Victoria’s First Peoples’ Assembly will manage the rollout of community infrastructure grants and have a direct line to ministers and the power to make appointments to government boards under legislation to be introduced to parliament this year.
As first reported by Guardian Australia this week, the Victorian government and the First Peoples’ Assembly have confirmed that the statewide treaty bill will establish the assembly as a 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 has been calling on the government to make its role permanent.
In its expanded role, it will be able to make representations, provide advice to the government and question ministers. Ministers and government departments, in turn, will be required to consult with the assembly on laws and policies “specifically directed to First Peoples”.
The update said the body would “sit within our existing parliamentary and democratic structures” and “will not have veto power on policy or legislation”, noting that such a power “does not exist under Victoria’s parliamentary system.”
The assembly will also be responsible for confirming Aboriginality and will 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 will make statutory appointments for designated First Peoples’ seats on government boards and entities, such as the Heritage Council of Victoria, and continue the truth-telling work of the Yoorrook Justice Commission, including by capturing stories and retaining an archive of this information to support the education of the broader public.
The bill acquits a key recommendation of the commission’s final report, tabled in parliament on Tuesday.
If it passes the assembly will become a statutory corporation required to publicly report its election processes, participatory governance and cultural oversight from elders.
It will also be subject to oversight bodies including the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission, the Victorian auditor general’s office and the ombudsman.
And Victoria will 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.
This week the state opposition leader, Brad Battin, said his party would not support the move to make the assembly permanent, noting that it had withdrawn support for the treaty process after the referendum result.
On Friday he accused the government of lacking transparency in treaty negotiations and trying to bury the news of the plan.
“Labor knows full well that Victorians voted against the Voice – and they’re hoping no one notices this announcement ,” he said.
Battin said the entire treaty process was being “negotiated behind closed doors and without transparency”.
The government and the assembly have released updates throughout negotiations. Treaty is culmination of 10 years of work, with two bills – establishing the treaty authority and the assembly itself – passing parliament with bipartisan support.
The government will not need the opposition’s support for this latest bill to pass the upper house as the Greens, the Animal Justice party and Legalise Cannabis have told Guardian Australia they will support the assembly having a permanent role.
The Greens leader, Ellen Sandell, said Friday’s announcement was a “landmark moment”.
“It is a testament to the unrelenting leadership of the First Peoples’ Assembly, and the Greens are proud to unequivocally support legislation that allows the assembly to continue their important work,” she said.
Negotiations on the treaty – Australia’s first with First Nations people – continue.
