Jacinta Allan says state treaty negotiations will be critical after federal Voice defeat

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has refused to detail what aspects of the state’s treaty negotiations she will support but said she remains “resolutely determined” to reach a formal land agreement with First Nations peoples.

Appearing in front of the Yoorrook Justice Commission on Monday, Ms Allan made history as the first elected state leader to appear in front of an Indigenous truth-telling inquiry.

The commission, which was established in 2021, is the nation’s first formal truth-telling process and marks Victoria’s first steps towards a formal treaty agreement with Indigenous people.

It has so far heard evidence of widespread racial profiling and abuses of power by police against Indigenous people and the denial of land to returned Aboriginal soldiers after the First and Second World Wars.

Speaking in Melbourne, Ms Allan said steps towards a treaty making path had become “critical” after the defeat of a referendum for a federal Indigenous voice.

“I knew there was a lot of hurt, a lot of concern and I wanted to make it absolutely clear that despite that result, we wanted to continue on the pathway we had already set,” Ms Allan told commissioners.

“We’d already set that pathway because the evidence tells us that it is the treaty pathway that gets better outcomes through listening.”

The state’s opposition withdrew its support for a state-based treaty with Indigenous Victorians in January, after Liberal leader John Pesutto raised concerns land agreements would delay cultural heritage approvals and cause social division.

Ms Allan said despite a lack of bipartisanship her government was set on moving ahead with its plans arguing it would be “deeply disrespectful” to speculate on many treaties would be agreed or a specific timeline for negotiations.

“We have established the treaty process, we have established the negotiation framework and arrangements, having a negotiation table where First Peoples sit with governments as equals to the process, we have our independent oversight with the treaty authority,” she said.

“I’m wanting to respect that process. Not put over the top of that process my own expectations and demands because that would be entirely inappropriate in my view.”

Yoorrook chair Aunty Eleanor Bourke said Ms Allan’s appearance marked a “historic” moment in history and urged the premier to act on her promises after leaving.

“First Peoples have faced a long history of being let down by successive governments and their leaders,” Professor Bourke told the inquiry.

“Broken promises, unfulfilled commitments and apologies, followed by inertia.

“Unless accompanied by a genuine and lasting change, acknowledgments and apologies mean little.”

The commission will hand down its final report in 2025.