Latest news with #selfdetermination
News.com.au
19 hours ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Victoria says $776 million treaty negotiations claim ‘cherry-picked', but $308 million spent since 2020
The Victorian government has hit back at 'cherry-picked analysis' that claimed it has spent more than $776 million on treaty negotiations since 2016. The Institute of Public Affairs (IPA), a conservative think tank, on Sunday published analysis of spending items in Victorian government budget documents relating to treaty or 'self-determination' initiatives. The report claimed Victoria had spent $776.2 million on programs related to the development of a state treaty since 2016, with $100.6 million committed in the 2026 financial year alone and $220 million in the first two full financial years following the defeat of the Voice referendum. 'This is cherry-picked analysis from a Liberal Party-aligned think tank,' a Victorian government spokesperson said. 'If you listen to the people directly affected by policies, you get better outcomes — that's common sense. Treaty is about making a better and fairer state for all Victorians — negotiations are underway and we look forward to bringing Treaty to the Parliament.' The government would not confirm the IPA's figures, but noted $308 million had been invested into the Treaty since the 2020-21 budget, according to publicly available annual reports. Analysis of annual reports and budget papers by the Herald Sun put the figure at $382.4 million over the past 10 years. Some of that funding has gone into setting up the Treaty Authority, an 'independent umpire' created by the First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria and the State of Victoria to oversee the process. The Herald Sun reported in 2023 that members of the Treaty Authority panel could be paid a salary of up to $380,000 per year plus expenses if they worked full-time. The Victorian government first committed to advancing a treaty with Indigenous Victorians in 2016. Negotiations formally began in November 2024, and Victoria plans to finalise a treaty by the end of the 2026 financial year. Victoria would be the first Australian jurisdiction to negotiate a formal treaty with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. But the IPA said Victorians remained largely in the dark about what a treaty would entail, despite the hundreds of millions of dollars spent and hundreds of meetings held since 2017 in preparation for negotiations. 'Despite the Victorian government spending in excess of $776 million on secret treaty negotiations, mainstream Victorians are none the wiser as to what special rights and reparations it will grant to some Victorians based solely on race,' IPA research fellow Margaret Chambers said in a statement. The report noted that between July 2016 and June 2025, 727 meetings had been held by the Victorian government in relation to the development of a treaty — but just four public statements had been issued and the 'substance of these negotiations remains largely undisclosed'.That number included meetings between First Peoples' negotiating parties and the state of Victoria to negotiate or prepare for Treaty agreements, and meetings with departments to support whole of Victorian government co-ordination and engagement in Treaty negotiations. 'The Victorian government is not being honest and upfront with Victorians about its plan to divide the community by race,' Ms Chambers said. 'With a treaty scheduled to be finalised in the next 12 months, and despite the volume of secret meetings over the past decade, very little is known about what this treaty will entail. 'Any treaty will fundamentally change Victoria's legal structure and will likely require already financially stretched Victorian taxpayers to pay billions of dollars to activists aligned to the Allan government. 'Yet, for a government which operates one of the most sophisticated and well-funded spin machines ever seen, just four statements, totalling 1588 words, have been released on the Allan government's plan to divide Victorians by race.' Recent IPA analysis claimed the monetary compensation, tax relief and litigation which would flow from a treaty in Victoria based on the landmark Yoorrook report would be in excess of $48 billion annually. 'Victorians voted against racial division at the Voice referendum,' Ms Chambers said. 'Jacinta Allan is demonstrating complete and utter contempt for the Victorian people, and our democracy, by pursuing this treaty that will divide and cripple Victoria. 'With all the problems that Victoria faces, the last thing the community needs is a two-tiered legal system where some have special rights and get special government payments. Every Victorian should be treated equally under the law.'
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Eye-watering amount Aussie taxpayers have forked out for an Indigenous treaty as state edges closer to finalising negotiations
The Victorian government has already spent at least $382million of taxpayer money negotiating an Indigenous treaty, according to new analysis. A treaty is expected to be finalised later in 2025, nine years after the state government became the first in the country to formally commit to treaty talks in 2016. According to treaty reports and budget papers, $382.4 million has been given to the 'self-determination' process over the past decade, The Herald Sun reported. Some money has gone towards setting up the Treaty Authority, which is overseeing negotiations, with members of the panel earning up to $380,000 a year. Funding has also supported preparations by First Nations groups for negotiations, public events to inform Indigenous communities about the process, and roundtable discussions on the treaty framework. Right-wing think tank the Institute of Public Affairs suggested the total figure could be higher. Their report found that 727 meetings related to treaty development were held between July 2016 and June 2025. That number could reach 968 by June 2026 if it continues at its current pace, with one meeting taking place every two to three business days. The Institute's review of government budget papers estimated that a combined $776 million has been spent over the past decade on the treaty, 'self-determination' programs, and Indigenous community initiatives. However, the documents do not provide a detailed breakdown of spending. Institute of Public Affairs Research Fellow Margaret Chambers criticised the government's handling of the process. 'The Victorian government is not being honest and upfront with Victorians about its plan to divide the community on racial grounds,' Ms Chambers told the Herald Sun. 'With a treaty scheduled to be finalised inside the next 12 months, and despite the volume of secret meetings over the past decade, very little is known about what this treaty will entail. 'Any treaty will fundamentally change Victoria's legal structure and will likely require already financially stretched Victorian taxpayers to pay billions of dollars to activists aligned to the Allan government.' New legislation related to the treaty is expected to go before Victoria's parliament in the coming months. It is understood the bill will enshrine an expanded First Peoples' Assembly. That would effectively establish a state-based version of the Voice, which was rejected in a national referendum in 2023. The Victorian government is also negotiating separate treaties with local Indigenous groups. The details of these agreements and associated costs have not been disclosed. At the beginning of July, the Victorian government released the findings from the Yoorrook Justice Commission investigating the state's colonial roots. The Truth Be Told report detailed massacres and frontier violence, labelling it a 'genocide' and investigating the ongoing harms against Aboriginal people. A Victorian government spokesman slammed the 'cherry-picked analysis from the Liberal Party-aligned think tank'. 'If you listen to the people directly affected by policies, you get better outcomes - that's commonsense,' he said. 'Treaty is about making a better and fairer state for all Victorians - negotiations are underway and we look forward to bringing treaty to the Parliament.'
