Recruiting for Yoo-rrook Justice Commission

My interest in the role of Justice Commissioner comes from my long and continued contribution to achieving fair and just outcomes for my people. The establishment of a formal mechanism with the potential to evaluate publicly the underlying causative effects of Colonisation that continue to effect First Peoples lives today is a welcome call. My substantive studies in history and comparative knowledge of how colonisation reflects itself in historic and systemic in justices has grounded my thinking and compassion for understanding and change. I would love to be part of a process that will provide a formal process for listening to the stories of the past in an objective and empathetic manner. By establish ng the first independent truth and justice body in Australia, we have the opportunity to find pathways seeking resolution of historic and systemic injustices. This will contribute to the Treaty process and Reconciliation. It is evident that many similar processes have come and gone with varied outcomes. The empowerment of the Yoo-rrook Justice Commission with Royal Commission authority under the Inquiries Act, 2014 gives substantive weight to the Truth Telling process and my interests in the Justice Commission. The knowledge, skills and experience I bring to the table come from over 50 years dedication and commitment to our struggle for justice and equality before the law. The Cultural Integrity that I bring to the Commission is demonstrated in my track record of achievements. My life’s journey and career path have been strongly influenced by my family and by admirable leaders of the calibre of my great Uncle William Cooper. I carry their cultural values and qualities with great pride as the driving force behind my interests in the role of the Justice Commissioner. My contribution to achieving justice is exemplified in my work in education as Senior Lecturer and Fellow at the University of Melbourne and as a Yorta Yorta Traditional Owner. My role in the Yorta Yorta struggle for land justice that culminated in the Yorta Yorta Native Title Claim, 1994-2002is of profound value to my understanding of land justice and mediation jurisdiction in Australia. I was President of the Koori Heritage Working Group that was successful in achieving major reforms to the Cultural Heritage legislation in 1987. This involved state-wide consultations with Koori communities around Victoria from which we developed a Charter of Heritage rights that were drafted into the 1987 legislation. This experience was a major achievement in empowerment for Aboriginal communities at the State and local level. It also gained wide recognition as a framework for reform measures achieved in other states. These experiences, knowledge and skills are all relevant to current discussions on Land and Treaty based matters. The role of mediating a resolution of the historic and systemic injustices of colonisation that will provide a pathway for an agreeable Treaty outcome for my people is the challenge that I’m up for.

I had no contact with First Peoples until, as a young teenager, I ventured into the Jimmy Sharman Boxing Tent at the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds.  I there witnessed white men pay to fight black men.  It was a formative experience.  There was an overwhelming mutual tension and even fear in the eyes of the combatants.  I knew this went beyond the prospect of being hurt or simply beaten and revealed the deeply troubled relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. I knew I wanted to help make things different, but I did not know how. 

As a young solicitor, I was an intern on the Ti Tree Station land claim in the Northern Territory, close to where the Coniston massacre occurred.  I was driving an Anmatjere elder to the hearing place when we passed a single ancient tree in a wide open plain.  He became tearful and I asked if he was ok.  He told me the tree was his ‘old people’. That statement began my long process of (un)learning about Indigenous peoples and their beautiful, sustaining and unbreakable relationship with each other and country. 

As senior counsel in the Yawuru native title claim in Broome, I set aside an afternoon to speak with an elder about evidence in the case. We did speak at length but not (then) about that.  She spoke only of being secreted away in the bush by her grandfather as a child (with her sibling) to avoid being taken by the government.  She described in detail and with intense feeling the trauma and indignity of living hand to mouth away from her family wearing only hessian bags as clothes six decades earlier.  

My privilege was to listen and to comprehend and to learn the significance of bearing witness to truth. 

As a former justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria, President of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Appeals Tribunal and the Forensic Leave Panel and the present Director of the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, I have felt honoured to be welcomed to country by Traditional Owners and attend ceremonial events led by First Peoples elders. It is always apparent how much is at stake.From their continuing connection with and responsibilities for country and despite all they have endured, they seek to engage with, welcome and educate those who would sincerely recognise the First Peoples and truly respect the land they now share.    

I put myself forward for appointment to the Yoo-rrook Justice Commission as someone who has witnessed racial discrimination against First Peoples; values their traditional knowledges, responsibilities and connection with country; listens with attention and humility when they speak of the continuing trauma of the ill-treatment and dispossession that colonisation has caused; treats the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a foundational document; and, with empathy and legal, administrative and academic expertise, can help realise the human right to Indigenous self-determination through truth-telling and justice in our ongoing treaty-making processes. 

