Rachel welcomed the introduction of a Treaty for the First Peoples of Victoria. She describes Treaty as “our chance to walk together side by side, with respect, with understanding and with a shared vision for a future that includes us all.” Rachel and Legalise Cannabis Victoria are proud to support this historic legislation.
Tuesday 28th of October 2025,
Victorian Legislative Council
Rachel Payne (South-Eastern Metropolitan):
I begin today by acknowledging that we meet on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people of the Kulin nations. I pay my deepest respects to their elders past, present and emerging and to all First Peoples across Victoria, who carry the strength, the pain and the wisdom of their ancestors. I also acknowledge the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria, the voices who have carried this movement from vision to reality. To the co-chairs Ngarra Murray and Rueben Berg, and to every assembly member past and present, your courage, patience and leadership have paved the way for this historic moment. I acknowledge my friend Sheena Watt for her incredible opening contribution and the Victorian government’s unwavering commitment to treaty, a commitment that has brought us here on this historic day.
After the national referendum on the Voice, it felt as though the wind had been taken out of the sails. Across the country, many felt that the long road toward reconciliation had become a little bit steeper and the political courage to create real change had faded. But here in Victoria that courage held strong. While others paused, this government chose to keep walking with First Peoples. That choice matters. It tells our communities that reconciliation is not a slogan or a photo opportunity, it is a promise. And it tells every young First Nations person watching today that their voices and their futures still matter in this state. I commend the Victorian government for holding that promise, for keeping faith with the process and for proving that leadership means walking beside people even when the path is hard. Where we stand today is not by chance, it is the result of decades of tireless work, courage and truth-telling between First Peoples and the Victorian government. This moment has been carried off the backs of elders who spoke truth long before it was safe or popular to do so. It has been shaped by communities who never gave up, even when no-one else was listening. For generations First Peoples have asked this nation to see what has always been there: their sovereignty, their law, their spirit, their country. And now, through this bill, we are beginning to honour that truth in a way that is tangible and enduring.
The right to self-determination
This is not only a milestone for First Peoples, it is a moment of reckoning and renewal for all Victorians. It asks us to move forward not as strangers divided by history but as partners joined in respect – because treaty is not a gift and it is not an act of charity; it is an act of justice. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have successfully managed the seas, the sky and the land for over 60,000 years. They are the oldest continuing living culture on earth. They are the keepers of the Dreaming, the custodians of country and the guardians of knowledge that spans millennia. They have been asking us for far too long to walk with them. Treaty is our chance to honour that request. Treaty is our chance to walk together side by side, with respect, with understanding and with a shared vision for a future that includes us all. At its core, self-determination recognises that First Peoples are best placed to lead on matters that affect them. This is their right. It is not a privilege granted by Parliament but an inherent right to shape their future. For too long this Parliament has failed to listen to those who are most affected by its decisions. For too long we have made laws and policies that do not reflect the lived reality of First Peoples – laws that have been harmful, ineffective and disconnected from the wisdom that could guide us to a better future. But today, with this bill, we begin to change that. We begin to hear directly from First Peoples to ensure that the laws of this state reflect their needs, their aspirations and their unbroken connection to this land.
I grew up on Awabakal and Worimi land in New South Wales during the 1990s. Back then I was never taught about First Nations culture or even whose country I was on. This was a time before Mabo, when the lie of terra nullius, the claim that Australia was uninhabited at the time of colonisation, still shaped our understanding of this land. We failed to recognise the enduring connection that First Peoples have with their country, a connection that runs through language and lore and that continues to guide the land today. Even as a child growing up alongside First Nations kids, we rarely spoke about their culture or their history. It was as if they were not free to feel pride in who they were, as if their culture had to be hidden, because that was what society told them to do. This absence of knowledge was not just an oversight, it was a denial of truth, identity and belonging. That is why today, educating every generation about First Peoples’ history, culture and connection to country is so urgent, so necessary and so transformative. There is immense importance in educating the next generation about First Nations’ history and culture, not only to foster understanding but to protect cultural pride, strengthen identity and build connections across communities.
I want to acknowledge the integral role of Gellung Warl in the bill, which will strengthen Victoria’s curriculum and provide resources for students about our shared history, as revealed by the Yoorrook Justice Commission. Victoria’s treaty comes at the culmination of the profound work of the Yoorrook Justice Commission, Australia’s first formal truth-telling commission. It has laid bare the lasting and devastating impacts of colonisation on First Peoples. Even today, these impacts are visible in the persistent inequalities in life expectancy, education, health and opportunity. These are stories that must be heard, understood and never forgotten.
