The elected body was established in 2019 to progress work towards a Treaty with Indigenous Australians in Victoria.
The state is far ahead of other Australian jurisdictions when it comes to Treaty negotiations. The work started in 2016 and from June 2022, the final elements of the state's Treaty Act were put in place: a Treaty Authority, Self-Determination Fund, Treaty Negotiation Framework and a dispute resolution process.
At a national level, Australia is now the only Commonwealth nation that does not have a Treaty with its Indigenous peoples.
Gunditjmara man Rueben Berg is co-chair of the First People's Assembly of Victoria. He spoke with Biwa Kwan about how the Victorian experience can help inform the national conversation ahead of the referendum.
You can find comprehensive information about the referendum visiting the SBS Voice Referendum portal at
TRANSCRIPT
RUEBEN BERG:
I think it's very exciting to finally have a date because now we know how many days there are left to keep putting our energies into making sure that we do get a successful outcome at this referendum - that we do get Yes.
BIWA KWAN:
The South Australian premier says that there is a large role for states to play here. When we talk about getting successful referendum outcome. We need a double majority we need overall the majority but also six of those states to devote Yes.
What are your thoughts on the role of of states and also the the Assembly here in the lead up to this referendum?
RUEBEN BERG:
Absolutely. In terms of how the referendum works, the states are going to be critical. Everybody's vote will count as a part of this. We need everybody to be voting yes who does support this really important initiative. And from the Assembly's perspective, we're already operating as the Voice (with) the First Peoples here in Victoria. And we want to make sure that all First Peoples across Australia have that same opportunity to have a voice. Because we know when we have a voice on these things, we get better outcomes.
BIWA KWAN:
And there are people who have yet to make up their minds. What are your reflections on how the the Assembly in Victoria has worked - and what that could show us of what we could see with this national model?
RUEBEN BERG:
One of the things we've seen with having a voice in Victoria since 2019 is that it has had no negative impact on anyone else. It's only been positive things for First Peoples. So there is sometimes this fear campaign going on about the concerns about what a Voice might actually mean. But a Voice brings no harm to anybody else. It just means a chance to get better outcomes for First Peoples. And we're demonstrating that here that here in Victoria. And we want to see that same thing happening at a nationwide level.
BIWA KWAN:
A lot of these processes take time to eventuate. What are some of the kind of concrete outcomes - or things that we have seen in Victoria, as you say, we've got some years under the belt to see what a change having a seat at the table can make.
RUEBEN BERG:
So as the Assembly so far, we've been able to work with the (Victorian) government to advocate for the establishment of a truth and justice process, the Yoorrook truth and justice process. We've seen the implementation of a Treaty authority, an independent umpire to be able to oversee treaty processes; and the establishment of a self-determination fund to support First Peoples to get better outcomes.
BIWA KWAN:
In terms of that eventuating to the ultimate goal. A lot of people go: Well, we want Treaty and we want Treaty now. Can you reflect on just you know how much time it might take to really kind of turn the ship when it comes to we go to - we go to the Close the Gap data all the time.
RUEBEN BERG:
Treaty outcomes don't happen overnight. It's an ongoing process. We've been, as a people, we've been on this process for generations. But more specifically here in Victoria, this Treaty process has been happening since 2016. There's been really strong work involved in this. Having a Voice is a really powerful element of being able to have a Treaty. But the question we're being asked at the moment is very simply about should there be an advisory Voice to the Commonwealth government? And that's the critical question in our minds right now.
BIWA KWAN:
Other kind of opposition has come from the conservative side of politics saying: well, the scope of such a body is something we need to fear. How would you respond to those types of arguments?
RUEBEN BERG:
There's nothing to fear whatsoever about a group of First Peoples who are going to be democratically elected by their communities, who are going to be providing advice to the Commonwealth government to seek better outcomes. They won't have any decision-making powers, they won't have a power of veto. And it will be the parliament, our elected politicians who are going to be sorting out the exact processes of that. So there's nothing to fear from an advisory body that will get better outcomes for First Peoples.