To serve on the Yoo-rrook Commission will be an opportunity to progress truth and justice within Victoria.

The Commission will inquire into all the cultural violations perpetrated upon our people in Victoria. It is my belief that we, Traditional owners in Victoria, for the past 20 years have been on a pathway to seize this opportunity. Opportunities to manage aspects of Cultural Heritage at various governments’ requests and agendas have enabled Traditional Owners to be engaged in the decision-making processes about our heritage. First Peoples now expect meaningful and equal engagement, and the resources to achieve the outcomes needed to maintain our culture and protect our heritage.

I have been fortunate to be part of this journey over the past 20 years. Native Title claims and, the establishment of the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council, have enabled Victorian Traditional Owners to greater responsibilities and more autonomy. Along with the Treaty process, truth telling is a next logical step.

Truth telling will enable our people to change the historical narrative of so-called settlement. Whilst it will be painful and traumatic, it is needed to correct the record. That this country was founded on lies is no longer in dispute, e.g., terra nullius. Therefore it will be very important for the Commission to have access to resources that support the social and emotional wellbeing of participants, staff and the Commission itself.

It is important that appropriate preparation by way of briefings and appropriate staffing about has been learned from other experiences elsewhere in the world. It will be very challenging for all.

It is an opportunity to hear how systemic disadvantage has been perpetrated by the State, its legal systems and of the unfair labour treatment of our people. It will be important to identify ongoing injustices continuing from areas of government.

The Yoo-rrook Commission will provide an opportunity to educate the wider Victorian community as it progresses. The Commission will need to develop a programme to ensure that the community understands its role, responsibilities and timelines. It will be important to ensure that there is awareness among our own people and, a program of public awareness for the general public.

The Yoo-rrook Commission will need to work in a way that is in tandem with the Treaty making process. This should perhaps happen through the identification of specific issues that may arise during the Commission’s work.

I note the reference to the holding events and commemorations; this offers a variety of opportunities for public education and collaborations with many different groups.

It is my belief that truth telling is a next logical step in Victoria in tandem with work towards Treaty/treaties. I believe also that so many more Victorians want to learn more about the true history of settlement of this country. We, in Victoria, can lead the way.

The Yoo-rrook Justice Commission will be a way to share experiences and story’s that are powerful and founded upon survival. As Victoria’s First People our Ancestors inappropriate treatment is yet to be better appreciated by others and only by our own voices can we share with others of the generational trauma’s we have inherited and positively impress upon others of our survival and uniqueness as a people. We are proud and strong in many ways. As a Commissioner I would want to be able to stand beside my people to be the strongest support possible and to though my actions and conduct be another positive example of the abilities of our people to overcome adversity and to act with honour that is leant from our culture and experiences. For societal healing and in fact any healing first it must be acknowledged that wrongs must be made right, and the Justice Commission provides an opportunity to achieve this, but it will not be an easy task, as we will need dig deep into our own challenges as a people. It can be a searching of the soul, to painfully bring to attention of other who we really are, and as humans our own faults, but more importantly the Commission will raise to the consciousness of others their faults, and at this significant time in history they will have the opportunity to realise the inappropriate treatment of Victoria’s First People’s and we would hope that they can become better people because of what we share is truth and we can all heal as a people. I have lifelong experiences as a First Nations person and have worked across many roles for our rights to be properly recognised, I feel humbled to have played a positive part already, and my conduct hasn’t been without its own trauma to me, but I feel very capable and resilient to continue a journey to a better future standing beside my people. There is never necessarily a right time to address our disadvantage as a people, it has been with us since the beginning of new comers arriving here, but at this time we seize this opportunity through Truth Telling to give our voice stronger than ever because others have decided it is time to listen.

I have worked in legal advocacy and education for Indigenous rights for over 30 years, since my first legal job as a research assistant on the Mabo case with my father the late Ron Castan.  

As the granddaughter of Jewish refugees who fled and survived genocidal persecution in the Second World War, I have a deep personal understanding of the context, importance and impact of truth-telling as a form of institutional justice, and its role in education and healing. As an active member of the Melbourne Jewish community, involved in social justice organisations, I have the trust and respect of my community, and I am often sought out for advice on personal, professional, ethical and educational issues. 