Honouring connection to country
If we are to have any hope of true reconciliation, we cannot allow future generations to grow up ignorant of our shared history. With this in mind, the bill established establishes Nyerna Yoorrook Telkuna, a body to lead ongoing truth-telling, healing and reconciliation across towns and regions of Victoria. Its work will promote understanding of local histories, gather and preserve stories, and ensure that the history of First Peoples and their resilience is never lost. While I deeply wish I had been taught these truths when I was younger, we now have the opportunity to ensure that the voices, stories and perspectives of First Peoples are enshrined in our education system so that future generations do not grow up in ignorance like I did. As an adult, I have actively sought to learn about the country where I live and work and serve, and I encourage all Victorians to do the same. To walk on country is to walk with its history, its spirit and its people.
The South-Eastern Metropolitan Region where I live and work and have the honour of representing in this place in Parliament sits on the traditional country of the Bunurong and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Kulin nations. Bunurong country is diverse, vibrant and alive, stretching across coastal plains, rivers, bushland, grassy woodlands, wetlands and sacred sites. Every part of this country holds stories, teachings and lore passed down through countless generations. It is a living, breathing landscape where plants, animals and people are inseparable. We live by Bunjil’s law, guided by the eaglehawk, our creative spirit. Bunjil teaches us about responsibility, respect and care for all living things, that we are not separate from the land, but part of it, and that every action we take has meaning for country and community.
My team and I had the privilege of spending time on country with Uncle Mark Brown. We learned firsthand about the Bunurong peoples’ symbiotic relationship with country, how the natural environment and culture are woven together, and how this knowledge has guided the Bunurong people for thousands of years. Uncle Mark shared the strength of Bunurong matriarchy: the vital role of women as leaders, teachers and custodians of culture, and how this guidance continues to shape the wellbeing of people and country alike. I want to share a small story from Uncle Mark that illustrates this deep connection. In Bunurong law, the wetlands, rivers, plains and bushlands are all part of one living system. When we move across country, whether gathering food, observing the seasons, or simply walking, we are taught to notice everything – the birds, the animals, the plants, the water. Each has its place, its purpose and its story. When the kunuwarra – the black swans – nest, we know the seasons are shifting. When the kuyim – the kangaroos – roam the plains, it signals the land is healthy.
Every living thing is a teacher, every cycle a lesson. These lessons are living knowledge. They teach us about care, connection, responsibility and respect for all life – principles that are not only central to Bunurong culture but to how we as a society can live together better, in balance with country, with each other and with our shared history. I carry these teachings with me in my work and in my life, and I honour the Bunurong people’s wisdom, resilience and enduring connection to country. It is a privilege to represent this country and a responsibility to ensure its stories, lessons and laws continue to guide us into the future.
Human rights and evidence-based policy
Legalise Cannabis Party is a party of compassion, evidence-based policy and human rights. Some things should be above politics, and treaty is one of them. We support treaty not just in principle but because we recognise the disproportionate impacts of criminalisation of cannabis on First Nations people. Aboriginal Victorians are eight times more likely to be arrested rather than cautioned for cannabis possession. Though they make up only 1 per cent of the Victorian population, they account for almost 10 per cent of cannabis-related arrests. As the Uluru Statement from the Heart reminds us:
Proportionally, we are the most incarcerated people on the planet. We are not an innately criminal people. Our children are aliened from their families at unprecedented rates. This cannot be because we have no love for them. And our youth languish in detention in obscene numbers. They should be our hope for the future.
These dimensions of our crisis tell plainly the structural nature of our problem. This is the torment of our powerlessness.
Treaty is the first step in addressing this torment. It is a chance to right these wrongs, to acknowledge the harm and to begin creating justice, dignity and self-determination for First People across Victoria. Treaty, yes; treaty now. Other Commonwealth countries have had treaties in place for hundreds of years. Australia has long denied its own reckoning. We had the chance 37 years ago when then Prime Minister Bob Hawke promised treaty at Barunga, yet these promises disappeared like writing in the sand. As Yothu Yindi powerfully sang:
“Words are easy, words are cheap
Much cheaper than our priceless land
But promises can disappear
Just like writing in the sand“
Treaty is long overdue
For 37 years that promise remained unfulfilled – far too long. But here today we see the brighter day so many have dreamed of for generations – a chance for healing, for justice and for better outcomes for First Peoples. We are here because of the decades of tireless advocacy by First Peoples and their courage, resilience and unwavering belief in change, even after being let down time and time again.
I am deeply proud to stand in this Parliament to offer my full support for this history-making legislation – legislation that will finally formalise a Statewide Treaty. Victoria will be the first state in Australia to pass a treaty with First Peoples, but I firmly believe we will not be the last. This is a day of justice. This is a day of hope. This is a day that honours the voices, the history and the future of First Nations people.
Related:
> Treaty Statement – Rachel Payne
> Fund Dandenong’s vital First Nations health services – Rachel Payne
> National Reconciliation Week 2023 – Rachel Payne
