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Considering treaty/ies and agreements in local government planning processes
Some Victorian local government authorities are being called on to consider agreements or treaties with local Aboriginal communities. This is unfamiliar territory for everyone involved – local government (councillors and staff), other members of the non-Aboriginal community, and members of the Aboriginal community. It is probable the first phase of engagement with these issues will be one of working through terms, meanings, and possibilities. These notes are being developed in a Reconciliation Victoria/ANTaR working group on treaties and agreements to assist this discussion.
What might treaty mean for a local government planning process?
An initial plan might not seek to be a full agreement with treaty characteristics, but it could foreshadow working to an agreement between the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities which has treaty characteristics and could fit into a future national treaty framework. These characteristics probably include:
An initial plan could include support for consideration of agreement and treaty development and the role of local government within that.
Position of Local Government Authorities
At least two LGAs in Victoria , Ballarat and Moreland, have made statements about treaty. They are:
Ballarat City Council’s Statement of Commitment: “Offering support to the Indigenous community's desire to discuss, negotiate and enter into a treaty or local agreement to enshrine Indigenous rights.”
Moreland Reconciliation Policy and Action Plan: “Council supports … a national treaty that enshrines the rights of Indigenous Australians”
Foreword to TREATY (Federation Press, 2005), p vii http://www1.aiatsis.gov.au/exhibitions/treaty/200years.htm Treaty: let’s get it right!, ATSIC/AIATSIS, 2003 http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/IndigLRes/car/1999/2708.html
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