My work and experience have taught me to conduct appropriate legal advocacy and research with First Peoples communities. This work is for the benefit of communities, informed by their needs and their control of their knowledge.  

I have used my skills to advocate for the re-examination of the laws, policies and processes of the western legal systems from the perspective of the impact upon First Peoples who have lived experience and suffered the effects of these systems. The current legal frameworks perpetuate the mistakes, abuses and fictions of the British-Australian settler system, and without fundamental re-setting of proper legal relations, we will continue the cycles of dispossession, colonisation and trauma.  

My work considers Indigenous legal rights and responses of the Australian legal system to contested claims. My doctoral thesis Competing frameworks for Indigenous recognition: International, Australian and Victorian approaches examined international human rights standards for Indigenous peoples in Australian, federal and Victorian law. It considered key claims to Indigenous rights, of self-determination and cultural protection, under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. I examined the constitutional recognition of Indigenous rights, and rights in the Victorian Charter. I understand the legal features of Free Prior and Informed Consent, genocide, decolonisation, transitional justice, government system reform, as well as the work of official inquiries and of historical record keeping.  

As a University legal educator, and having been deeply involved in the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law at the Monash Law Faculty, I have very strong skills in educating, promoting, and motivating law reform and social change. I understand the necessity and importance of providing outcomes and publications for diverse audiences. I am experienced at communication of formal research. I can present policy ready recommendations, and communicate to stakeholders and the general public through accessible materials, social media, and presentations in person and online. 

I bring a strong sense of professional skill and expertise as well as deep personal integrity, affinity and respectful work with First Peoples communities.  

I am enthused and encouraged by the formal establishment of the truth telling process in the Yoo-rrook Justice Commission as part of the wider work to achieve justice for Victorian Aboriginal people and communities. It would be an honour to serve as a Yoo-rrook Justice Commissioner. 

We have a once in a lifetime opportunity to assemble an official record of grave injustices inflicted
upon our people. Many of our Victorian counterparts are unaware of the extent of frontier violence,
dispossession, and genocidal practices. The Yoo-rrook Justice Commission will compel us to stand up
to our shared history, and face it with courage. The truth will not be comfortable, but it will help
liberate us. To bear witness to our people’s truth creates a duty to act upon it. Our people, more
than ever, are being affected by state interventions. The Commission must address the ongoing
effects of colonisation.
I’m a Gunditjmara man with Djab Wurrung, Kirrae Wurrung, Boon Wurrung, Wemba Wemba, and
Taungurung ancestry. I’m a human rights lawyer with over a decade of experience in litigation,
government policy, child protection and youth justice. Over the years, I’ve volunteered with
countless community groups and causes. I’ve fought for Aboriginal rights, and against the
destruction of our cultural heritage. I have a deep passion for history and justice, and a strong will to
tackle the systemic forces that affect our daily lives.
Growing up on the Framlingham Aboriginal Settlement, I was incensed at learning the stories of
violence, dispossession, and assimilation. I’ve travelled the country and our stories are not dissimilar
from those across all our nations. I have found pride in the struggle of our old people, the progress
our communities in Victoria made, and the battle for autonomy, land rights and justice. I have been
strengthened by our cultural resurgence, and our people’s ability to adapt and thrive. Our resistance
was, and always will be, our shield against oppressive forces.
More recently I’ve been leading the Our youth, our way inquiry, a statewide investigation into the
over-representation of Aboriginal young people in the youth justice system. I’ve been privileged to
hear the voices of young people across Victoria who shared their stories with me. Their stories of
survival and resilience are extraordinary. The inquiry report, along with a possum skin cloak
entwined with those young people’s stories, will be presented to parliament this year.
I strive to lead a life deeply in line with community values. Those are the values of the strong leaders
that have come before me, including the long line of activists in my bloodlines. I love my people, and
self-determination is my priority. The Commission must be shaped and guided by the community,
and must do justice to community voices. It must honour our ancestors legacy. If selected, I will treat
the office of Commissioner with the integrity it deserves, and the utmost respect for every person
involved.
I have faith that Yoo-rrook will lay a stake in historical denialism, shine a light on ignorance, repair
our dignity, and pave the way for a united future. It will assist people in Victoria to reimagine what it
means be a part of this country. To quote the wise words of Uncle Jim Berg, ‘you don’t know where
you’re going unless you know where you’ve been’.

