Dorinda Cox (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

A treaty is a binding formal agreement, a contract or other written instrument that establishes obligations between two or more sovereign entities. A treaty can allow parties to come together and to negotiate a way of working together to set a foundation for a positive coexistence. A treaty or treaties with First Nations people will set the foundation for a shared future between Australia's First Peoples and the various Australian governments: federal, state and local. The path to the kind of treaty that will benefit everyone will involve building a shared understanding of the past so that we can build a strong and equal future that is based on respect, healing and justice.

I am a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties, and we are engaged already in the negotiations and ratification of many treaties with other countries for a wide range of purposes. Some states and territories are already making headway on this issue—the proud state of Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, the Northern Territory and Tasmania—and I hope to see more states added to that list very soon.

All kinds of scare tactics and lies are being deployed to stop Australians truly understanding that this work is important to progressing this nation. I've been talking to many people across the nation about work that's being undertaken at the state and territory level as we lay the path for a national treaty. I look forward to reaching across the aisle in this place and working together with those who want to listen to First Nations voices and to use this opportunity to bring this nation together.