Queensland’s Path to Treaty truth-telling will begin next month. But will it see out the year?
A warning this story contains images of Indigenous Australians who have died, which have been provided by family for the purpose of truth telling and healing- and they request those photos should not be recorded or photographed. First Nations leaders say Queensland is on the cusp of a historical reckoning with the state’s Truth Telling Inquiry to begin within weeks. It is a cornerstone of the government’s path to treaty with First Nations peoples. But the inquiry and treaty process will be scrapped if the LNP win the state election.
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00:00These are the only photos that I have of my family.
00:13Instead of family photo albums, Florence Onus has anthropological records.
00:18They were regarded as full-blood, half-caste, quarter-caste.
00:24And mug shots.
00:25This is my grandfather here.
00:27He died in his prison cell.
00:31Painting a painful picture of four generations.
00:35Our people were treated as criminals.
00:37Uprooted from land, culture and loved ones.
00:40My brother, sister and I were forcibly removed by the government from our mother, sent to
00:47the local orphanage here in Townsville.
00:51And then we were fostered out to our white foster mother.
00:55Bindilelda from Townsville believes shedding light on a legacy of intergenerational pain
01:01will promote healing.
01:03We have to rewrite the narrative of this country because the current narrative is one big lie.
01:12It's a record that'll be interrogated as Queensland's truth-telling inquiry begins
01:17this month, investigating how laws, policies and practices continue to take a toll on First
01:23Nations people.
01:25Our terms of reference are very broad.
01:27They cover historical issues.
01:28They also look at issues which happen in the contemporary context, including housing, education,
01:34criminal justice systems.
01:36The inquiry is set to run for three years.
01:39Public hearings will begin next month, with sittings across the state.
01:44Some of it will be quite traumatic for people to share that experience and also for others
01:50in the community to actually hear about those experiences.
01:54The inquiry is a major pillar of Queensland's historic path to treaty legislation, which
02:01passed last year.
02:03It also established a First Nations Treaty Institute, which is developing a framework
02:08for treaty negotiations with the state.
02:11The laws originally had bipartisan support, but that changed after the failed voice to
02:20parliament referendum, when Queensland delivered the strongest no vote in the country.
02:27It's my view that to continue down the path to treaty would cause further division at
02:33a time when Queensland needs unity.
02:36If the LNP wins the October state election, the treaty process will be abandoned.
02:41So too will the truth-telling inquiry, which will have already been running for months.
02:46It just sends us back to the dark ages.
02:50Those people need to come out of their dark caves.
02:53This is not Aboriginal history.
02:56This is Australian history.
02:59This is your history.