Latest news with #FirstPeoplesAssembly
News.com.au
28-07-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Victoria says $776 million treaty negotiations claim ‘cherry-picked', but $308 million spent since 2020
The Victorian government has hit back at 'cherry-picked analysis' that claimed it has spent more than $776 million on treaty negotiations since 2016. The Institute of Public Affairs (IPA), a conservative think tank, on Sunday published analysis of spending items in Victorian government budget documents relating to treaty or 'self-determination' initiatives. The report claimed Victoria had spent $776.2 million on programs related to the development of a state treaty since 2016, with $100.6 million committed in the 2026 financial year alone and $220 million in the first two full financial years following the defeat of the Voice referendum. 'This is cherry-picked analysis from a Liberal Party-aligned think tank,' a Victorian government spokesperson said. 'If you listen to the people directly affected by policies, you get better outcomes — that's common sense. Treaty is about making a better and fairer state for all Victorians — negotiations are underway and we look forward to bringing Treaty to the Parliament.' The government would not confirm the IPA's figures, but noted $308 million had been invested into the Treaty since the 2020-21 budget, according to publicly available annual reports. Analysis of annual reports and budget papers by the Herald Sun put the figure at $382.4 million over the past 10 years. Some of that funding has gone into setting up the Treaty Authority, an 'independent umpire' created by the First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria and the State of Victoria to oversee the process. The Herald Sun reported in 2023 that members of the Treaty Authority panel could be paid a salary of up to $380,000 per year plus expenses if they worked full-time. The Victorian government first committed to advancing a treaty with Indigenous Victorians in 2016. Negotiations formally began in November 2024, and Victoria plans to finalise a treaty by the end of the 2026 financial year. Victoria would be the first Australian jurisdiction to negotiate a formal treaty with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. But the IPA said Victorians remained largely in the dark about what a treaty would entail, despite the hundreds of millions of dollars spent and hundreds of meetings held since 2017 in preparation for negotiations. 'Despite the Victorian government spending in excess of $776 million on secret treaty negotiations, mainstream Victorians are none the wiser as to what special rights and reparations it will grant to some Victorians based solely on race,' IPA research fellow Margaret Chambers said in a statement. The report noted that between July 2016 and June 2025, 727 meetings had been held by the Victorian government in relation to the development of a treaty — but just four public statements had been issued and the 'substance of these negotiations remains largely undisclosed'.That number included meetings between First Peoples' negotiating parties and the state of Victoria to negotiate or prepare for Treaty agreements, and meetings with departments to support whole of Victorian government co-ordination and engagement in Treaty negotiations. 'The Victorian government is not being honest and upfront with Victorians about its plan to divide the community by race,' Ms Chambers said. 'With a treaty scheduled to be finalised in the next 12 months, and despite the volume of secret meetings over the past decade, very little is known about what this treaty will entail. 'Any treaty will fundamentally change Victoria's legal structure and will likely require already financially stretched Victorian taxpayers to pay billions of dollars to activists aligned to the Allan government. 'Yet, for a government which operates one of the most sophisticated and well-funded spin machines ever seen, just four statements, totalling 1588 words, have been released on the Allan government's plan to divide Victorians by race.' Recent IPA analysis claimed the monetary compensation, tax relief and litigation which would flow from a treaty in Victoria based on the landmark Yoorrook report would be in excess of $48 billion annually. 'Victorians voted against racial division at the Voice referendum,' Ms Chambers said. 'Jacinta Allan is demonstrating complete and utter contempt for the Victorian people, and our democracy, by pursuing this treaty that will divide and cripple Victoria. 'With all the problems that Victoria faces, the last thing the community needs is a two-tiered legal system where some have special rights and get special government payments. Every Victorian should be treated equally under the law.'
