The Dja Dja Wurrung lead the way as Victoria edges closer to Australia's first state treaty

SBS Australia

16-07-2025

In the sacred country of the Dja Dja Wurrung people in Central Victoria, a historic transformation is underway. In Bendigo, at a traditional meeting place lit by fire and ceremony, cultural dancers move to the rhythm of resilience, welcoming a new chapter in the long struggle for recognition and justice.
Here, where ancestral stories echo through the bush, the Dja Dja Wurrung have become the first Traditional Owner group to formally begin negotiating a local treaty under Victoria's state-led Treaty process.
Their aspirations are bold, grounded in cultural authority and future-focused – not only for the well-being of today's generations, but for their children and the many to come. 'We caught up as a whole group to talk about the treaty late last year,' says Djaran Murray-Jackson, a Dja Dja Wurrung man and board member of DJARRA, the Traditional Owner corporation. 'Our mob really wanted to be one of the first to negotiate a local treaty. We authorised it at our AGM — and now we're here. It's very exciting.' The Dja Dja Wurrung's vision is to elevate their local voice to the same level as state and federal decision-makers. It's about tangible change — home ownership, university education, and cultural pride for young Dja Dja Wurrung people. For Murray-Jackson, this work is also deeply personal. 'I've got a four-month-old daughter,' he says.
'If every Dja Dja Wurrung person feels something from the treaty process, I'll be satisfied we've done the right thing.'
Victoria: The national leader for a treaty While national treaty talks have stalled, Victoria has moved forward. In 2016, it became the first jurisdiction to commit to official treaty negotiations.
Since then, the First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria (the Assembly) has led a pioneering process to redefine the relationship between First Peoples and the state.
Reuben Berg, co-chair of the Assembly, describes the statewide treaty as a way to ensure decisions affecting First Peoples are made by First Peoples. 'The Assembly is a democratically elected group of Traditional Owners. Through this first statewide treaty, we want to see that body play an enhanced leadership role — appointing people to key positions, holding government accountable, and ensuring ongoing truth-telling.' Victoria's Treaty Authority — an independent governing body overseeing the negotiations — is currently engaging with around 40 Traditional Owner groups across the state. Board member Thelma Austin says the appetite for local treaties is growing. 'The interest is definitely out there. Our role is to educate and help communities navigate the process.' Premier Jacinta Allan has thrown her support behind the Treaty process, backing both the collective state treaty and local agreements.
'Our community have been clear — they want action, and they want meaningful treaty negotiations,' she told attendees at the Dja Dja Wurrung cultural gathering.
Local aspirations, global context The push for the Treaty in Victoria is part of a global movement for Indigenous self-determination. Indigenous leaders and legal scholars in the program The Case for a Treaty, airing on SBS's Living Black, highlight how Australia remains an outlier. It is the only British settler colony to have denied the presence of its First peoples to avoid treaty making. In comparison, New Zealand's Treaty of Waitangi — though imperfect and contested and largely ignored between 1841 and the 1970s — it has offered a platform for the Māori political voice, land settlements, and cultural revitalisation. Australia, by contrast, refused to acknowledge Aboriginal sovereignty or negotiate terms of co-existence. As legal expert Professor Megan Davis puts it, 'The British weren't competing with anyone in Australia, so there was no motivation for treaties. And we're paying the price for that today.' Victoria's Treaty process is attempting to correct that legacy. It's complex work, unfolding more than 230 years after colonisation, but it's beginning to come to fruition.
For communities like the Dja Dja Wurrung, this is about reclaiming autonomy and creating lasting impact.
Economic justice and cultural renewal Beyond symbolism, a Treaty is increasingly seen as a powerful mechanism for economic development and cultural strength. Darren Godwell, Chair of Indigenous Business Australia, says treaties offer a way to 'bridge historic disadvantage into inclusion.' 'Each of our sovereign nations is going to need a treasurer and a treasury,' says Godwell. 'Treaty allows Traditional Owners to pursue development on their own terms — whether it's fisheries, agriculture, sustainability or cultural enterprise.'
For the Dja Dja Wurrung, that means having a say in local economic planning, land use and service delivery, with an emphasis on housing, education and language revival.
A national path forward? While Victoria leads, other states lag behind. Queensland and the Northern Territory paused or abandoned their Treaty efforts after changes in government. Tasmania has opted for truth-telling without a formal Treaty process. South Australia has created a First Nations Voice to Parliament, with Treaty talks still emerging. In New South Wales, the Treaty Commission has just begun consultations under the Minns Labor Government. Despite this patchwork approach, leaders like Berg are optimistic. 'We don't need to wait for a national treaty to move forward locally. Victoria is proof that meaningful change can start in the states.' Senator Lidia Thorpe, a vocal advocate for Treaty and a Djab Wurrung Gunnai Gunditjmara woman, believes the real power lies with the grassroots.
'We need clans and nations represented at the local government level. Real change starts in community, not Canberra.'
A promise to the future As the fire crackles on Dja Dja Wurrung country, elders, dancers and young families gather to welcome history in the making. The Treaty journey is still unfolding — fragile, hopeful, contested. But the message is clear: First Nations people are not asking for permission.
They are reclaiming their future. And in Victoria, the road to Treaty has already begun.