Next Step Taken On Path To Treaty

Cherbourg Mayor Elvie Sandow, left, and Gundoo director Jacqui Tapau, right, with Treaty Advancement Committee co-chairs Dr Jackie Huggins AM and Mick Gooda at the ceremony in Brisbane on Tuesday (Photo: CASC)

August 16, 2022

The State Government announced the next steps on the Path to Treaty in Queensland at an historic ceremony on the lawns of Parliament House in Brisbane on Tuesday.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said telling the truth about Queensland’s history was an important first step.

“We stand together at an incredible moment of time in the history of our State,’’ the Premier said.

“What we do next on the Path to Treaty will define our humanity, our sense of fairness, and the legacy we leave our children.”

The Premier said a First Nations Treaty Institute and a Truth Telling and Healing Inquiry would be established by legislation.

“We can’t change the past, but together we can create a new future for our State,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“Today, we have released our government’s response to the Treaty Advancement Committee Report as part of the State’s Path to Treaty.

“We have accepted all 22 of the report’s recommendations either in full or in principle.

“Treaty is about finding a place where we can face up to our shared history and be truthful about all of it – good and bad – and build a future together where we value, trust, and respect each other.”

At the launch, the Premier signed a Statement of Commitment with First Nations leaders and hundreds of guests in an historic ceremony.

An excerpt from the Statement reads:

“This Path to Treaty is a journey, not for the timid, but for those who are courageous to confront our uncomfortable past, the curious who long to find out and live with the truth, and the optimists who dream of the possibilities of a future where we live comfortably with the past, free of blame and rancour.’’

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships Minister Craig Crawford said the announcement included concrete actions to advance reconciliation in Queensland.

“There has never been more momentum across the land for truth and treaty than right now,’’ Mr Crawford said.

“The independent First Nations Treaty Institute will be led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and will develop a treaty-making framework for agreement with government to ensure we have equal voices at the negotiating table.

“An Independent Interim Body (IIB) consisting of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders as well as non-Indigenous representatives, will be in place for the next 12 to 18 months as we develop the legislation to establish the First Nations Treaty Institute and Truth Telling and Healing Inquiry.

“The IIB will first lead local truth-telling initiatives including with public libraries, museums, archives and art galleries to promote a shared understanding and why it’s important to know our history.

“Following this, we will establish a formal three-year Truth Telling and Healing Inquiry.”

Treaty Advancement Committee co-chair Dr Jackie Huggins AM said the Path to Treaty was about how to mend the very fabric of society.

“We want all Queenslanders to walk side-by-side with us on the Path to Treaty, so that we can overcome those huge injustices that still, unfortunately, persist in our society,” Dr Huggins said.

“Treaty – it’s a signed, negotiated agreement that accepts our true history. It opens the doors to our shared future, and it’s an agreement between two or more parties.

“It’s about having those very respectful conversations that we need to have.

Treaty Advancement Committee co-chair Mick Gooda said the journey to treaty started with the truth.

“Truth-telling builds the bridge of understanding from which the treaty process can then proceed,” Mr Gooda said.

“We know that truth-telling is central to the healing we must all go through, without the truth we will never heal properly.

“This healing is what we all will need, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous people alike.

“Telling the truth will be traumatic and difficult for those involved, especially as the current impacts flow from recent history in terms of removal of children, dispossession and the ongoing impacts of colonisation.”