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ABC News
01-07-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
The Yoorrook Justice Commission has found genocide occurred in Victoria. Here's what it says needs to happen next
After more than four years and over 1,300 submissions, Australia's first Indigenous-led truth-telling inquiry has handed down its final report. It has found the First Peoples of Victoria have endured crimes against humanity and genocide since the beginning of colonisation in Victoria — and they are still being impacted by systemic injustice today as a result. The report has outlined 100 recommendations aimed at redressing these injustices. Here are some of the key takeaways. What did Yoorrook find? The commission concluded that colonisation in Victoria involved widespread massacres, cultural destruction, forced child removals and economic exclusion. A crowd of about 3,000 joined commissioner Travis Lovett to mark the closure of the Yoorrook truth-telling process. ( ABC News: Danielle Bonica ) "Yoorrook found that the decimation of the First Peoples population in Victoria … was the result of a coordinated plan of different actions aimed at the destruction of the essential foundations of the life of national groups," it said. "This was genocide." The inquiry also found the legacy of colonisation lived on and was being experienced by Aboriginal Victorians first-hand. "First Peoples in Victoria have been consistently excluded from opportunities to generate wealth," the report says. "Colonial systems prevented First Peoples from participating in economic life and wealth creation, including through education, employment opportunities and owning property. It says these current economic disparities and barriers to First Peoples' prosperity are a direct legacy of "colonial practices and state-sanctioned exclusion". Young men at last month's Walk for Truth, which marked the end of the four-year commission. ( ABC News: Danielle Bonica ) What are the key recommendations? The report called on the Victorian government to implement major reforms to redress ongoing systemic injustices. Here are just a few of the big ones: Education and schools. The recommendations call for a major overhaul of education systems in Victoria in order to build First Peoples' perspectives into the curriculum. It recommended embedding Aboriginal-authored content across the school curriculum, mandatory truth-telling and anti-racism training for educators, and reforms to discipline policies that disproportionately impact Aboriginal students. At a university level, it urged the inclusion of First Peoples-led subjects on history, along with increased employment and leadership of staff in higher education and a tertiary oversight body to ensure better outcomes. Health Health The report outlined a need for better resourcing and funding for Indigenous health services. It recommended: Expanding Aboriginal community-controlled organisations (ACCOs), and increasing funding to allow the delivery of more accessible and culturally safe funeral and burial services. Expanding Aboriginal community-controlled organisations (ACCOs), and increasing funding to allow the delivery of more accessible and culturally safe funeral and burial services. Significantly investing in health-led responses in the event of a mental health crisis and divesting from Victoria Police. Significantly investing in health-led responses in the event of a mental health crisis and divesting from Victoria Police. Funding culturally safe, trauma-informed mental health care. Funding culturally safe, trauma-informed mental health care. Transferring First Peoples' prison health care from the Department of Justice and Community Safety to the Department of Health. Transferring First Peoples' prison health care from the Department of Justice and Community Safety to the Department of Health. Increasing the number of Aboriginal staff and leaders across the system. "Racism is endemic across the Victorian health system. Yoorrook received a significant body of evidence outlining the extent of racism in the sector, the different forms of racism and the significant harms experienced by First Peoples as a result," the report said. Land rights Land rights The Commissioners recommend for the state government "to guarantee, uphold and enhance First Peoples' inherent rights to Country through a self-determined, empowering and healing model." It recommends a formal apology and redress for the Soldier Settlement Scheme — which excluded First Nations soldiers from receiving land parcels after fighting for Australia in World War I and World War II. It also urges the government to review land gifted to institutions like churches and universities which was "acquired for little or no consideration, or reserved by the Crown" and return it to Traditional Owners. The report also suggests implementing tax exemptions on natural resources. Representation Representation The report calls for a permanent First Peoples' assembly to be embedded as a representative body with decision-making powers over policies that affect them. "The Victorian Government's lack of accountability in relation to First Peoples' affairs is a theme that cuts across every area of Yoorrook's inquiry," the report said. "This pattern of unfulfilled promises, lack of transparency and chronic underfunding perpetuates inequity and undermines trust between First Peoples and the government. "Yoorrook heard that establishing a First Peoples-led accountability mechanism to hold government to account is essential to create change and engender trust and confidence in government systems and processes." It also recommends reinstating Indigenous place names across Victoria, prioritising "prominent public spaces and significant parks, reserves and waterways, and road names". "Place names should be determined by relevant Traditional Owner groups and the First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria should authorise and coordinate this process at the Statewide level," the report said. What has been the government response so far? This is not the first time Yoorrook has asked the Victorian government for major reform. In 2023, Yoorrook released an interim report that found evidence of gross human rights abuses in Victoria's criminal justice and child protection systems. It issued 46 recommendations, which included a call for the government to stop jailing children under 16 and to create an