My name is Philip Cooper and I am a proud descendent of the Yorta Yorta, Mutti Mutti, WambaWamba/Wemba Wemba, Dja Dja Wurrung and Taungurung peoples. I was born on the 24thNovember 1950, around 162 years after the invasion. In my 70 years of life I have seen the injustices inflicted upon our people and I am submitting my expression of interest to be involved with the Yoo-rrook Justice Commission to hear my peoples truth-telling so that injustices of the past are acknowledged and recognized. Let me tell you a bit about my personal background. I am the third child of six and have two sisters and three brothers. My mother and father wanted to keep us out of reach of the welfare system as they didn’t want us to be part of the stolen generation. This meant that every six to twelve months we would have to move, sometimes all together as a family and sometimes separately. We would be sent to our aunties, uncles, grandparents or cousins until our parents would pick us up and move to another place eg living as fringe dwellers in bag humpies and dirt floors on the river banks. We lived or passed through at least eight Aboriginal reserves/missions from Lake Tyers Victoria to Brewarrina NSW and attended about 13 schools throughout Victoria and NSW throughout my childhood. I’m now the proud father of six children, eleven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Throughout my life I have experienced and seen the injustices that were perpetrated against our people. The trauma inflicted on Aboriginal people since colonization is still significantly felt today and has impacted on our health, welfare, education, culture and social and emotional wellbeing. I have worked in Aboriginal affairs for over 40 years and believe I have a strong background in representing Aboriginal people and communities at a state and national level, working in areas ranging from education, justice and family violence. Over the last 18years I have been employed as the Community Development Officer at VACSAL. Much of my work has centred on advocating and liaising with community members, organisations, the police, government department and mainstream services on Aboriginal community issues. I believe my strength lies in my ability to communicate and engage with people, whether it be with my Mob, government officials or mainstream organisations. The Yoo-rrook Justice Commission will provide a way for our people’s voices to be heard and listened to. I always say that everybody has a story and if given the opportunity to be on the Commission will ensure their stories are captured in a culturally sensitive and respectful manner. No matter how hard these stories may be to hear, every story needs to be heard. It is my hope that this truth-telling process will demonstrate our people’s courage, resilience, revival, survival and achievements. It is also my hope that this process will lead to a Treaty in Victoria.

I believe, and always have, that reconciliation, and a treaty, between Australia’s First Peoples and non -Indigenous Australia, are vitally important for this nation- both as a matter of justice for its First Peoples, and as critical steps towards full national maturity. Truth telling is a key part of achieving this. Truth-telling is a cathartic and healing process. It promotes awareness and education, can build strong foundations for reconciliation and has the potential to galvanise popular support for the just settlement still missing from Victoria’s (and Australia’s) history.  

I would bring to the role of Commissioner a long professional and personal history of engagement with indigenous Australians and their communities – mainly but not exclusively in Victoria and the Northern Territory. Having served as a magistrate,  Chief Magistrate and State Coroner I would also bring extensive judicial experience to the role.  Independent decision-making is crucial and believe I have a good reputation for fairness, impartiality and objectivity. I have been a strong supporter of non-adversarial modes of doing justice and this would be the approach of the Yoo-rrook Commission.  

My work as a Coroner, as a magistrate, and in post-conflict East Timor have given me a high level of awareness of the issues confronting those dealing with trauma and loss.  Empathy, sensitivity and attentive listening will be vitally necessary in the work of the Commission and I am confident I have those qualities. I have been exposed to, and am familiar with the systemic disadvantages that have typified the lives of many aboriginal people. As Chief Magistrate I attended Courts across Victoria, including the Koori Court. This work deepened my understanding of Koori life and experience in our state. 

It will be important for the Commission to gain the trust and support of non -indigenous Victoria and education of the wider Victorian community will be a key challenge. My time as a member of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation gave me a clear appreciation of the need to promote awareness in the wider Australian community of Aboriginal  traditions and cultures.   

I have the leadership experience, and the communication skills, to help fulfil the public awareness mandate of the Yoo-rrook Commission. A better educated Victorian community – one with an enhanced understanding of the history of Victorian colonisation, and the issues confronting today’s First Peoples communities, will be a measure of success of the Commission.  

It would be a privilege to contribute as a Commissioner to the work of the  Yoo-rrook Justice Commission. 

