On National Close the Gap Day in March, the ACT Government appointed Professor Kerry Arabena to facilitate preliminary talks about what a Treaty with the Ngunnawal People would mean for the ACT’s Indigenous community.

Professor Arabena provided the Final Report to Rachel Stephen-Smith, ACT Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, this week.

Karabena Consulting was contracted to facilitate a range of engagement activities to re-establish relationships between the United Ngunnawal Elders Council (UNEC), the ACT Government, and other families; bring people with strong connection to this land together in a way that supports healing and deep listening; and advise on what is required to commence a process about a Treaty in the ACT, Ms Stephen-Smith noted.

• Facilitator for Indigenous Treaty appointed (17 March)

The report recommends financial reparations to compensate the Ngunnawal traditional owners in the ACT region, and to establish a Ngunnawal Future Fund for Traditional Owners to resource their family aspirations.

“Many Ngunnawal descendants live with the intergenerational impacts of their forebearers’ suffering including from traumatic and forcible events such as dispossession of and dislocation from Country; relocation to reserves across NSW; the removal of children from their families (the Stolen Generations),” the report states.

Ngunnawal people, like all First Nations peoples across Australia, are significantly disadvantaged, the report states. First Nations people are up to 10 times more likely to live in social housing, have houses that need maintenance, and use specialist homelessness services. There is a 10-year life expectancy gap, with higher rates of chronic disease, mental health challenges and prevalence of trauma. Nowhere across Australia do First Nations people have relatively equal socio-economic status compared with non-Indigenous Australians. Intergenerational poverty, trauma and institutional racism contribute to the over-representation of First Nations people in the child protection and justice systems.

The Fund would be established and paid for by contributions from a Ngunnawal Procurement Clause in all ACT Government contracts and a ‘pay the rent’ levy on all properties in the ACT.

The report suggests a one-off payment commensurate with the wealth of the average-aged person in the ACT, which could be paid to recipients’ superannuation funds, provided as a cash payment to Elders with free access to financial advisory services, or to purchase a home.

Further financial reparations could be considered for people affected by forced removals from Country and from families, the ACT’s Stolen Generations practices, and other harm perpetrated through engagement with ACT Government institutions.

The report also proposes initiating truth-telling and other Indigenous Treaty-related programs for the wider Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, and installing a Voice to Parliament in the ACT Legislative Assembly.

To this end, the report advocates for the ACT Chief Minister’s Office to establish a Ngunnawal Treaty Unit where Ngunnawal people can register their interest in being part of the Treaty process.

The ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body could be re-established as the ACT Treaty Commission, to support the implementation of the Treaty, promote self-determination, and provide greater independence in the Treaty process for Traditional Owners and First Nations residents in the ACT.

ACT Government response

Ms Stephen-Smith thanked the Ngunnawal people who participated in this process and “shared their trauma and fears, as well as their hopes and vision for a better future”.

“The report includes powerful statements of aspiration and a commitment to self-determination,” the minister said. “It provides a number of significant recommendations and emphasises the need for healing strategies to be used in Treaty processes to ensure safety when coming together for conversations.

“I recognise that the report’s content and assertions will cause distress for some community members, particularly those Traditional Owner individuals and families who were not consulted or engaged in this early process.

“On behalf of the ACT Government, I acknowledge that, for various reasons, this process did not engage as broadly as we had intended, and I apologise for the hurt that this has caused.

“I note that the report also recognises the vocal opposition from those not engaged in the process about the validity of this work.

“Over the last few weeks, I have had conversations with a range of community members, including Traditional Owners, who have expressed concern that the ACT Government was rushing into a Treaty process without facilitating the healing and deep conversations that will be required.

“I want to assure all ACT Traditional Owner families and the wider Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community that the Government has made no decisions or commitments to any individual or family group about what Treaty will look like or how we will get there.

“We understand that everyone who potentially has a stake in a Treaty must be engaged in the process and that this process will take time. We do not have a fixed timeline, and we know that processes in other jurisdictions have taken many years.

“I have also heard from some individuals and families that they do not believe Treaty is the right path forward for the ACT. These voices must have the opportunity to be heard.

“The government is also aware of the significant pain and conflict within the local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community resulting from trauma and lateral violence.

“We are actively considering how – through the Healing and Reconciliation Fund – we can facilitate a productive and healing conversation with Traditional Owners and the wider Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community to help address these very challenging issues.

“We recognise that whatever comes next will require sustained effort, resourcing, and expertise.

“Professor Arabena’s report is one of many contributions that will help us to understand what a Treaty could mean for Traditional Owners and other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Canberrans. We will consider its recommendations alongside the significant feedback we have already received from the community.”

Ms Stephen-Smith invited anyone who wishes to offer their views or ideas about a possible ACT Indigenous Treaty to email her at [email protected].

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