Chapter 25: Treaty – The Unfinished Business of Australia
What Is a Treaty?
A treaty is a formal agreement between sovereign peoples. It recognises that two nations exist, and sets terms for coexistence, rights, and responsibilities.
For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, a treaty would mean formal recognition that sovereignty was never ceded, and that Australia was built on unceded lands. It would be a new foundation for the relationship between First Peoples and the state.
Australia’s Absence
Most other settler-colonial nations have treaties or equivalent agreements:
New Zealand: The Treaty of Waitangi (1840) remains a living legal document, even with its contested history.
Canada: Dozens of historic treaties, plus modern treaty processes, shape relations with First Nations.
United States: Over 370 treaties signed with Native nations (though many were broken, they remain legal recognition of sovereignty).
Australia stands almost alone in lacking a treaty. This absence is not an oversight – it reflects the fiction of terra nullius and the refusal to acknowledge Aboriginal sovereignty.
Why Treaty Matters
A treaty is not just symbolic. It has real consequences:
Recognition of sovereignty: Acknowledging that Aboriginal nations existed – and still exist – as sovereign peoples.
Land justice: Frameworks for land return, compensation, and shared management.
Political power: Ensuring Aboriginal voices have a guaranteed role in decision-making.
Cultural respect: Protecting language, law, and culture as national treasures.
Healing: Offering formal acknowledgement of past wrongs and a commitment to a just future.
Treaty is about moving from unilateral control to negotiated coexistence.
Why Treaty Is Feared
Vested interests resist a treaty for the same reasons they resist reparations:
Land: Treaty raises questions about ownership and restitution.
Power: Treaty means Aboriginal voices cannot be ignored or sidelined.
National identity: Treaty challenges the myth that Australia was peacefully settled and always united.
Opponents often spread disinformation – claiming treaty would mean people losing their homes or farms. In reality, treaty is about recognition and justice, not dispossession of ordinary Australians.
Current Movements
While Australia lacks a national treaty, progress is happening at state and territory levels:
Victoria: The First Peoples’ Assembly is negotiating the framework for a treaty, alongside the Yoorrook Justice Commission’s truth-telling.
Northern Territory: Treaty discussions are underway, led by the Barunga Agreement.
Other states: Some are beginning consultations, though progress varies.
These processes are Indigenous-led, showing that treaty is not an abstract dream but a practical pathway already in motion.
Uluru Statement and Treaty
The Uluru Statement from the Heart (2017) calls for three steps: Voice, Treaty, and Truth. The defeat of the Voice referendum in 2023 was a painful setback, but treaty and truth-telling remain on the table.
In fact, many Aboriginal leaders argue treaty is now more urgent than ever – because it addresses sovereignty directly rather than relying on government goodwill.
Treaty as a Shared Future
For non-Indigenous Australians, treaty is not something to fear. It is something to embrace.
It does not mean losing homes or livelihoods.
It does not mean creating division.
It means recognising the oldest continuing cultures on earth, and building a fairer nation for all.
Treaty is not the end of colonisation’s story. But it is a chance to begin writing a new one together.
Why This Matters Today
Without treaty, Australia remains unfinished – a nation that refuses to recognise its First Peoples as sovereign. Treaty is not about the past alone. It is about the future: creating a foundation of respect, justice, and shared responsibility.
Where This Leads
Truth, reparations, and treaty form a three-part path. But reconciliation also requires something deeper: a willingness to imagine a different kind of Australia – one that does not run from its past but is strengthened by honesty.
The next chapter will explore reconciliation itself: what it means, what it is not, and how it can be made real.
Continued tomorrow…
Link to Part 24:
From Ignorance to Understanding: Facing the Truth of Colonisation (Part 24)
Link to Part 26:
From Ignorance to Understanding: Facing the Truth of Colonisation (Part 26)
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