independent watchdog for police complaints. The Yoorrook Justice Commission found colonisation in Victoria led to genocide. ( ABC News: Danielle Bonica ) But many of Yoorrook's proposals from that interim report remain in limbo, with the government fully supporting just six of the inquiry's interim recommendations. Yoorrook's recommendations that have been rejected or are still "under consideration" include bigger picture changes such as bail reform, which the government has fully rejected, instead opting to rush through tougher bail laws in response to rising crime rates. The recommendations supported and acted upon by the government so far include rolling out human-rights and cultural-competency training for child protection workers. On Monday, Premier Jacinta Allan indicated she would support making the First Peoples' assembly a permanent advisory body. "When you listen to people, you get better outcomes, and that's what treaty is all about. I reckon we're up for that as a state," she said. Premier Jacinta Allan has welcomed the release of the commission's findings. ( ABC News: Danielle Bonica ) Ms Allan later welcomed the release of the findings. "Thank you to the commission for these historic reports — they shine a light on hard truths and lay the foundations for a better future for all Victorians," she said. What are the other responses? On Tuesday evening, commissioner Travis Lovett said he was "extremely proud" of his work leading the inquiry alongside the other commissioners. Commissioner Sue-Anne Hunter described it as "the privilege of my life". "This official public record has the power to change forever how people learn about the true history of this state," she said. Jill Gallagher, a Gunditjmara woman and the CEO of VACCHO, gave formal evidence to Yoorrook and said the report's findings of genocide were "indisputable". "We don't blame anyone alive today for these atrocities, but it is the responsibility of those of us alive today to accept that truth — and all Victorians today must accept, recognise and reconcile with these factual findings," she said. Former co-chair of the First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria and Taungurung man Marcus Stewart described the report as "heavy". "The act of genocide did occur on our shores and in particular did significantly impact First Nations people here in Victoria," he told ABC News on Tuesday. Travis Lovett is proud of the work of the Yoorrook Justice Commission. ( ABC News: Danielle Bonica ) "When you start piecing together the evidence of how this occurred — the systemic nature in which it was, I think it's important for Victorians and Australians more broadly to understand this is part of our history." Victorian Greens leader Ellen Sandell urged the government to adopt the recommendations in full. "The Greens stand ready to work with the Victorian government to deliver the solutions Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are calling for," she said. "I urge the premier to finally walk the talk and adopt all the Yoorrook recommendations in full instead of ignoring or rejecting them like Labor has done in the past." The state's Liberal opposition said on Monday it would not support making the assembly permanent. The opposition withdrew its support for Victoria's treaty process, which is the most progressed of any Australian state or territory, in January last year.
SBS Australia
01-07-2025
- Politics
- SBS Australia
Findings from Australia's first formal truth-telling inquiry
Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts . TRANSCRIPT Australia's first formal truth-telling inquiry recommends redress for Aboriginal Victorians Foreign ministers of the Quad alliance meet in Washington Alex de Minaur starts his Wimbledon campaign with a statement win The Victorian government says it will consider all of the recommendations of the final report from Australia's first formal truth-telling inquiry. The four-year inquiry found crimes against humanity and a genocide were committed against Aboriginal people in Victoria. The 100 recommendations include, using a treaty framework to provide redress for what occurred during and as a result of colonisation. Commissioner Travis Lovett says the report is necessary reading for all Australians. +++ An enormous clean-up awaits as a rare and damaging storm hits Australia's east coast. Residents have been ordered to evacuate amid threats of flash flooding, damaging wind and coastal erosion. The impacted areas stretch from Queensland's Lockyer Valley to Bega on the New South Wales south coast. The State Emergency Service says more than 1,300 incidents had been reported, including two flood rescues. Senior meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology, Jonathan How says the worst of the impacts will be felt today. "We still see this system gradually pushing towards the north on Wednesday and still pushing those strong winds onto the coast. And then later Wednesday, we see another low pressure system really dumbbelling around that first one. That will really intensify and reinforce some of those winds and rain across the south coast of New South Wales. It is not until late Thursday, that we finally see those conditions easing up." +++ United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has praised the Quad alliance, saying it benefits many other countries outside the group. Speaking after a meeting with the Quad foreign ministers in Washington DC, Mr Rubio says there are a number of areas where progress can be made. "And that's the next step in this great partnership - is to actually begin to see concrete actions and steps being in taken in conjunction with one another for the benefit of our respective countries - and ultimately many other countries in the world. There are many countries that are going to benefit from this partnership, even though they're not members of it. It is not simply a security matter, it is largely in many cases about economic development. For example, diversifying the global supply chain of critical minerals. Not just the access to the raw material." Australia's Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, says it is significant that the four countries of the alliance - Australia, India, Japan and the US - represent nearly a quarter of the world's population. "This is a very important Quad meeting and unfortunately, we meet against a backdrop of conflict and escalating competition. So it has never