The final Yoorrook report delivers unapologetic truths
The final recommendations of the Yoorrook Justice Commission call for fundamental change across nearly every major area of public policy in this state.
From how the water and land is managed, to the administration and governance of critical services in health, education, criminal justice and family violence and down to the number of houses built through existing government programs, the Yoorrook recommendations offer a radical blueprint for Aboriginal self-determination.
They also make clear this can only be done at a significant cost to the state, with unquantified money needed to redress past and ongoing injustices and fund Aboriginal control over their own affairs into the future.
The projected cost of redress includes economic loss and non-economic, cultural loss, plus interest owed on both. Given it is 174 years since Victoria was declared a colony, that will amount to quite a tidy sum.
Loading
To finance greater self-determination, including an expanded role for the First Peoples' Assembly currently negotiating a series of treaties with the Allan government, the commissioners recommend the establishment of a new fund, taken as a share of land, water and natural resource related revenues.
How much might such a fund hold?
Amid the bleak familiarity of statistics showing that Aboriginal people are nearly twice as likely to be diagnosed with cancer, three times as likely to die by suicide, 10 times more likely to access homeless services and far less likely to finish high school, another figure stands out.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
2 hours ago
- Perth Now
'Clear pathway for reform' after fatal police shooting
The nation's longest-running coronial inquest has exposed "deeply disturbing" racism within an Australian police force, the human rights commission says. Kumanjayi Walker was fatally shot by then-constable Zachary Rolfe during an attempted arrest at a home in Yuendumu, 300km northwest of Alice Springs, in November 2019. Handing down her findings into the 19-year-old's death, Coroner Elisabeth Armitage found Mr Rolfe was racist, and could not rule out that these attitudes contributed to Mr Walker's death. Mr Walker's family briefly addressed the media after the 600-page findings were handed down but said they would take some time before commenting further on Tuesday. "We're all feeling really exhausted and quite overwhelmed and there is so much that we need to go through," Mr Walker's cousin Samara Fernandez-Brown said. In delivering her findings on Monday, Judge Armitage said Mr Walker's death was avoidable. But Mr Rolfe was not just "a bad apple", she said, he worked in an organisation with "the hallmarks of institutionalised racism". Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Katie Kiss said her heart was breaking for the family of Kumanjayi Walker and the community of Yuendumu. "Racism is running rife in our institutions, and it lies at the heart of these shocking injustices," Ms Kiss said. "These findings, delivered on the lands of Yuendumu people - Kumanjayi Walker's people – not only outline who, and what, is to blame, but offer a clear pathway for reform." Ms Kiss said she hoped the coroner's findings would help prevent further tragedies. "Without an evidence and human rights based approach to justice and corrections, the unacceptable over representation of our peoples in custody, and dying in custody, will remain a national shame," she said. "(Judge Armitage's) findings must be the final alarm. This must end." The NT Police force said it would "carefully consider" the coroner's 32 recommendations, which included consulting with Yuendumu community leadership about when it may be appropriate for police not to carry firearms. A draft anti-racism strategy developed with the assistance of NT Aboriginal organisations will soon be released for broader consultation. 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14
SBS Australia
12 hours ago
- SBS Australia
The state of Victoria's Voice to Parliament
A permanent Indigenous voice to parliament is on its way for Victoria. It makes Victoria the second state in Australia - after South Australia - to establish a state-based, democratically elected body to provide advice on laws and policies related to Aboriginal people. The agreements comes at the same time as the handing down of the final report of the Yoorrook Justice Commission, after four years of hearings. "We stand here with our feet firmly on the lands of the Kaurna people. I pay my respect to their elders past present and emerging, but the way we pay our respects first and foremost is not with our words but in our deeds. And there are no more powerful deeds than South Australia becoming the first place in our nation to pass a law enshrining an Indigenous voice to our Parliament." says Peter Malinauskas, the premier of South Australia, when the state passed groundbreaking legislation for a state-based Voice to Parliament. Now, Victoria is set to follow South Australia's example.