SBS Australia
07-07-2025
- Politics
- SBS Australia
A Victorian treaty is closer than ever and this Indigenous body is expected to gain new powers
Victoria's Indigenous representative body is expected to gain new powers to make decisions over issues like confirmations of Aboriginality, approve statutory appointments to government boards, and hold the state government accountable for Closing the Gap progress under a Treaty. The First Peoples Assembly of Victoria and the state government are in the middle of negotiations on a statewide Treaty, which have primarily focused on the future role of the Assembly. In a joint statement released on Friday, both parties confirmed a Treaty bill is expected to be agreed upon and put to parliament by the end of the year. The Treaty will expand the power of the Assembly, with the parties now negotiating over how it will make representations and provide advice to the government - essentially acting as a Voice body. Assembly co-chair and Gunditjmara man Rueben Berg told NITV the Assembly is also looking to create an independent Closing the Gap oversight body. "Some of the key powers we're seeking are the power to have an independent accountability mechanism to actually monitor government progress and how they're delivering on their commitments and obligations," Mr Berg said. "We're also to be able to see where there are specific aspects of the state's business where First People should be making decisions ... particularly as it relates to confirmation of Aboriginality." Mr Berg said the Assembly would work with different Traditional Owner groups to determine how they wanted to decide on confirmations of Aboriginality on an individual basis. "At the moment most people would be familiar we have the three-part test ... one of those aspects is around acceptance by your community, and at the moment it seems a bit ad hoc," Mr Berg said. "We'll be looking to work with experts in our communities to come up with the rules around what that actually means to say 'Yes you are accepted by your community.'" Negotiations are also looking giving the Assembly the authority to run events like NAIDOC Week, and grant programs like the Aboriginal Community Infrastructure Program. It would also continue the truth-telling process, after the Yoorrook Justice Commission finished its work last month. And while the Assembly looks to provide advice to government, it is also hoping to create a duty for ministers to consult with it over laws and policies that affect Aboriginal people. "A lot of times government will just measure success in terms of statistics or financial benefits and we often draw form our cultural knowledge or cultural understanding to ensure that we're engaging with all those different aspects of success," Mr Berg said. Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan. Credit: James Ross/ AAP photos Credit: JAMES ROSS/AAPIMAGE Both parties have confirmed that the Treaty process would not give the future Assembly powers to veto policy or legislation, noting that would not be possible under the state's parliamentary system. It would also be subject to oversight by the Ombudsman and the state's anti corruption commission.
The Guardian
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Victorian health acknowledges family's distress; Trump accused of using antisemitic slur; and the brooding charisma of Michael Madsen
Welcome, readers, to Afternoon Update. The Victorian health department has acknowledged the distress of a family forced to have their children tested twice for sexually transmitted infections after they attended a childcare centre where alleged paedophile Joshua Dale Brown had worked. Messages, first reported by the Age, show the department initially advised a parent on Tuesday to test their children for gonorrhoea and chlamydia. Two days later, another message added syphilis to the list. The department said different screening tests were recommended for children based on their potential risk exposure, which depended on the time and location of potential exposures to different infections. This comes after the federal education minister, Jason Clare, confirmed the federal government would fast-track legislation in the next sitting week to cut funding to childcare centres that fail to meet safety standards. Trump accused of using antisemitic slur at Iowa rally in reference to bankers Victoria will legislate for permanent First Peoples' Assembly later this year Prime minister addresses News Corp's Economic Outlook event Man stabbed in Sydney may have been mistakenly targeted by 'amateurish' teen contract killers, police say Stateless Palestinian woman detained after honeymoon released from Ice jail Pedro Neto may miss Chelsea's Club World Cup quarter-final after friend Jota's death A team of researchers took to the sea for a 225km trip from Taiwan to Japan's Yonaguni island in a canoe made of bamboo and reed. For 45 hours they paddled, suffering muscle aches, fatigue, cramps and even hallucinations in an effort to better understand early human migration in the region. 