'Walk for Truth' draws curtain on nation-first inquiry
A weary Aboriginal leader is not ready to put his feet up for good after walking halfway across the state to shine a light on its dark colonial past.
A crowd of thousands greeted Travis Lovett outside Victorian parliament on Wednesday as he finished his 508km walk from Portland, where colonisation began in the state in 1834.
More than 12,000 people joined him along the 25-day Walk for Truth, which represented the end of the long-running Yoorrook Justice Commission.
With both feet freed of his shoes, the Yoorrook commissioner and deputy chair became emotional when talking about the toll the journey has taken.
"The body has been sore," he told reporters.
"I've had my moments where my feet have been sitting in the same shoes for nine hours straight, but that is nothing compared to what our people have been through.
"We don't ask for sympathy but we ask people to open their minds and open their hearts to the full lived experience of our people here."
Yoorrook is Australia's first first formal, Indigenous-led truth-telling process.
It was established in 2021 to create a public record of Indigenous experiences since colonisation and its ongoing impacts on Aboriginal people.
The inquiry has held dozens of public hearings, gathering the testimony of Stolen Generations survivors, elders, historians, experts and non-Indigenous advocates.
Mr Lovett said it had ended the silence and laid the foundation for tangible change.
"It's not about blame, it's about the truth," he told the crowd while foreshadowing future walks through other parts of the state.
"Our old people didn't fight for sorrow, they fought so that we might live well."
An interim report by Yoorrook called for wholesale changes to Victoria's criminal justice and child protection systems, but the state government only fully committed to implement six of 43 recommendations.
Its final report is expected to be handed to the governor in coming days.
Chair Eleanor Bourke has flagged it will contain more than 100 recommendations, including some that can be actioned immediately and others as part of a statewide treaty.
Premier Jacinta Allan, who was presented with a message stick carried the full length of the walk, said the official public record would be critical to treaty talks.
"You can't have treaty without truth - they go together," she said.
Treaty negotiations between the state government and First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria kicked off in late 2024.
Details have been vague on exactly what is on the table but an update on Wednesday confirmed parties discussed Yoorrook's public record becoming a possible resource for teachers.
Assembly co-chair Rueben Berg suggested a statewide agreement could be reached later in 2025, ahead of Victorians heading to the polls in November 2026.
"First people's decisions should be made by first people's - that's what we're working towards here in Victoria," he said.
The Victorian Liberal opposition withdrew its support for a statewide treaty in 2024 following the failed national voice to federal parliament referendum.
If and when an agreement is struck, legislation must pass both houses of state parliament for the treaty to be ticked off.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Herald Sun
2 hours ago
- Herald Sun
Jump in teens held behind bars due to Vic bail laws
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News. The number of violent teenagers accused of serious crimes who have been refused bail has almost doubled since the Allan government introduced its tough new bail laws. New data reveals that as of the start of this month, there were 92 young people on remand in Youth Justice in Victoria compared to the corresponding period last year when there were 46 – a massive 100 per cent increase. The figures – released by the Department of Justice and Community Safety – also show that the number of adults on remand from the start of June was also up, with 2589 refused bail – a jump from 1980 in the same period in 2024. The increase follows the Herald Sun's Suburbs Under Siege campaign which led to the Victorian government introducing the 'toughest bail laws in the country'. Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny said the increase in people on remand proved the bail reforms were working. 'We have brought in tough new bail laws which are seeing an increase in serious alleged repeat offenders being remanded,' she said on Wednesday. 'These are the toughest bail laws in the country because we have listened to victims and the community.' Ms Kilkenny said there were also more changes ahead, with new bail legislation to be introduced to parliament later this year. The positive statistics come just days after the state government introduced new 'post and boast' laws. The new legislation will make it an offence for bragging about crimes online, resulting in offenders being kept in jail for longer. The spike in remands follows months of alarming crime rates in Victoria showing they had reached the highest on record, with police laying the blame for the growing crime wave on a group of hardcore teenage offenders. It's been previously revealed that a gang of about 100 youth offenders are responsible for at least 30 crimes each in the past year – carrying out a total of more than 3000 separate reported offences. The bail reforms passed in March made Victorian judges and magistrates put community safety first by beefing up sentences for repeat offenders who break bail. The changes also included the reintroduction of 'committing an indictable offence while on bail'. Another offence of 'breaching bail conditions' will also come into play. Both offences will add an extra three months of jail to any other sentence imposed for any crime committed. It can also be revealed that the state has begun rolling out its new electronic-monitoring program. Four youth offenders currently have monitors as part of two-year trial to ensure young people comply with their bail conditions.
