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0 When Linda Burney and Anthony Albanese were elected to government in 2022, neither made any secret of their ambitions toward treaty.
The newly appointed Indigenous Affairs Minister expressed hope that a Makarrata Commission would be well underway by the time the referendum for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament came around.
And the Prime Minister had been speaking of his commitment to a treaty for years – in a series of tweets, speeches in parliament and conferences nationwide.
Mr Albanese was voted into office after campaigning under the slogan ‘Voice, Treaty, Truth’ and even vowed to enact the Uluru Statement from the Heart ‘in full’ in his first speech.
The statement, a document written in 2017 aiming to bring about reform for Indigenous people, called for both the Voice and a Makarrata commission.
The commission is described as ‘the culmination of our agenda’.
Makarrata is another word for ‘treaty’ and involves making an agreement between First Nations people and the government, as well as discussing past injustices – with the aim being all Australians having a better understanding of the nation’s history.
Days after the election, newly appointed Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney told ABC’s Leigh Sales that work on a Makarrata Commission and the referendum could take place simultaneously.
She said: ‘In terms of a sequence, I don’t know that there has to be a sequence if terms of voice, then truth telling, then treaty.
‘I actually think that you can work on getting a referendum underway and you can establish a Makarrata Commission at the same time.’
Ms Burney also offered a comprehensive explanation of the role of the Makarrata Commission.
‘[The] Makarrata Commission would have two jobs, a national process of truth telling and, of course, a process to get to treaty and agreement-making which is long and complex,’ she said.
On no less than eight occasions, Mr Albanese has posted tweets making no secret of his position on a treaty.
On May 31, 2021, he said: ‘Labor remains committed to the Uluru Statement in full. A Voice to Parliament, enshrined in the Constitution. A national process for treaty-making with First Australians. And after centuries of conflict, truth-telling to fully understand our history.’
By August 5 that year, he wrote: ‘We need a government that will deliver the Uluru Statement in full: voice, treaty and truth. Because a nation not yet reconciled isn’t truly whole.’
And on February 12, 2020, he said: ‘Voice. Truth. Treaty. Whole. Proud. Reconciled. That’s the future I want for Australia.’
The new Prime Minister had been speaking of his commitment to a treaty for years in a series of tweets
The ‘culmination of the agenda’ from the Uluru Statement is a ‘Makarrata Commission’ which would seek a treaty between the government and First Nations communities. Pictured: The Uluru Statement from the Heart
Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney (pictured centre) has finally shared details of the proposed Voice to Parliament, nailing down the four areas the advisory body will focus on
Additionally, the Albanese-led Labor mini-Budget in October 2022 set aside $5.8million for the establishment of a Makarrata Commission.
So far, about $900,000 has been spent, but work on the commission has since been paused as efforts for the referendum on a Voice to Parliament heat up.
A government spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia no further work on Makarrata will be done until after the referendum.
Labor sources say they haven’t yet considered what will happen with the commission if the referendum fails.
They still have faith the Australian public will accept the ‘generous, modest request’ of the First Nations people who made the proposal in the Uluru Statement.
The government is at pains not to conflate treaty and the Voice.
A treaty – or treaties, as the PM pointed out on ABC Radio National on Wednesday – is not part of the question which will be asked of Australians between October and December this year.
The question itself focuses solely on the establishment of a Voice to Parliament, and any such treaty that could potentially follow the Voice would not be constitutionally enshrined.
On no less than eight occasions, Mr Albanese has made Tweets making no secret of his position on a treaty
He was voted into office after campaigning under the slogan ‘Voice, Treaty, Truth’ and vowed to enact the Uluru Statement from the Heart ‘in full’ in his first speech
This is why so many experts who are part of the government’s advisory body say a Voice must come first. The Voice would afford First Nations people a security that treaties simply could not.
Constitutional lawyer Shireen Morris said progressive No voters – like Senator Lidia Thorpe – appear to consider treaty a ‘silver bullet’.
‘It’s not,’ she said.
‘A treaty is subject to political whims, the Voice, however, can’t be taken away by future governments. Nobody can take it away.’
Up until two weeks ago, during a fiery interview with Ben Fordham, Mr Albanese had never shied away from his plan to introduce a Makarrata Commission to bring about treaty.
He outlined the responsibilities of such a future commission in a statement on November 15, 2021.
Dr Morris, pictured with PM Anthony Albanese, urged ‘soft’ No voters and people who are on the fence not to become bogged down in calls for a treaty
Responsibilities of the commission would ‘initially’ include consulting with First Nations communities, recommending a ‘framework for federal treaty-making’ and, crucially, delivering a report within the first term of a Labor government.
By that schedule, the commission will have had to be established and had enough time to consult the community and deliberate by 2025, when the next election is due.
Then, in February 2022, Mr Albanese delivered a speech in the House of Representatives about ‘Uluru’s three generous requests: voice, truth, treaty.
He said: ‘Labor is committed to all three — the voice to parliament enshrined in our Constitution, truth without which we can never be all that we can as a nation, and treaty emerging from the Makarrata Commission, which Labor will establish.’
And after winning the May 2022 federal election, he declared the new Labor government would adopt the Uluru Statement of the Heart ‘in full’.
On no less than eight occasions, Mr Albanese has made Tweets making no secret of his position on a treaty
Mr Albanese said at the time: ‘As called for in the Uluru Statement, the Makarrata Commission will have responsibilities for overseeing processes for Treaty-Making and Truth-Telling.
‘The Makarrata Commission will be independent… and will work with a Voice to Parliament when it is established.’
But treaty-making processes are long and tedious. They are aspirational, whereas the government argues the Voice will make practical differences to help close the gap.
For many First Nations elders who support a treaty, they know even if the process were to start at a national level today, they likely wouldn’t be alive to see it come to fruition.
Despite his repeated public vows to focus on treaty and the Makarrata Commission after the Voice, Mr Albanese told Pat Karvelas on Wednesday morning that he would not progress treaty discussions in his first term.
In fact, he argued that treaties are already underway in Australia. Several states, namely Victoria, Queensland and the Northern Territory have begun treaty discussions.
‘It’s like saying do you support the sun coming up, it’s occurring.’
‘That’s occurring with the states… what the No campaign want to do is focus on everything that’s not happening and nothing that is.’
Since his interview with Fordham, Labor has been less forthcoming on plans for treaty.
The Opposition has levelled repeated questions at Mr Albanese, Ms Burney and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher since parliament returned from the winter break, and appears to have been stonewalled.
Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price noted Senator Gallagher referenced the three pillars of the Uluru Statement from the Heart on Monday afternoon.
She said: ‘Another Minister has given the surprise away. Linda Burney said Makarrata is code for Treaty. Now Katy Gallagher confirms it. But the PM still says the Voice is not about Treaty.’
Meanwhile in the House of Representatives, Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley was left seething after her questions about the functions of a Makarrata Commission appeared to be ignored.
She told Daily Mail Australia ‘time and time again, she refused to confirm if she was still committed to Makarrata even as the taxpayer, at her direction, is ploughing millions of dollars into it’.
‘The Albanese Government is being tricky on the Voice, tricky on the Treaty and tricky on Makarrata and given the chance to justify their approach Minister Burney hid from scrutiny.
‘What we saw today was not acceptable and not the standard we should accept from a minister of any government.’
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