been more important for us to harness our collective strength, for peace, for stability, for prosperity and for all our peoples." In a one-on-one meeting with Mr Rubio, Ms Wong is also expected to make the case for Australia's exemption from US tariffs and the potential for a face-to-face meeting between US President Donald Trump and Anthony Albanese. +++ Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended from duty pending a case seeking her dismissal. Thailand's Constitutional Court suspended Prime Minister Shinawatra after accepting a petition from 36 senators accusing the leader of dishonesty and breaching ethical standards after a sensitive phone call was leaked. The phone call, with Cambodia's influential former leader Hun Sen, was intended to de-escalate a territorial disagreement and tense troop buildup at their border. Ms Shinawatra has apologised over the leaked call, during which she called the Cambodian politician her uncle and criticised a Thai army commander, a red line in a country where the military has significant influence. This resident in Bangkok say the country's politics keeps going around in circles. "I've seen a lot of the news, it sometimes gets me bored of politics. It's like, things keep repeating in loops. This is again the same thing that's happened before." +++ In tennis, Alex de Minaur has started his Wimbledon campaign with a statement straight-set win over Roberto Carballes Baena in his opening match. The Australian dominated the Spaniard 6-2, 6-2 in the first two sets before being pushed to a tie-breaker in the third, triumphing 7-2. This was the winning moment heard on Channel Nine.
SBS Australia
19-06-2025
- Politics
- SBS Australia
End of Walk for Truth begins closing chapter in Yoorrook truth-telling process
In one of the final steps on the truth telling journey, Yoorrook Justice Commissioner Travis Lovett welcomed by over five thousand people gathered at Victoria's parliament house. Gunditjmara man, Travis Lovett finished his nearly 500 kilometre trek across the state. Beginning in Portland on May 25 where Victoria's earliest colonial settlement began, this historic walk has traced the deep scars of colonisation across the state, while also opening space for shared action. Mr Lovett trekked all the way to Naarm, Melbourne. His walk aimed at bringing all Victorians - including Elders, jarjums, community leaders and allies along the truth telling journey. "The walk for truth was about walking with all Victorians in solidarity, encouraging all to come and listen and learn and engage in truth telling. We have worked really hard over the last four years, the documents, it's part of our terms of reference to document the ongoing and systematic injustices experienced by First People's in the state of Victoria. We've engaged with more than 9,000 people through that time." This supporter says truth telling should be led by mob for mob. "This is just a small showing of what mob can do, and its the real way that truth telling should be led, by mob for mob. And in opposition to the state, because the state was never made for us. It was made only to progress colonisation, and they continue genocide - like that's the only thing. These are all arms of the law made against mob, and will trickle down all of the communities that stem from that." Mr Lovett's efforts have been inspiring others, including Mauritian woman Adele. "I understand deeply what the pain of colonisation has been over basically 400 years so we are here for humanity - we want better humanity, progress, future, hand in hand brothers and sisters regardless of what we look like. We want treaty, we want treaty. We want our Aboriginal brothers to be recognised, to say okay yeah you are here before us. We respect you, we love you and we are here to support you." The Yoorrook Justice Commission is the first formal truth-telling inquiry of its kind in Australia. Established in 2021 as part of Victoria's Treaty process, its work has been led by First Peoples, for First Peoples, with a mission to tell the full story of colonisation and its ongoing impacts. For over four years, the Yoorrook Justice Commission has investigated systemic injustices faced by Indigenous people in Victoria. They're also due to release a comprehensive reform report which outlines their recommendations and a road map for change. That final report is likely to make more than 100 recommendations, many of which may be implemented via the statewide treaty process, which is currently being negotiated by the state government and the First People's Assembly. Levi Power is a First People's Assembly of Victoria member. He tells NITV the truths must be told to guide their decisions forward. "We must have these truths told to guide these decisions and to guide our journey forward, not only for this first treaty but going into the future as well." Yoorrook has heard testimony from thousands of people - Stolen Generations survivors, Elders, legal experts, historians, and non-Indigenous allies - across areas such as land, law, education, health and child protection. Its interim report released in 2023 detailed entrenched injustices and called for sweeping reforms to Victoria's criminal justice and child welfare systems. Yet only a handful of those 46 recommendations have received full support from the state government. Victoria's Premier Jacinta Allan says we can't have treaty, without truth. "It is well understood that to drive a treaty process you need to have truth. And truth telling is a part of that which is what the justice commission has been focused on and I want to thank the commissioners, but also particularly thank the hundreds of people who have engaged through the formal hearings process, particularly many of our First People's community here in Victoria who did tell some challenging, challenging stories about their experiences." She says that will be an important part in guiding the truth. "And treaty is all about making the practical common sense changes that are about lifting, lifting the outcomes about First People's here in Victoria, because it is well understood that the best way to close the gap, the best way to get the best outcomes, is by listening to people directly impacted by government decision making policies and programs involving them in the process, and that is the best way to get an improvement in outcomes that we absolutely need to strive towards, here in Victoria and indeed across the nation."