Sydney Morning Herald
4 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
This developer wants to keep Pesutto on a leash. What's worse, Liberals are entertaining the idea
'The offer appears to be an attempt through a substantial financial inducement to adversely affect the honest performance by a member of the Victorian parliament of his functions in determining what parliamentary position to hold,' Tham told this column. Barrister Geoffrey Watson, SC, a director of the Centre for Public Integrity, describes it as an affront to democracy. 'It would be a threat hanging over his [Pesutto's] head for the entire time he sits in parliament,' he says. 'It's absolutely and utterly disgusting.' Deeming says her conscience is clear and the offer to Pesutto was part of a genuine attempt to settle the matter in the best interest of all parties. There is no suggestion here that Deeming or Grugeon, or Battin for that matter, are corrupt in the ordinary meaning of the word. Neither have sought financial gain from this mess. Their offer is deeply troubling, nonetheless. So too is the gormless misjudgment Battin showed by passing it on. Grugeon is better known in NSW, where he is chairman of Hunter Land, a company that develops regional residential and business estates. He is also well known to NSW's anti-corruption agency, the Independent Commission Against Corruption, due to his past habit of making political donations in breach of the state's election funding laws. Grugeon has been helpful to journalists reporting on the Pesutto-Deeming troubles, owing to his willingness to answer the phone and give a quotable quote. When Watson examined Grugeon as counsel assisting for ICAC as part of an investigation into illicit donations by Grugeon and other property developers to Liberal Party figures, he found him less forthcoming. 'He was not an impressive witness,' ICAC noted in its 2016 published findings of Operation Spicer. Grugeon's name appears more than 121 times in the ICAC report, which found he twice attempted to evade the state's ban against property developers making political donations. One involved a $10,000 cash payment to an MP funnelled through a friendly radio jock and concealed as services rendered. The second involved Grugeon buying a painting from an MP's wife for $10,120, where the artist's work usually sold for under $300. Grugeon denied the allegations and ICAC made no corruption findings against him. The MPs were forced to quit parliament. So what was Brad Battin thinking when he passed on to Pesutto an offer that would put one of his MPs in Grugeon's deep pockets? To borrow a line from Succession patriarch Logan Roy, if the Liberals can't see a problem here, you are not serious people. This column questioned Battin about the role he played in facilitating negotiations between Deeming and Pesutto and whether he passed on communications to Pesutto containing Grugeon's offer of a $1 million loan. Battin declined to publicly discuss his communications with colleagues but said he had never spoken to Grugeon. Two sources not authorised to discuss internal party matters confirmed that Battin sent Pesutto a text message with the offer. Pesutto says he rejected it out of hand and ceased negotiations with Deeming. Battin and the 18 other members of the administrative committee which serves as the Victorian Liberal Party's governing body will on Thursday meet at the party's city headquarters to consider a more sensible proposal. This one, to be presented by Pesutto at the meeting with the support of party president Philip Davis and other office bearers, is for a party entity to lend him at a commercial rate the money he needs to meet his costs order by the court's June 27 deadline – meaning he avoids bankruptcy and retains his marginal seat of Hawthorn. Loading Deeming and her self-described confidante, broadcaster Peta Credlin, have made clear their objections to using party money to help Pesutto. Seven members of the administrative committee are thought to be vehemently opposed. Whatever the outcome of Thursday night's vote, the concerns raised by Tham and Watson should also be dealt with. Tham believes the seriousness of the conduct involved – conduct concerning the highest political offices in the state – means it falls under IBAC's jurisdiction. 'Given the compelling public interest involved in this episode, the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission should launch an own-motion investigation,' he says.
