Two Aboriginal elders reveal unexpected position on Indigenous Treaty push – and blame ‘city’ people amid growing storm: ‘We didn’t give them consent’

A pair of respected Indigenous elders say support for Victoria’s state-based treaty is waning after First Nations people were ‘shut out’ of crucial discussions. 

The Statewide Treaty Bill 2025, the first treaty between a state government and Aboriginal Australians is set to be signed at a formal ceremony later this year. 

It would create a permanent advisory body with powers to make decisions for certain matters of Aboriginal importance and new accountability and truth-telling bodies. 

The Allan government and social activists have hailed the bill as a turning point in relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

But Kurnai Elder Pauline Mullet said traditional owners had been ‘shut out’ of discussions, resulting in their waning support for the treaty. 

‘Treaty is about setting up a voice or a legal entity, a corporation to then represent the voice of Victoria in closing the gap,’ she told Daily Mail. 

‘This entity will not close the gap at all on health, education, justice or anything else. We already have corporations who deliver those services but they’re failing to do so.

‘I don’t know what she (Allan) is thinking here, but nobody, no one in Gippsland is really aware. They are aware of the treaty but they don’t support it.’

Kurnai Elder Aunty Cheryl Drayton, from an area of Gippsland in the state’s south-east, agreed that the treaty feels like another example of ‘decisions being made on our behalf’ rather than through proper consultation.

‘The way that the treaty is set up, as far as I’m concerned, is that the corporations are going to be our legal voice,’ she told the Daily Mail. 

‘We didn’t give them consent. We didn’t sign off as the traditional owners.’

Aunty Cheryl has attended several treaty information sessions and believes the consultation process has been dominated by people without ‘cultural authority’.

‘It’s the Melbourne-based people who want the treaty,’ she said. 

‘When you look at who came to those meetings across Gippsland, there would only be a handful, no more than 15… and now they try to convince us this is about the traditional owners.’

Aunty Cheryl said the First Peoples’ Assembly, which will be made permanent and granted new powers under the bill, had little grassroots support. 

‘Only seven per cent of Aboriginal people voted for this,’ she said, referring to the minimal turnout for the assembly elections nearly six years ago. 

When asked about claims that Indigenous perspectives were prioritised, she quipped: ‘They’re lying. How can you have truth-telling when they don’t see the need for it?’

Victorian MPs commenced debating the bill on Tuesday but with Labor controlling the Lower House and having numbers in the Upper House, the result appears a foregone conclusion.

On Tuesday, the Victorian Liberals pledged to repeal the treaty if elected to government within its first 100 days. 

The party said it did not believe the treaty was the best way to deliver outcomes for Aboriginal Victorians. 

Instead, it would create a new government department called First Nations Victoria to report to parliament and oversee progress on Closing the Gap commitments. 

Shadow Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Melina Bath said the state was failing to meet its Closing the Gap targets and a change of tack was required. 

‘This policy is about turning that around. We have listened to Indigenous communities who want practical solutions,’ she said. 

Daily Mail has contacted Victoria’s Minister for Treaty and First Peoples Natalie Hutchins for comment.