ABC News
18-06-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Long walk for truth and Victoria's plan for treaty
Cheers erupted among the thousands of people gathered on the steps of Victoria Parliament as the Yoorrook Justice Commissioner, Travis Lovett, reached his destination after 508 kilometres and 25 days of walking. "The silence ends here, the time of not knowing, of choosing not to know, is over," Commissioner Lovett told the sea of supporters. "Truth-telling is not a ritual, it's not symbolic. It's a reckoning, it's a commitment to change. Truth-telling is treaty in motion. "The work of truth-telling, of treaty, of transformation, that belongs to us all now." Commissioner Lovett set out on the Walk for Truth on Gunditjmara land, his traditional country in Portland, where first European settlement began in Victoria. His walk is one of the final steps of the state's four-year truth-telling Yoorrook Justice Commission, ahead of a "new chapter" with an official report detailing the impacts of colonisation on Victoria's First Peoples. The findings will also inform Victoria's statewide treaty, currently being negotiated between First Nations people and the government — the first of its kind in the country. "In our culture, [we] listen before we talk," Commissioner Lovett told the ABC. "Before the treaty, we need to have the truth to understand what has happened to our people, and what is continually happening." The walk began with 500 people, swelling to around 3,000 in Melbourne for the final day. Conversations on the road focused on the past and the present. Participants opened their hearts during the walk. Like Stolen Generations survivor Lionel Dukasis, who met cousins for the first time during the journey, an experience that reinforced the power of family for him. "When I'm on the phone to my kids or grandkids I tell them I love them, because I never heard that and as a kid those are the words you want to hear: 'I love you,'" Mr Dukasis said. The commissioner of the country's first truth-telling body stood tall as he handed over a message stick marked with symbols, initials and markings from people along the way — one "he carried for all Victorians". "This message stick comes with expectations that the government will implement Yoorrook's recommendations," Commissioner Lovett said. It was also for the opposition, who withdrew their bipartisan support for treaty soon after Victorians delivered a majority no vote in the Voice referendum. "We are coming in here to give this to you. We as people have expectations on them too … for them to support truth-telling and treaty." Commissioner Lovett had also exchanged message sticks from Country to Country as he walked across the state to meet the Victorian premier today. "When we walk through other people's Country, we have always taken a message stick to let them know our intentions," the proud Kerrupmara Gunditjmara man said. "These message sticks are about truth, they are about expectations, they are about learning from history." The route was mapped out with guidance from local traditional owners of each town. "We began where the first wounds were struck into the earth, where footsteps came ashore not as visitors but as claimants, where the smoke of fires long burning were ignored and where our presence was declared absent," he said to the thousands who gathered on the steps of Parliament House. "A path drawn across Country, never straight, never simple. It bent with memory, with resistance, with the shape of old scars but new hope." Commissioner Lovett said he walked for his children and for other children so they could "dance in celebration". His journey was inspired by activists who stood on the steps with placards, like Wurundjeri leader William Barak who made the trek to Parliament House to fight for change. "Since 1856, parliament has made decisions that have controlled and segregated First Peoples' lives, but it's also the place where we can transform our futures, not just for First Peoples but for all Victorians," Commissioner Lovett told the ABC. It has been an almost month-long journey through torrential rain, pockets of hail, and wintry sunshine. The conversations revisited painful memories of the past but there were also moments of laughter and joy, described by some as a "transformative energy". "We're here to walk together in unity," Commissioner Lovett told hundreds of attendees in Geelong. "We're not blaming everyday Australians for what has happened to our people. "We are asking for the institutions to be accountable for the institutional harm that they've caused, and the current systems that are still informed and embedded by their colonial roots." Walkers would often hear Commissioner Lovett refer to himself as an "emu" — his strides so long and fast that attendees jested it should be a "Run for Truth" not a Walk for Truth. Lionel Dukakis, the First Nations traffic management director, was essential to the success of the walk. Wearing a hi-vis vest directing traffic, he ensured the safety of the particpants. "Walking for all those days or sitting in the truck, protecting the crowd and travel and all that is paramount. But [the highlight was] meeting cousins for the first time at 63 that I'd never met in my life," the Gunditjmara man said. At just 18 months old, Mr Dukakis was forcibly removed from his family under the power of government policies at the time. He would spend his life between institutions