'We would never do that.' – Ringo Starr Former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr said that he personally intervened in the script of the forthcoming four-film Beatles biopic directed by Sam Mendes to clarify the depiction of himself and his then wife Maureen. Starr said that Mendes 'had a writer [involved] – very good writer, great reputation, and he wrote it great, but it had nothing to do with Maureen and I'. The 'one big, beautiful bill', as Trump calls it, won final approval by the House of Representatives on Thursday, in time for his signature on 4 July. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill's Medicaid changes could cost millions of people their healthcare, and the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities forecasts about 8 million people, or one in five recipients, may lose their 'food stamps' benefits. Sign up to Afternoon Update Our Australian afternoon update breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion The Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill and Donnie Brasco actor had a rare, sometimes scary power, as well as a winning self-awareness and levity. Tarantino unlocked one very powerful side to Madsen, such brooding charisma – but he had more. Today's starter word is: URB. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply. Enjoying the Afternoon Update? Then you'll love our Morning Mail newsletter. Sign up here to start the day with a curated breakdown of the key stories you need to know, and complete your daily news roundup. And follow the latest in US politics by signing up for This Week in Trumpland. If you have a story tip or technical issue viewing this newsletter, please reply to this email. If you are a Guardian supporter and need assistance with regards to contributions and/or digital subscriptions, please email
ABC News
04-07-2025
- Politics
- 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.
The Guardian
03-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Victoria will legislate for permanent First Peoples' Assembly later this year
The Victorian government will introduce a bill to parliament later this year to make the First Peoples' Assembly permanent, giving it authority to make decisions and set rules on issues directly affecting Aboriginal people in the state. As first reported by Guardian Australia earlier this week, the Victorian government and the First Peoples' Assembly have confirmed the statewide treaty bill will establish the assembly as an ongoing representative body to provide advice to government. In a joint update to treaty negotiations, released on Friday morning, the two parties said the bill, if passed, would allow the assembly to 'make decisions and rules about specific matters that directly impact First Peoples in the state'. The assembly was formed in 2018 to represent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in treaty discussions and has held two elections since. It had been calling on the government to make its role permanent for some time. In its new role, it would be able to make representations, provide advice to government and question ministers. Ministers and government departments, in turn, would be required to consult with the assembly on laws and policies that are 'specifically directed to First Peoples'. The update said the proposed body would 'sit within our existing parliamentary and democratic structures' and 'will not have veto power on policy or legislation', noting such a power 'does not exist under Victoria's parliamentary system.' The assembly would also be responsible for confirming Aboriginality and would take control of the government's Aboriginal Community Infrastructure Program, the Victorian Aboriginal Honour Roll and the organisation of important events, such as NAIDOC week. It would make statutory appointments for designated First Peoples' seats on government boards and entities, such as on the Heritage Council of Victoria, and continue the truth-telling work of Yoorrook Justice Commission, including by capturing stories and retaining an archive of this information to support the education of the broader public. Among the 100 recommendations in the commission's final report, tabled in parliament on Tuesday, was one making the assembly permanent and giving it decision-making powers. Under its new role, the assembly would become a statutory corporation and would be required to legislate its ongoing public reporting, election processes, participatory governance and cultural oversight from Elders. It would also be subject to oversight bodies including Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission, the Victorian auditor-general's office and the ombudsman. If passed, Victoria would become the second state in Australia to have a permanent Indigenous voice to parliament following South Australia in 2023. A referendum that same year to alter the constitution to create federal voice to parliament failed, with 60% of Australians voting no. Earlier this week, the opposition leader, Brad Battin, said his party would not support the move to make the assembly permanent, noting it had withdrawn support for the treaty process after the referendum result. But the Greens, Animal Justice party and Legalise Cannabis have told Guardian Australia they support the assembly having a permanent role, though they are yet to see the detail of the bill. This would give the government the numbers it needs for the bill to pass the upper house. Further negotiations on the treaty – Australia's first with First Nations people - continue.
