rubbish-filled balloons toward the South and South Korea blasting anti-Pyongyang propaganda through loudspeakers. Since taking office last month, South Korea's new liberal President Lee Jae Myung has made efforts to rebuild trust with North Korea, halting the frontline loudspeaker broadcasts and moving to ban activists from flying balloons carrying propaganda leaflets across the border. In April, South Korean troops fired warning shots to repel about 10 North Korean soldiers who briefly crossed the military demarcation line. The South's military said the soldiers returned to North Korean territory without incident and that the North didn't return fire. In June 2024, North Korean troops crossed the border three times, prompting South Korea to fire warning shots. Experts suggested these crossings may have been accidental, occurring as North Korean troops added anti-tank barriers, planted mines and carried out other work to bolster border defences amid escalating tensions between the Koreas. Diplomacy between the war-divided Koreas has derailed since the collapse of denuclearisation talks between Washington and Pyongyang in 2019, which prompted North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to accelerate the expansion of his military nuclear program and threaten nuclear conflict toward Washington and Seoul. South Korea's previous conservative government responded by strengthening its combined military exercises with the United States and Japan, which the North condemned as invasion rehearsals. An unidentified North Korean man has crossed the heavily fortified land border separating the two Koreas and is in South Korean custody, the South's military says. The South's Joint Chiefs of Staff on Friday said the military identified and tracked the individual near the central-west section of the military demarcation line and conducted a "guiding operation" before taking the person into custody on Thursday night. It said authorities plan to investigate the border crossing and did not immediately say whether they view the incident as a defection attempt. The Joint Chiefs said it notified the US-led United Nations Command about the incident and had not detected any immediate signs of unusual military activity by the North. According to the Joint Chiefs, a South Korean military team approached the unarmed North Korean man after detecting him and, after identifying themselves as South Korean troops, guided him safely out of the mine-strewn Demilitarised Zone divides the two Koreas. Border tensions have flared in recent months as the two Koreas traded Cold War-style psychological warfare, with North Korea sending thousands of rubbish-filled balloons toward the South and South Korea blasting anti-Pyongyang propaganda through loudspeakers. Since taking office last month, South Korea's new liberal President Lee Jae Myung has made efforts to rebuild trust with North Korea, halting the frontline loudspeaker broadcasts and moving to ban activists from flying balloons carrying propaganda leaflets across the border. In April, South Korean troops fired warning shots to repel about 10 North Korean soldiers who briefly crossed the military demarcation line. The South's military said the soldiers returned to North Korean territory without incident and that the North didn't return fire. In June 2024, North Korean troops crossed the border three times, prompting South Korea to fire warning shots. Experts suggested these crossings may have been accidental, occurring as North Korean troops added anti-tank barriers, planted mines and carried out other work to bolster border defences amid escalating tensions between the Koreas. Diplomacy between the war-divided Koreas has derailed since the collapse of denuclearisation talks between Washington and Pyongyang in 2019, which prompted North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to accelerate the expansion of his military nuclear program and threaten nuclear conflict toward Washington and Seoul. South Korea's previous conservative government responded by strengthening its combined military exercises with the United States and Japan, which the North condemned as invasion rehearsals. An unidentified North Korean man has crossed the heavily fortified land border separating the two Koreas and is in South Korean custody, the South's military says. The South's Joint Chiefs of Staff on Friday said the military identified and tracked the individual near the central-west section of the military demarcation line and conducted a "guiding operation" before taking the person into custody on Thursday night. It said authorities plan to investigate the border crossing and did not immediately say whether they view the incident as a defection attempt. The Joint Chiefs said it notified the US-led United Nations Command about the incident and had not detected any immediate signs of unusual military activity by the North. According to the Joint Chiefs, a South Korean military team approached the unarmed North Korean man after detecting him and, after identifying themselves as South Korean troops, guided him safely out of the mine-strewn Demilitarised Zone divides the two Koreas. Border tensions have flared in recent months as the two Koreas traded Cold War-style psychological warfare, with North Korea sending thousands of rubbish-filled balloons toward the South and South Korea blasting anti-Pyongyang propaganda through loudspeakers. Since taking office last month, South Korea's new liberal President Lee Jae Myung has made efforts to rebuild trust with North Korea, halting the frontline loudspeaker broadcasts and moving to ban activists from flying balloons carrying propaganda leaflets across the border. In April, South Korean troops fired warning shots to repel about 10 North Korean soldiers who briefly crossed the military demarcation line. The South's military said the soldiers returned to North Korean territory without incident and that the North didn't return fire. In June 2024, North Korean troops crossed the border three times, prompting South Korea to fire warning shots. Experts suggested these crossings may have been accidental, occurring as North Korean troops added anti-tank barriers, planted mines and carried out other work to bolster border defences amid escalating tensions between the Koreas. Diplomacy between the war-divided Koreas has derailed since the collapse of denuclearisation talks between Washington and Pyongyang in 2019, which prompted North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to accelerate the expansion of his military nuclear program and threaten nuclear conflict toward Washington and Seoul. South Korea's previous conservative government responded by strengthening its combined military exercises with the United States and Japan, which the North condemned as invasion rehearsals.