BIWA KWAN:
About that - I think it was also raised at the launch event that when we talk about close the gap data... we don't necessarily know that will end overnight. It's not going to be silver bullet solutions here. But in terms of what we can say of what we know about what this could do. What would you say there in terms of, we can't say all the cost measures are going to, you know, solve overnight once this, if this Voice to Parliament gets up?
RUEBEN BERG:
Closing the gap is not a simple prospect. And it's about addressing 350 years of colonisation and the impact of that. And so it's unrealistic to think that that can be changed overnight, even within a decade. But what I do know - and what I think is clear and obvious to anyone who would think about it for a moment, is if you're trying to find solutions to something, the best way to find the solution is talk to the people who are most affected by it. And that's what this Voice will enable to happen.
BIWA KWAN:
An important thing to note here is that at the Victorian level to create this Assembly, it's been done through legislation. The national change we're talking about is a permanent change to the Constitution. What are your reflections on yes that sounds different, but in essence, there are some common themes and principles we're seeing here.
RUEBEN BERG:
Yeah, absolutely. At the end, the Voice work at the Commonwealth level is very compatible with the work we're doing here for Treaty in Victoria. We're hopeful that our Treaty processes can be embedded in some way within the Victorian constitution - just as we want to make sure that the Voice is embedded in the Constitution at a national level - because then it's not at the whims of politicians of the day, we know that it becomes an enduring part of who we are as a nation, that there will be such a Voice.
BIWA KWAN:
The launch of the referendum date in Adelaide in South Australia. It's actually a coincidence of history. There were some early movements to maybe kick off the Voice there. But it was really, Victoria, that has been the first jurisdiction in Australia to really move ahead on on the Assembly, on the Yoorak Commission, the truth-telling. What are your reflections on Victoria's position and how that could feed into this national conversation?
RUEBEN BERG:
Yeah, absolutely. I think we're very, very lucky here in Victoria that we've been able to lead the way. That's based on decades of advocacy from our people across generations. But yeah, we're proud to be leading the way here in Victoria. And show an example of how you can have a Voice that not anything to fear whatsoever - that just can bring benefits, just like the Voice at the Commonwealth level will be able to do.
BIWA KWAN:
And some of the biggest No campaigners - Jacinta Price, Warren Mundine - keep talking about how a referendum will divide Australia. How do you respond to that?
RUEBEN BERG:
I don't think that it will divide Australia at all. This is about recognition of First Peoples. Recognising somebody else doesn't diminish from other people, it's just the effect of recognising that we are the First Peoples. And when you grant a voice to one group of people, that doesn't diminish the ability for others to have their voice. This is just a powerful way that we can make sure that we can get better outcomes for First Peoples. And by being recognised in that constitution, by enhancing the lives of First Peoples - that will bring benefits to all Australians who will be able to celebrate and share in our amazing cultures in this nation.
BIWA KWAN:
Tim Costello as a church leader - he's been getting feedback that people feel, you know, they don't want to touch this topic. It's become very volatile. And they feel like they can't have a role to play. And he's put out a call to say: look, everybody needs to get involved in this. It is appropriate that we talk about these issues of equality; that we talk about the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Reuben, any personal reflections from you about that message to those people on the sidelines uncertain how to step here.
RUEBEN BERG:
So we as First Peoples in Australia, we represent just less than 4 per cent of the entire Australian nation. And whilst the vast majority of First Peoples do support a Voice, that 4 per cent of us is not enough to change the sway of a referendum.
We need all Australians out there to be on board with this; to participate in this; to have the conversations around these things. There's nothing to fear about having these conversations. I encourage people to actually read the proposal. It's a very modest proposal. It's a very straightforward and simple proposal. Understand what is actually being proposed and have discussions about that; and hopefully not get too distracted by some of the negativity that is sadly out there.