and a foster family. It's an experience almost too difficult to talk about. "I'd have to tell you personally it was hell on Earth for us, the way we're treated," he reflected. He has turned his adversity into success running a business and raising a big, loving family. "Being part of history is really what it is about for me and a legacy that my grandchildren and great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren will read about in years to come," he said from his truck. Lionel was one of the 9,000 First Nations people who engaged with the Yoorrook Commission. Victoria has the highest rates of Aboriginal child removal in the country, and it is one of the issues that the commissioners raised in their 46 urgent interim recommendations two years ago — to give decision-making power and resources back to First Peoples, negotiated through a treaty. The government accepted 30 recommendations to varying degrees, six in full, with a further 13 under consideration. Commissioners were "beyond disappointed at the lack of action", condemning the government's decision to toughen bail laws and backflip on a commitment to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14. The Yoorrook Commission has heard from 229 witnesses, including the Victorian premier eliciting 16 government apologies, notably from the Victorian police commissioner. Another 100 recommendations will be laid out in the final report that will be tabled in parliament by the end of this month. It will be reviewed before the government's official response. "Our people as First Peoples get to write the full history of what's happened," Commissioner Lovett said. The Yoorrook Justice Commision report will bring a statewide treaty closer to reality. In Parliament House, traditional owners handed over message sticks directly to Premier Jacinta Allan. "Truth does not end today, rather truth marks a beginning," Ms Allan told politicians and First Nations leaders who had gathered. "We know the important work of the commission will inform negotiations on treaty now and into the future. "Negotiations on treaty that will ultimately lead us back to this place Naarm. "So to the members of parliament who are here today, it will come back to this place and present us with that historic transformative opportunity to create a foundation on which justice is built and on which healing can begin and where real lasting change can take route." Ngarra Murray, a Wamba Wamba, Yorta Yorta, Dja Dja Wurrung and Dhudhuroa woman, is in the room negotiating with the Victorian government as the co-chair of the First People's Assembly, established with a mandate to negotiate treaty. "That call was really strong from our community, that we can't have treaty without truth," Ms Murray said. "We know that treaty is the pathway to a better future for our people … whether it's child protection, the criminal justice system, whether it is health, housing or education." Ms Murrays great-grandfather was Pastor Sir Doug Nicholls, an activist who was part of the Day of Mourning calling for rights for Aboriginal people in 1938. "We come from strong blood," she said. "It's a responsibility that we have, and it has been a lot of contributions of our old people to get us to where we are today." The government says they hope to sign a treaty ahead of the state election next year. "We're working really hard across the parliament and the political sphere to bring people on this journey with us," Ms Murray said. Victoria has embarked on a "hybrid" approach in which statewide treaties will be negotiated alongside local treaties with traditional owner groups. "The expectations are really high. It's the very first treaty and there's only so much we can achieve in the first one. That is why there will be many treaties," she said. At the local level, Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation (DJAARA) recently became the first group to register to start treaty negotiations with the Victorian government. Gunditjmara man Reuben Berg, also co-chair of the First Peoples' Assembly, explained that this treaty will be groundbreaking. "It's not intended that this first treaty will resolve all those matters, but it's going to set a framework so that we can continue to have those conversations and wherever possible, place decision making in the hands of First Peoples," he said. A key aspiration for the First Peoples' Assembly is to be an ongoing representative body for shared decision-making, such as keeping the government to account on Closing the Gap targets. "My hope [is] for a First Peoples' Assembly that can make decisions about First Peoples' business," Mr Berg told the crowd in Melbourne. He invited everyone to continue to walk with them as the end of Yoorrook drew to a close and their work continues to negotiate the first statewide treaty. "At the moment [we're] a democratically elected body of First Peoples solely focused on treaty," Mr Berg said. "We want to see that body evolve into a much stronger body that can actually talk directly to parliament." 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The Age
18-06-2025
- Politics
- The Age
Thousands join the Walk for Truth to confront Victoria's colonial past
Commissioner Travis Lovett walked over 500km in the Walk for Truth, a Yoorrook Justice Commission initiative to inform Victorians about colonisation's impact. The walk, from Portland to Parliament House, drew more than 12,000 participants.