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Vic government working on ongoing Indigenous representative body
The Victorian Government says it's working on how the First Peoples' Assembly can become an ongoing representative body to advise on certain government decisions. It says the peak Aboriginal body will have a direct line to ministers and departments to consult on laws that directly affect First Peoples, but will not have veto powers on policy or legislation.
Sky News AU
2 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Victorian government announces plan to establish Treaty with Indigenous Australians and expand powers of state Voice
The Victorian government has released a joint statement with the states First Nations assembly revealing its plan to draw up a Treaty with Indigenous Australians and to further make the state's Voice to Parliament a permanent institution. The Victorian government's Yoorrook Justice truth telling inquiry handed down its final report on Tuesday after four years of proceedings and claimed the state had been illegally occupied. The commission also made 100 wide-ranging recommendations to the Victorian government including providing Indigenous Australians with tax relief, financial reparations and called on the state to finalise a Treaty agreement. Yoorrook Justice Commission chairperson Professor Eleanor Bourke said the inquiries third and final report 'sets out some recommendations to be advanced through the treaty process and others through urgent actions and reforms that should begin now.' The Treaty, which was previously in negotiation stages will now progress to parliament, with Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan and the state's First People's Assembly confirming on Friday that legislation to pass the agreement would be tabled after the winter break. The statement declared that a draft Treaty had been settled behind closed doors after a lengthy consultation phase. It also revealed that the state's First Peoples' Assembly would be made permanent. The announcement comes after the state government announced earlier in the week that it would enshrine the Assembly in law as a statutory corporation, a move that was blasted by the Opposition. The statement said the reinforced body would give 'decision-making powers to make sure First Peoples' communities can design and deliver practical solutions for their communities'. 'The proposed body will sit within our existing parliamentary and democratic structures. It will not have veto power on policy or legislation — a power that does not exist under Victoria's parliamentary system. However, the state government has not disclosed how much it would cost to pass the Treaty, nor make the changes to the state Voice. The document also made mention of numerous issues being debated behind the scenes which will be lumped within the Treaty legislation including granting First Peoples' seats on government commissions and boards and commissioning a new Aboriginal Community Infrastructure Program. The bill will further stipulate for truth-telling, healing and reconciliation events to be held across Victoria and for members of the Assembly to now have the capacity to ask ministers questions as they see fit. Under the policy the Assembly will be able to ask ministers and departments to consult and involve the body before making laws pertaining to Indigenous peoples. The statement said a considerable number of the Yoorrook Commission's recommendations would feature in the legislation. These encompassed land grants in addition to providing Indigenous groups with cash generated from state resources. Indigenous leader Warren Mundine, who was a driving force behind the No to the Voice to Parliament campaign, said the Yoorrook commissions findings were a 'slippery slope' and that Victoria's First Nation's Assembly did not represent the views of all Indigenous Australians. 'Aboriginal people are not supportive of this idea and so this idea that there's some sort of consensus out there is just rubbish,' Mr Mundine told 'We saw that in the vote for the first people's assembly that only 7 per cent of eligible aboriginals actually voted for it, so 93 per cent didn't see it as a true representative of themselves and didn't give a toss about it.' Mr Mundine also said the developments in Victoria went against the views of the Australian people, with over 60 per cent of the country resoundingly voting down the Voice to Parliament referendum in 2023. 'The Australian people have already spoken, you know over 60 per cent of Australians rejected the idea of the Voice to Parliament.' Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has refused to rule out paying compensation to First Nations people.
