Treaty

In 1788 there were more than 500 sovereign, land-owning Indigenous groups on the continent now known as Australia. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have never agreed to their land being taken away. They have never sold or given land away.

By the international standards of 1788 and of today, this makes our occupation illegal. Among comparable nations around the world, Australia is the only nation which still does not have a treaty. Treaties were made by the British when they invaded North America. Canada re-kindled its treaty process in the 1970s and is resolving issues of land, resources, service-delivery and self-government.

We need treaties to form the basis for peaceful, honourable coexistence with Indigenous peoples.

In 2000, the Council on Aboriginal Reconciliation came up with a Declaration Towards Reconciliation, and made clear indications that a treaty process was the next step to authentic reconciliation. While this was rejected by the Howard Government, this Declaration is still a benchmark for a community consensus on the need for and the form of the resolution of 'unfinished business'.

What is treaty about?

For the First Peoples, this is firstly about acknowledging traditional forms of sovereignty, which have never been surrendered.  More broadly, this is about aspirations for justice and giving grounds for hope.  Only then will entrenched poverty and disadvantage be adequately addressed. 

For all of us, it is about clarifying our identity as Australians and dealing maturely with historic injustices within the national story.

The majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are calling for:

• Constitutional recognition of the First Peoples, their rights and responsibilities.
• Constitutional protection against racial discrimination.
• Acknowledgement, restitution and redress for the actions of the past, so that healing can take place.
• Local, regional and national forms of self-determination and representation to governments. 
• Governments to engage respectfully and effectively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, working together to “close the gap”.
• Indigenous cultures to be affirmed, honoured and celebrated as essential steps towards improved outcomes in health and education.

In other words, Indigenous people are seeking a negotiated place in the Australian polity – a “treaty” process based on restorative justice, promoting local agreements and securing those agreements in the federal Constitution.

Download our factsheet "Unfinished Treaty Business".

The time has come to rekindle the momentum for treaty-making.

In 2010 ANTaR Victoria launched Are we there yet? - a year of re-commitment to reconciliation with a particular focus on rejuvenating the movement for Treaty.

ANTaR Victoria advocates the initiation of broad treaty-making discussions at all levels of government. Click the links below to learn more about what can and should be done at each level.

• Local Government
• State Government
• Federal Government
  

Let's start this process now!

Get involved in ANTaR's Treaty Supporters scroll project