The Advertiser
12 hours ago
- The Advertiser
'Pox on both your houses': Victoria voters unimpressed
Major party leaders have refused to buy into a new poll after it indicated an incumbent state Labor government was on track to secure a fourth consecutive term in power. More Victorian voters believe Opposition Leader Brad Battin would make a better state premier than the incumbent, Labor's Jacinta Allan. But the Liberal Party leader's preferred premier status, at 41 per cent to Ms Allan's 36 per cent, doesn't appear to be enough to convince voters to back the coalition into government, according to a Newspoll. The poll, published in The Australian on Monday, shows Labor's primary vote is now even with the opposition at 35 per cent. On a two-party preferred basis, Labor is ahead 53 per cent against 47 per cent for the coalition. Ms Allan, whose government has increasingly been on the nose with the public, said she was focused on issues important to voters instead of the "disarray" within the Victorian Liberal Party. "I'm focused on what matters to Victorians, to working people and their families," she told reporters. Mr Battin highlighted his party's policies around crime and housing and took credit for the government's changes to their reforms on bail and a machete ban. "Polls come and go, and I've been working pretty hard each and every day and making sure that the community is aware of what we are doing," he said. Newspoll head Campbell White told The Australian "this is a 'pox on both your houses'". "However, while there is a swing (toward the coalition) it is relatively modest and not sufficient for the government to change," he said. The premier took the opportunity to lambast the opposition after it had been embroiled in infighting and a leadership spill, involving first-term MP Moira Deeming. Mrs Deeming was expelled from the Liberal Party room after attending a Let Women Speak rally, which was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis but welcomed back in December after John Pesutto lost the leadership. Mr Pesutto was then ordered to pay $2.3 million in legal costs to Mrs Deeming in an ongoing court battle. "It is clear that they're extreme, they're divided, they're reckless, they don't trust each other, and therefore, why should Victorians trust them?" Ms Allan said. Mr Battin conceded his party has had "internal issues that have been frustrating" but insisted his team is competent and will give a "real good run" at the next election. "It's not about us. It's not about our internal politics. It's about everyday Victorians who, at the moment are struggling," he said. The poll of 1071 voters has a margin of error of 3.42 per cent and was conducted on June 23-30. Victorian voters head to the polls in November 2026. Major party leaders have refused to buy into a new poll after it indicated an incumbent state Labor government was on track to secure a fourth consecutive term in power. More Victorian voters believe Opposition Leader Brad Battin would make a better state premier than the incumbent, Labor's Jacinta Allan. But the Liberal Party leader's preferred premier status, at 41 per cent to Ms Allan's 36 per cent, doesn't appear to be enough to convince voters to back the coalition into government, according to a Newspoll. The poll, published in The Australian on Monday, shows Labor's primary vote is now even with the opposition at 35 per cent. On a two-party preferred basis, Labor is ahead 53 per cent against 47 per cent for the coalition. Ms Allan, whose government has increasingly been on the nose with the public, said she was focused on issues important to voters instead of the "disarray" within the Victorian Liberal Party. "I'm focused on what matters to Victorians, to working people and their families," she told reporters. Mr Battin highlighted his party's policies around crime and housing and took credit for the government's changes to their reforms on bail and a machete ban. "Polls come and go, and I've been working pretty hard each and every day and making sure that the community is aware of what we are doing," he said. Newspoll head Campbell White told The Australian "this is a 'pox on both your houses'". "However, while there is a swing (toward the coalition) it is relatively modest and not sufficient for the government to change," he said. The premier took the opportunity to lambast the opposition after it had been embroiled in infighting and a leadership spill, involving first-term MP Moira Deeming. Mrs Deeming was expelled from the Liberal Party room after attending a Let Women Speak rally, which was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis but welcomed back in December after John Pesutto lost the leadership. Mr Pesutto was then ordered to pay $2.3 million in legal costs to Mrs Deeming in an ongoing court battle. "It is clear that they're extreme, they're divided, they're reckless, they don't trust each other, and therefore, why should Victorians trust them?" Ms Allan said. Mr Battin conceded his party has had "internal issues that have been frustrating" but insisted his team is competent and will give a "real good run" at the next election. "It's not about us. It's not about our internal politics. It's about everyday Victorians who, at the moment are struggling," he said. The poll of 1071 voters has a margin of error of 3.42 per cent and was conducted on June 23-30. Victorian