There are many distinct tribal groups, nations, here on this continent, all with the right to self-determination and sovereignty. This includes the 38 tribes bordered by the colonial state of “Victoria”. We want to pay our respects and honour all of them, support them, unite with them, and work with them on their justice issues, such as land rights, restoration, restitution, and treaties, and support their terms of reference and conditions on how this may be done. We all must respect the bloodline Elders’ law back to our countries, and this is represented by our Elders who sit in council. This is our land and our law, this has been the way which held our tribes and communities together for thousands of years. There can be no other honourable way, otherwise we are no better than the oppressors themselves.
This is the first Invasion Day since the “Treaty for Victoria”. Which is not even a proper treaty – this is just colonial state government legislation. A real treaty would be done at an international level in accordance with the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. Why aren’t they addressing this issue at that level? They’re trying to rob us again. This is the state government treatying with itself. It’s an agreement between the colonial occupying state of Victoria and its bureaucrat employees and corporate funded entities. Aboriginal corporations are hardly a representation of Aboriginal people. We’ve always had problems with them, they misrepresent our people, they prevent Aboriginal money getting to the ground. How and when did the illegally occupying “Australia” and “Victoria” get their jurisdiction to enter a treaty? Aboriginal people never ceded our sovereignty, and we never will. We are the sovereigns here, not “Australia”. Your claim to sovereignty is the British crown, you’ve still got a foreign head of state here, namely the king of England. “Australia” is just a falsehood. We want to deal with international law and nothing less.
We demand an official end of hostilities, restoration, restitution, repatriation, compensation, sovereignty recognised and land back. We still do not have land rights – the Treaty for Victoria reinforces Native Title, which is the lowest form of land entitlement in the country, less than a pastoral lease, which is for foreign (feral) animals. It’s a pathetic excuse for a treaty. It hasn’t addressed any of the issues that we’ve been talking about since colonisation. No rights recognised, no land back, no release of prisoners, no talk of ending the war, no mention of the word ‘peace’. There’s no proper customary law representation, in fact it’s a total misrepresentation of our rights. We want our demands met. Not handouts from a racist criminal state who are divisive and employ the people that are prepared to sell us out. We want something more than crumbs from a lying, murdering thief who’s got no jurisdiction and no consent to occupy our Land. Our people, and all people surely, have had enough of the lies, fraud, corruption, and the entrenched, institutionalized criminality. We want justice, respect, and our fundamental rights recognised. It’s been a long time struggling and we are tired of the bullshit. Justice delayed is justice denied.
The Yoorrook Truth Commission found that genocide occurred here. The crimes against our humanity must be acknowledged at a higher level than illegal state-based colonial legislation, which has failed us time and time again.
A real treaty should liberate Aboriginal people from the foreign control and domination which has seen destruction of the environment to the point of ecocide, which affects everyone. The occupation of our lands has meant the theft of resources which end up offshore, the oppression of our peoples, including non-Aboriginal people in many instances. It is insulting and offensive in the extreme for the colonial state to be continuing to dictate the terms here, it’s perpetuating the harm and the crimes. No more foreign invaders, multi-national mining companies, domination and control. We demand our independence from any form of foreign control, we never ceded our sovereign rights. Support us on this and keep the wealth and decision making here, it’s a win if it done right, and it starts with booting the British crown out.
We deserve the unbiased, impartial scrutiny and standards that the international legal community has established. And an ongoing, well-resourced education campaign backing it up. It will liberate us, and everyone else in the process.
We demand to have our customary law recognised and reinstated forthwith. We do not need a corporate body or colonial government appointed “authority”, which is misrepresentative and unaccountable to our people. This is the problem, and responsible for the ever-widening gap, particularly over the last 40 years. Our Elders are the true representatives, spokespeople, and law for country, but they were treated as an afterthought in the recent state legislated Treaty for Victoria process. We want our peace restored, we owe it to our Ancestors, esteemed Elders, this sacred land, its inhabitants, and our children’s children. Let’s get it right, it’s not about money or power, it’s about our obligations to this place of which we are the rightful caretakers, guardians, and custodians.