The Age
4 hours ago
- The Age
This developer wants to keep Pesutto on a leash. What's worse, Liberals are entertaining the idea
'The offer appears to be an attempt through a substantial financial inducement to adversely affect the honest performance by a member of the Victorian parliament of his functions in determining what parliamentary position to hold,' Tham told this column. Barrister Geoffrey Watson, SC, a director of the Centre for Public Integrity, describes it as an affront to democracy. 'It would be a threat hanging over his [Pesutto's] head for the entire time he sits in parliament,' he says. 'It's absolutely and utterly disgusting.' Deeming says her conscience is clear and the offer to Pesutto was part of a genuine attempt to settle the matter in the best interest of all parties. There is no suggestion here that Deeming or Grugeon, or Battin for that matter, are corrupt in the ordinary meaning of the word. Neither have sought financial gain from this mess. Their offer is deeply troubling, nonetheless. So too is the gormless misjudgment Battin showed by passing it on. Grugeon is better known in NSW, where he is chairman of Hunter Land, a company that develops regional residential and business estates. He is also well known to NSW's anti-corruption agency, the Independent Commission Against Corruption, due to his past habit of making political donations in breach of the state's election funding laws. Grugeon has been helpful to journalists reporting on the Pesutto-Deeming troubles, owing to his willingness to answer the phone and give a quotable quote. When Watson examined Grugeon as counsel assisting for ICAC as part of an investigation into illicit donations by Grugeon and other property developers to Liberal Party figures, he found him less forthcoming. 'He was not an impressive witness,' ICAC noted in its 2016 published findings of Operation Spicer. Grugeon's name appears more than 121 times in the ICAC report, which found he twice attempted to evade the state's ban against property developers making political donations. One involved a $10,000 cash payment to an MP funnelled through a friendly radio jock and concealed as services rendered. The second involved Grugeon buying a painting from an MP's wife for $10,120, where the artist's work usually sold for under $300. Grugeon denied the allegations and ICAC made no corruption findings against him. The MPs were forced to quit parliament. So what was Brad Battin thinking when he passed on to Pesutto an offer that would put one of his MPs in Grugeon's deep pockets? To borrow a line from Succession patriarch Logan Roy, if the Liberals can't see a problem here, you are not serious people. This column questioned Battin about the role he played in facilitating negotiations between Deeming and Pesutto and whether he passed on communications to Pesutto containing Grugeon's offer of a $1 million loan. Battin declined to publicly discuss his communications with colleagues but said he had never spoken to Grugeon. Two sources not authorised to discuss internal party matters confirmed that Battin sent Pesutto a text message with the offer. Pesutto says he rejected it out of hand and ceased negotiations with Deeming. Battin and the 18 other members of the administrative committee which serves as the Victorian Liberal Party's governing body will on Thursday meet at the party's city headquarters to consider a more sensible proposal. This one, to be presented by Pesutto at the meeting with the support of party president Philip Davis and other office bearers, is for a party entity to lend him at a commercial rate the money he needs to meet his costs order by the court's June 27 deadline – meaning he avoids bankruptcy and retains his marginal seat of Hawthorn. Loading Deeming and her self-described confidante, broadcaster Peta Credlin, have made clear their objections to using party money to help Pesutto. Seven members of the administrative committee are thought to be vehemently opposed. Whatever the outcome of Thursday night's vote, the concerns raised by Tham and Watson should also be dealt with. Tham believes the seriousness of the conduct involved – conduct concerning the highest political offices in the state – means it falls under IBAC's jurisdiction. 'Given the compelling public interest involved in this episode, the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission should launch an own-motion investigation,' he says.