CBC
16-07-2025
- Politics
- CBC
9 Ontario First Nations to speak Wednesday after challenging federal, provincial bills
Nine First Nations in Ontario that launched a constitutional challenge against a pair of federal and provincial laws meant to fast-track infrastructure projects are set to speak at Queen's Park at 10 a.m. on Wednesday. The Indigenous communities said in the legal challenge filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice that the federal law known as Bill C-5 and the Ontario law known as Bill 5 both represent a "clear and present danger" to the First Nations' self-determination rights to ways of life on their territories. CBC News will livestream the news conference here. Bill C-5 allows cabinet to quickly grant federal approvals for big projects deemed to be in the national interest such as mines, ports and pipelines by sidestepping existing laws, while Ontario's Bill 5 allows its cabinet to suspend provincial and municipal laws through the creation of so-called "special economic zones." The First Nations are asking the court for an injunction prohibiting the federal government from naming national interest projects and prohibition Ontario from implementing special economic zones.
Arab News
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan vows political, diplomatic support for Kashmiris on Kashmir Martyrs' Day
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday vowed to extend Pakistan's diplomatic and political support to the people of Kashmir on Kashmir Martyrs' Day, calling for the resolution of the dispute as per the United Nations Security Council resolutions, state-run media reported. Pakistan marks Kashmir Martyrs' Day on July 13 every year to pay tribute to 22 Kashmiri protesters who were shot dead in Srinagar, the capital of Indian-administered Kashmir, in 1931 by soldiers of Maharaja Hari Singh, the Hindu ruler of the then princely state. Pakistan sees the day as a symbol of Kashmiris' struggle against what it says is illegal Indian occupation in the disputed Himalayan valley. Both India and Pakistan have fought three wars since 1947, with two of them over Kashmir. Both claim territory in full but administer only parts of it. 'The Kashmiri people have been and are sacrificing their lives in their legitimate struggle for the right to self-determination,' Sharif was quoted as saying by the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP). 'The government of Pakistan expresses its political, diplomatic and moral support in solidarity with the Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir, which is illegally occupied by India.' Every year on the occasion, special rallies, seminars, and conferences are held across Pakistan and Azad Kashmir to express solidarity with the people of Kashmir. India accuses Pakistan of backing separatist militants in the part of Kashmir it administers. Islamabad denies the allegations and says it only extends political and diplomatic support to Kashmiris. The two countries engaged in the worst fighting between them in decades in May when gunmen shot dead 26 people, mostly tourists, in Indian-administered Kashmir. India blamed Pakistan for supporting the attack, which Pakistan strongly denied and called for an international probe into the incident. The two countries engaged in a military conflict for four days that killed over 70 people on both sides of the border before US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Delhi and Islamabad on May 10.
Arab News
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan decries use of torture in Palestine, Kashmir on UN anti-torture day
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday expressed grave concern over the use of torture as a tool of repression in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Indian-administered Kashmir, accusing the 'occupying powers' of systematically inflicting abuse to suppress demands for self-determination. The statement came on the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, marked each year on June 26 to promote the eradication of torture and support survivors. The UN General Assembly designated the day in 1997, coinciding with the anniversary of the 1987 entry into force of the UN Convention Against Torture. Human rights groups have long reported widespread abuse in both Palestine and Kashmir, including arbitrary detentions, custodial beatings and torture, particularly of young men and boys. 'The people of the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) continue to be subjected to the worst forms of torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by the occupying powers to suppress their right to self-determination,' the foreign office said in a statement. Reaffirming its commitment to human dignity and justice, Pakistan said it was strengthening legal reforms, institutional safeguards and oversight mechanisms to prevent torture and promote accountability. It also underscored its provision of medical, legal, and psycho-social support to victims. Citing the values of justice and compassion in religious teachings, the foreign ministry said any act of torture was incompatible with Islam and international law. Pakistan called on the international community to condemn what it described as systematic crimes by occupying forces and to take steps to hold them accountable.
