Tasmanian government to fund truth-telling commissioners but drop treaty process

Australia Broadcast Center

27-05-2025

The Tasmanian government will no longer pursue a treaty with Tasmanian Aboriginal people, instead funding the establishment of truth-telling and healing commissioners.
The decision came four years after former premier Peter Gutwein announced the commencement of a truth-telling and treaty process.
It led to the 2021 government-commissioned report, Pathway to Truth-Telling and Treaty, which made 24 recommendations, including that truth-telling and treaty work be done concurrently.
However, Aboriginal Affairs Minister Jacquie Petrusma said the government would now focus solely on the truth-telling process.
"Truth-telling is a necessary step which must run its course, so accordingly, the government will no longer progress treaty," Ms Petrusma said in a statement on Tuesday.
This week's budget will include $880,000 over two years for the appointment of independent commissioners to guide an Aboriginal-led truth-telling and healing process.
Ms Petrusma described it as a historic moment of recognition, respect and self-determination for Tasmanian Aboriginal people.
"It is a critical and necessary step towards recognising past injustices, gaining a greater understanding of the contemporary challenges being faced by Tasmanian Aboriginal people, and making real progress in healing the wounds of the past," she said.
She said the government would now work with Tasmanian Aboriginal people to appoint the commissioners, and on the process beyond that.
The funding announcement has been welcomed by some Aboriginal organisations, but the decision to not progress with a treaty has disappointed others.
Rodney Dillon, who is on the Tasmanian Aboriginal Advisory Group for Truth-telling and Treaty, said the move to appoint Tasmanian Aboriginal commissioners was the right approach.
"We've had 200 and something years of colonisation and this is the first time we've taken that step, so that's how big and how significant it is," Mr Dillon told the ABC.
"I think it's a good step for Aboriginal people."
He said it was important to go through the truth-telling process before moving to a treaty.
"Some people will want a treaty first and I can understand that," he said.
"But I don't think you can have a treaty without some truth-telling first and the reason why you need a treaty.
"And I think that you can take a look around the country, and perhaps around the world where we've had treaties and never put anything in front of them, a lot of them have fallen over.
"So I think this is a good foundation to go ahead in the future."
The funding for truth-telling commissioners was supported by the Tasmanian Regional Aboriginal Communities Alliance (TRACA).
The Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania (ALCT) also expressed its support for the funding.
"For more than 200 years, Tasmanian Aboriginal people have endured and resisted policies of dispossession, forced removal and cultural suppression," ALCT chair Greg Brown said in a statement.
However, Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre chief executive Heather Sculthorpe said she was disappointed the government would no longer follow through with a treaty.
She accused the government of "playing tricks".
"I cannot see any way our community is going to buy that," she said.
The government's budget includes a total of $4.4 million over four years for Closing the Gap commitments, including continued funding for peak Aboriginal organisations, as well as additional funding for the ALCT.