Queensland Govt. To Unveil Indigenous Truth & Reconciliation Cmte. As Treaty Path Begins

[Webster]

(The Guardian) Queensland government to unveil path to Indigenous treaty
Indigenous people will be able to give evidence about injustices committed against them in Queensland as part of the state’s plans to sign a treaty with the state’s First Nations population, AAP reports.

The premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will announce today that an Indigenous truth-telling and healing inquiry will be set up in response to the treaty advancement committee’s final report.

Palaszczuk says laws will also be passed to set up a First Nations Institute within 18 months to draft a legal framework for treaty negotiations. She said in a statement: What we do next on the Path to Treaty will define our humanity, our sense of fairness, and the legacy we leave our children, Treaty is about finding a place where we can face up to our shared history and be truthful about all of it - good and bad - and build a future together where we value, trust, and respect each other.

A Path to Treaty office will be set up within government to prepare for treaty talks once a legal framework has been drafted.

An independent interim body with Indigenous and non-Indigenous representatives will be appointed to oversee the treaty process until the First Nations Institute is established. The body will lead local truth-telling initiatives to “promote a shared understanding” of history in institutions such as public libraries, museums, archives and art galleries.

Queensland could become the fourth jurisdiction to sign a treaty with Indigenous peoples. Victoria and the ACT have already done so, while the Northern Territory is in an advanced stage of its own treaty process.