Page 1430 - Week 04 - Thursday, 4 April 2019
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NAIDOC Week
MS STEPHEN-SMITH (Kurrajong—Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Minister for Disability, Minister for Children, Youth and Families, Minister for Employment and Workplace Safety, Minister for Government Services and Procurement, Minister for Urban Renewal) (6.09): Late last month I had the opportunity to meet with representatives from both the ACT and national NAIDOC committees to hear about preparations for this year’s NAIDOC Week activities. As I have noted previously, Canberra will be the focus city for this year’s national NAIDOC Awards ceremony and celebrations. The theme, “Voice, treaty, truth—let’s work together for a shared future”—was no accident. And it is no accident that they are bringing this theme to Canberra, the nation’s capital, soon after a federal election.
The ACT is unique in having a first nations voice to the ACT government and Legislative Assembly through the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body. Real change is driven by the elected body. This is seen in the agreement signed on 26 February and the annual hearings process, which took place just last week. The ACT is also unique in having a public holiday for truth-telling in our community. This is the purpose and value of Reconciliation Day.
The ACT government is committed to self-determination. We have heard loud and clear that treaty is an important issue for Ngunnawal people. Embarking on a treaty process with government is arguably the ultimate expression of self-determination, and the ACT government and ACT Labor are proud to support that process. The 2018 ACT Labor conference passed a motion calling for a conciliation and treaty process with our region’s first people and for the treaty process to be guided by the principle of self-determination, with consultation to commence treaty negotiations with Ngunnawal traditional owners.
I am proud to be part of a party and a movement that has explicitly expressed support for treaty. There is no doubting ACT Labor’s support for a treaty process. For some time we have been closely watching treaty processes in Victoria, in the Northern Territory and in South Australia prior to the change of government. Given the complexity of treaty for all jurisdictions, including the ACT, it is vital that we learn what we can from other jurisdictions’ experiences and processes. To that end, officials from the Office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs recently met with the Victorian Treaty Advancement Commissioner, Jill Gallagher AO, to get a deeper understanding of Victoria’s process and experience. They have also met with third parties involved in the Victorian process, to gauge a view of the treaty process outside government.
Last year I had the privilege of attending the August meeting of the United Ngunnawal Elders Council to discuss treaty, among other things. Following this meeting the elders council wrote to me, seeking the ACT government’s legal understanding of treaty for the ACT. They also asked to learn more about the Victorian treaty process and highlighted a number of their priorities for treaty. In my response to the elders council I was able to advise them that our legal advice confirms that a treaty for the ACT is possible and that the ACT government will support the
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