Treaty
The First Nations peoples of the Northern Territory never ceded sovereignty of their lands, seas and waters and were self-governing in accordance with their traditional laws and customs.
In recognition of this, the NT Government committed to undertaking discussions on developing a Treaty (or Treaties) with First Nations peoples in the Northern Territory.
In June 2018 the NT Government and four Aboriginal Land Councils signed the historic Barunga Agreement, a Memorandum of Understanding between these parties under which the NT Government to fund a Northern Territory Treaty Commission to consult and report about a possible treaty-making framework in the Northern Territory.
Treaty Commission
The Treaty Commission commenced operation in 2019 with the appointment of Professor Mick Dodson AM as the Treaty Commissioner. Over its three year life, the Treaty Commission consulted with Aboriginal people across the Northern Territory and conducted research to inform development of a framework for future treaty negotiations.
The Treaty Commissioner delivered an Interim Report in March 2020 and a detailed Discussion Paper on June 2020.
Professor Mick Dodson stepped down as Treaty Commissioner in June 2021.
The Northern Territory’s Acting Treaty Commissioner, Mr Tony McAvoy SC was appointed in December 2021.
The Acting Treaty Commissioner guided the process of completing the Final Report and handed this to the Minister for Treaty and Local Decision Making, the Honourable Selena Uibo MLA on 29 June 2022.
Minister Uibo tabled the Final Report in Parliament on 26 July 2022. At the same time she confirmed the NT Government’s commitment to:
- continuing the treaty journey
- supporting the Treaty Report’s vision of a two-step process comprising an overarching Territory-wide treaty followed by individual treaties with First Nations
- working with Land Councils to develop a First Nations Forum to work with Government around Treaty
- exploring Truth-Telling
- providing a comprehensive response to the Treaty Report and its recommendations by the end of 2022.
The Northern Territory Government provided its response to the Final Report on 29 December 2022.
The core elements of the Response are that the NT Government:
- continues to support development of the treaty process in the NT, in a way that aligns with the aspirations of Aboriginal Territorians, working at their own pace
- has established a Treaty Unit within the Office of Aboriginal Affairs to support next steps in the treaty process
- notes the Treaty-Making Framework and pathway presented in the Treaty Report are complex and will require further:
- consideration against existing law and policy, as well as concurrent Commonwealth initiatives like Makarrata and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament, and
- consultation with Aboriginal Territorians and other stakeholders
- will work with Aboriginal Land Councils to establish First Nations Forums through which Aboriginal Territorians can participate in development of a Territory-wide treaty and truth telling process, including truth-telling itself
- is engaging with the Commonwealth regarding resourcing for the treaty process and development of development of regional, local and national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voices, and
- will continue to build capacity in communities through existing initiatives such as Local Decision Making, and in-line with NT Government commitments under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.
The work of the Treaty Commission is now complete.
Next steps in the treaty process are being progressed by the Treaty Unit within the Department of the Chief Minister’s Office of Aboriginal Affairs.
For further information about the Treaty Commission and its work, visit treatynt.com.au.
Treaty Unit
The focus of the Treaty Unit will be to:
- program, develop and implement treaty-related policy and legislation
- engage with a range of stakeholders to inform the development of a
whole-of-government approach to treaty - develop and establish a truth-telling process across the Northern Territory, working with the Commonwealth
- engage with the Commonwealth around development of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice at the regional, local and national levels.