It's two years since consultation began with Tasmanian Aboriginal people about what treaty and truth-telling might look like in the state.
WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains images and names of people who have died.
There has been some progress since then, but it is still in the early stages.
In Victoria, Indigenous communities are voting to elect members to the next First Peoples' Assembly.
Those members will be the ones who will negotiate with the government the terms of a blanket treaty covering that state.
Legislation to set up a treaty body and truth-telling inquiry recently passed the Queensland parliament.
Where is the process at in Tasmania?
Former governor Kate Warner and law professor Tim McCormack started consulting with Tasmanian Aboriginal people in July 2021, to map out a pathway to treaty and truth-telling.
Last year, Premier Jeremy Rockliff and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Roger Jaensch met with Aboriginal representatives in Launceston, to start discussions about how treaty and truth-telling should unfold in Tasmania.
An Aboriginal Advisory Group to guide the process was announced in December, and its inaugural meeting was held in February.
Palawa man Rodney Dillon is one of the group's members.
"We're on the first steps of doing this, and talking about what it may look like," Mr Dillon said.
"It's something that I thought never might happen in my life time and, all of a sudden, I'm getting to the latter end of the ruler, and now we're talking about truth and treaty."
He said the truth was "vitally important" and needed to be embedded in school curriculums.
"Having the truth about what happened in this country, that there wasn't a settlement, there was an invasion and our people were slaughtered in that invasion … is very important for the maturity of the country and for us to be able to work together — we can't work together while we're not telling the truth of the history of this place."
Delegation pushing for greater consultation
Palawa man Rodney Gibbins is the chair of the tuylupa tunapri palawa community delegation, which he said was formed in July last year in response to concerns the government was not hearing directly from the palawa community — as opposed to organisations — in developing treaty and truth-telling.
"We only wanted the community voice heard," Mr Gibbins said.
"We're prepared to talk to community broadly."
He said initial meetings with Mr Jaensch were "quite good", but the delegation had since developed a distrust of the government and the relationship was now more tenuous.
Tuylupa tunapri has developed a draft bill that, if passed by parliament, would enable a treaty commission, which Aboriginal people would be elected to, to be set up. It also includes key points to be included in a treaty.
Mr Gibbins said the draft bill was sent to the government about six months ago.
"We've heard nothing from them. Nothing at all about what they think about that actual proposal."
Government minister Felix Ellis said the government's "door is always open" to anyone who wants to be involved.
"I know that the minister [Jaensch] has been working closely with communities and Aboriginal people right across Tasmania because these are really important discussions to work through."
Mr Gibbins, however, said that was not his experience.
"As far as I can tell it's shut and locked tight against the palawa community and they're only willing to listen to six people as part of their government-selected group."
As for the advisory group, Mr Dillon said it was important to "have people from everywhere working on this".
"People are entitled to have different views and different feelings about it, so I think that will be important. It's about trying to address the things that happened in the past and tell the truth about what happened," he said.
What happens next?
Mr Dillon said the advisory group would continue to meet, and talk to people involved in similar processes interstate to learn from them.
He said it was "just the start" and the advisory group was "only part of the advisory process to start it off".
The government has not given the advisory group a deadline.
"These are really important, significant discussions for our community and we need to make sure that we get it right," Mr Ellis said.
In their report, professors Warner and McCormack recommended the government develop a treaty and truth-telling framework to be enacted in legislation. They also recommended the framework should include:
- The content to be negotiated
- An indicative list of the components of treaty, such as a recognition that Aboriginal sovereignty has not been extinguished, but that it coexists with that of the crown
- An acknowledgement of past injustices
- Reparations for colonisation
- Protection for Indigenous rights
Part of the advisory group's role is to work through the report's recommendations.
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