Indigenous elder calls for land tax exemption, free uni and interest-free loans as part of upcoming treaty negotiations in Victoria
Hello everyone. I would like to pay my respects to the traditional owners of the lands I am speaking to you about today.
Wherever we are, we are on Aboriginal land. Land over which sovereignty has never been ceded. I pay my respects to the elders past and present. And all the people who join us today.
My name is Jill Gallagher. I am a proud Gunditjmara woman.
I am the CEO of the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organization or VACCHO β and the former Treaty Advancement Commissioner.
Before I begin, I would like to thank the First Assembly of Victoria for their unwavering leadership and dedication. I would like to pay tribute to co-chairs Ngarra Murray and Rueben Berg for your great work.
To the elders here, I want to thank you. Thank you for your leadership. Thank you for your courage. Thank you for your resilience.
I’m here to talk about the Treaty and the incredible opportunities it can bring to our communities.
I wanted to touch on some of that history to kind of paint a picture of the fierce strength and resilience of our elders and ancestors who paved the way for us to be where we are today.
I also wanted to share my views on the many crucial changes that the Treaty can bring about.
The changes could improve community rights, services, healthcare and education and amplify the voices of us all.
Before colonization, our ancestors walked this land when there was a land bridge between Tasmania and the mainland (30,000 years ago).
Our ancestors witnessed volcanoes erupting (Tower Hill 32,000 years ago) and our people hunted Mega Fauna with stone tools and spears (the megafauna went extinct 45,000), yet we survived.
Our communities had and still have very complex social structures as well as our own traditions that determined our way of life.
Our people knew how to use the environment to survive, they knew medicine, our methods of growing fire and fish, we knew how to take care of the land so that it takes care of us.
We know this because stories are passed down
We know this thanks to ancient sites such as Budj Bim.
And through relics such as the Aboriginal stone tools dating back to the last Ice Age, found in Cloggs Cave near Buchan on GunaiKurnai land.
Our ancestors left us their stories in the landscape.
These examples highlight the fact that Aboriginal communities were world leaders in research and innovation β we thrived β and lived rich lives with a strong spiritual connection to the land.
However, rapid and brutal colonization had a significant impact on all facets of Aboriginal culture, including ways of knowing, being and doing.
When our land was stolen and invaded, our people were completely disempowered.
Our people almost did not survive colonization, if not because of the fierce resistance and activism that took place from the very beginning.
Our communities have fought for justice for the past 250 years and I want to mention just some of this faithful political activism and leadership that has taken place for the advancement of our people.
This is just a very small snapshot of some of the faithful advocacy that has taken place.
In 1938, ‘January 26’ was declared a Day of Mourning,
In 1957, the first Aboriginal organization in Victoria was founded: the Aboriginal Advancement League (AAL).
The 1967 referendum, where 90.7% of Australians voted YES to counting Indigenous Australians in the census.
In 1972 we had our own Tent Embassy set up outside Parliament House.
Shortly afterwards, in 1973, the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service was established so that our people could access basic health services.
Then in 1993 we had the Native Title Act, and then
In 2010, Victoria was passed the Traditional Owner Settlement Act.
And of course, in October 2019, the First Assembly of Victoria was established as a continuation of all that important activism and leadership.
We are already seeing the strong leadership and hard work of the work of the First People’s Assembly with the establishment of the:
- We have had the signing of the dispute resolution process,
- The Establishment and Yoorrook’s Essential Truth-Telling.
- The establishment of the Negotiating Framework and the Self-Determination Fund, and
- The establishment and appointment of the Treaty Authority.
The Treaty has been a long time coming, and the work of many, many generations has brought us to where we are today.
We are about to take the next crucial step and start negotiating Treaties.
I would now like to discuss some of my personal ambitions for the Treaty β what I think the Treaty can achieve.
The only thing we have to remember is that the Treaty is an agreement between sovereign entities.
Make no mistake: the possibilities and potential that the Treaty brings are monumental for our communities.
Here are the ten things I think should be part of a statewide compact.
MY THOUGHTS FOR THE COMMUNITY β Jill’s Treaty Ten!
First and foremost, I want TOs to be fully resourced to restore and preserve our languages ββand cultures at the local level.
This requires us to establish local cultural learning spaces to ensure our gangs are culturally strong and to help educate the wider non-Aboriginal community about who we are.
Aboriginal people should be exempt from land tax (TO) (including stamp duty) and council rates.
Interest-free loans should be provided to enable Aboriginal people to buy homes.
In education, Aboriginal people should be exempt from HECS/HELP fees. Tertiary education should be offered free of charge to Aboriginal students.
Aboriginal history β the true history of this country should be taught in all Victorian and Australian schools.
Another thing I want to see as part of the Victoria Treaty is a perpetual infrastructure fund.
I want to see the establishment of an Aboriginal-specific Productivity Commission in Victoria to hold government and services accountable for better outcomes.
Aboriginal people should be given designated seats on local councils.
Finally, there is the visibility of Aboriginal culture. This one is big.
If there is one thing that frustrates me more than anything else, it is the lack of visibility of Aboriginal cultures in this state, in this country and in the world.
What do we see when we step off the plane at Tullamarine Airport?
Nothing!
When I return to Australia, I see my culture being booed on the football field and ridiculed in the media.
Other countries are proud of their ancient cultures β think Egypt, Greece and the Incas of Peru. We all learn about it in schools.
But we learn nothing about the ancient and contemporary cultures that live in this country.
The Treaty has the power to turn the script and change this.
The Treaty will ensure that our 65,000 years of rich culture will once again be visible in the landscape of this country.
When we were younger we did seasonal picking and all the Mobs would camp together at night.
Sometimes it was hard β and it could be lonely.
But I remember when we were camping under the stars and I looked over the horizon, I saw many little orange dots glowing in the distance.
These dots were campfires, each representing a different family of our mafia.
As a young girl, I remember looking at those dots in awe β from a distance they looked to me like a beautiful dot painting.
As I watched these fires, I felt tremendous strength knowing I was surrounded by my culture and my people.
As I stand before you today, I am filled with a renewed sense of strength and joy.
I see strong leaders, representing Deadly Mobs from across the state, united in pride.
You should all be proud of all you have achieved and the tremendous progress you have made in laying the foundations for achieving Treaty negotiations for indigenous communities.
Thank you for your strength, thank you for your dedication and thank you for your hard work for Communities.
Before colonization we were a very strong and proud cultural people, and as a result of colonization we lost almost everything.
The Treaty is about making sure this never happens again and ensuring that our culture is preserved for many, many generations to come.
Because our culture is our strength β it is at the core of everything we do and everything we are as people.
All families should feel that connection to the culture and the mafia.
Late last year I was part of a special meeting at Camp Jungai. Gangs from all over Victoria came together to paint, dance our different cultural dances and listen to music, make up and share stories.
It was absolutely deadly.
That is the power of Aboriginal culture β and the Treaty is all about lifting up all our cultures.
If (no, not WHEN) we sign treaties and realize our ambitions, we will ensure that our future generations never have to grow up in an environment where their culture is oppressed.
They will grow up in an environment where they are surrounded by their 65,000 year old, rich culture.
The Treaty will secure the future of our next generation.
The Treaty is about the resilience, determination and fearlessness of our communities to continue to use their power β not just to survive β but to thrive.
Let’s stay strong. Let’s stay brave. And let us seize this opportunity to move forward and forge thriving, culturally rich communities where our Boorai will flourish.