voters head to the polls in November 2026. Major party leaders have refused to buy into a new poll after it indicated an incumbent state Labor government was on track to secure a fourth consecutive term in power. More Victorian voters believe Opposition Leader Brad Battin would make a better state premier than the incumbent, Labor's Jacinta Allan. But the Liberal Party leader's preferred premier status, at 41 per cent to Ms Allan's 36 per cent, doesn't appear to be enough to convince voters to back the coalition into government, according to a Newspoll. The poll, published in The Australian on Monday, shows Labor's primary vote is now even with the opposition at 35 per cent. On a two-party preferred basis, Labor is ahead 53 per cent against 47 per cent for the coalition. Ms Allan, whose government has increasingly been on the nose with the public, said she was focused on issues important to voters instead of the "disarray" within the Victorian Liberal Party. "I'm focused on what matters to Victorians, to working people and their families," she told reporters. Mr Battin highlighted his party's policies around crime and housing and took credit for the government's changes to their reforms on bail and a machete ban. "Polls come and go, and I've been working pretty hard each and every day and making sure that the community is aware of what we are doing," he said. Newspoll head Campbell White told The Australian "this is a 'pox on both your houses'". "However, while there is a swing (toward the coalition) it is relatively modest and not sufficient for the government to change," he said. The premier took the opportunity to lambast the opposition after it had been embroiled in infighting and a leadership spill, involving first-term MP Moira Deeming. Mrs Deeming was expelled from the Liberal Party room after attending a Let Women Speak rally, which was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis but welcomed back in December after John Pesutto lost the leadership. Mr Pesutto was then ordered to pay $2.3 million in legal costs to Mrs Deeming in an ongoing court battle. "It is clear that they're extreme, they're divided, they're reckless, they don't trust each other, and therefore, why should Victorians trust them?" Ms Allan said. Mr Battin conceded his party has had "internal issues that have been frustrating" but insisted his team is competent and will give a "real good run" at the next election. "It's not about us. It's not about our internal politics. It's about everyday Victorians who, at the moment are struggling," he said. The poll of 1071 voters has a margin of error of 3.42 per cent and was conducted on June 23-30. Victorian voters head to the polls in November 2026. Major party leaders have refused to buy into a new poll after it indicated an incumbent state Labor government was on track to secure a fourth consecutive term in power. More Victorian voters believe Opposition Leader Brad Battin would make a better state premier than the incumbent, Labor's Jacinta Allan. But the Liberal Party leader's preferred premier status, at 41 per cent to Ms Allan's 36 per cent, doesn't appear to be enough to convince voters to back the coalition into government, according to a Newspoll. The poll, published in The Australian on Monday, shows Labor's primary vote is now even with the opposition at 35 per cent. On a two-party preferred basis, Labor is ahead 53 per cent against 47 per cent for the coalition. Ms Allan, whose government has increasingly been on the nose with the public, said she was focused on issues important to voters instead of the "disarray" within the Victorian Liberal Party. "I'm focused on what matters to Victorians, to working people and their families," she told reporters. Mr Battin highlighted his party's policies around crime and housing and took credit for the government's changes to their reforms on bail and a machete ban. "Polls come and go, and I've been working pretty hard each and every day and making sure that the community is aware of what we are doing," he said. Newspoll head Campbell White told The Australian "this is a 'pox on both your houses'". "However, while there is a swing (toward the coalition) it is relatively modest and not sufficient for the government to change," he said. The premier took the opportunity to lambast the opposition after it had been embroiled in infighting and a leadership spill, involving first-term MP Moira Deeming. Mrs Deeming was expelled from the Liberal Party room after attending a Let Women Speak rally, which was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis but welcomed back in December after John Pesutto lost the leadership. Mr Pesutto was then ordered to pay $2.3 million in legal costs to Mrs Deeming in an ongoing court battle. "It is clear that they're extreme, they're divided, they're reckless, they don't trust each other, and therefore, why should Victorians trust them?" Ms Allan said. Mr Battin conceded his party has had "internal issues that have been frustrating" but insisted his team is competent and will give a "real good run" at the next election. "It's not about us. It's not about our internal politics. It's about everyday Victorians who, at the moment are struggling," he said. The poll of 1071 voters has a margin of error of 3.42 per cent and was conducted on June 23-30. Victorian voters head to the polls in November 2026.