Dr Victoria Grieve Williams from the Warraimaay people of the midnorth coast of NSW, would join the Yoo-rrook Justice Commission with a distinguished track record as an Aboriginal historian who is engaged with decolonisation and truth telling.   

She is a Hons 1 graduate with a double major in history (UNSW 1981) and PhD from the Macquarie University (2010). She has published on Aboriginal spirituality and Aboriginal philosophy, underlining the value that Aboriginal people bring to the Australian nation and its creative, social and political life. Her range of publications are also in the areas of - Aboriginal family history, the history wars, the history of Aboriginal public policy in Australia, Aboriginal activism - and the imperative to decolonise.  

Dr Grieve Williams, appointed as Professor at the RMIT University, is a highly trained historian, familiar with the archive and with the systems required to document and preserve the testimonies of the Aboriginal people of Victoria through the Yoo-rrook Justice Commission. She is familiar with a great deal of the extensive history of the Aboriginal people of Victoria that has been published and that will provide some of the context to this Commission. However, in searching for the history of Victorian Aboriginal people, nothing can be as important as the testimonies of the people themselves whereby they tell their truth. This is an historic opportunity in itself, promising to be a watershed moment in the relationship between  Aboriginal people and the settler colonial state. 

Importantly, Victoria understands contemporary theories of history that connect the impact of colonisation with the major issues confronting us in the present, including intergenerational trauma. The seemingly intractable poor state of Aboriginal health, housing, education, employment and associated systemic injustices has its roots in the colonisation of the people and the associated racist segregation policies of successive governments. 

In her publications she has recognised and documented that full citizenship rights are not enjoyed by Aboriginal people, identifying the transnationally recognised “state of exception to the modern democratic state” as applying to the Indigenous people of Australia. This underlines the need for truth telling and decolonisation. She has strong transnational connections with other Indigenous scholars who also recognise the fact of historical trauma through racism, colonisation and slavery, and the need for reparations. 

Victoria is familiar with the issues that beset Aboriginal people on a day-to-day basis from her own life experience and that of the men and women of her generation. She has had to navigate the demands of single parenthood and the development of a career within a settler colonial society that has terra nullius enshrined in its constitution. She is in touch with younger generations who also suffer intergenerational trauma in this the 21st century. 

Victoria has been fortunate to have had close friendships with senior men and women through Aboriginal health and education networks who have supported and encouraged her. She has been an active member of the Aboriginal community of NSW as a teacher at Tranby College, as a member of the local branches of the NSW Aboriginal Land Council and as CEO of the Biripi Aboriginal Medical Service located in her country, on the midnorth coast of NSW.  

Victoria would also bring to this Commission a wealth of experience and relationships with Aboriginal people in every state and territory, from appointments with the Commonwealth government developing education policy and programs, including as the inaugural Indigenous Liaison Officer with the Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman.  

Dr Victoria Grieve Williams would be honoured to have the opportunity to serve as a Commissioner on the Yoo-rrook Justice Commission and contribute to the futures of the Aboriginal people of the state of Victoria.  Working with other Commissioners as valued colleagues, she would participate in delivering recommendations as a blueprint for the future relationships between the Aboriginal people of Victoria, governments and citizens. 

Genocide and ongoing colonisation have given us, as First Peoples, an inheritance of trauma. The trauma of being refugees on our own lands. The trauma when our families and communities are left shouldering the burden of generations of suffering and wrongdoing.

The Victorian government has expressed a desire for Treaty. As a proud Wurundjeri and Ngurai Illum Wurrung woman, I will bring my foundation of cultural knowledge and my skills as a recognised leader in trauma and healing practices to this truth-telling process.

My Elder Aunty Diane Kerr has nominated me to be a Yoo-rrook Commissioner. I’m honoured by her trust.

Through decades on the front-line in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child and family services, I’m experienced in holding space for our people to speak and be heard. I’ve seen the pain and dislocation that occur when we are separated from our families and culture. I’ve seen the scars carried from one generation to the next.

We conduct truth-telling so our children don’t have to carry the weight of the past into their futures.

I’ve seen the transformative power of our culture. As beneficiaries of ancient wisdom, we can draw on our heritages to heal and restore justice to unjust legacies through the Commission process. I am guided by those who came before me: my ancestors, my Elders and my community.

This is the foundation of my work and research in developmental, transgenerational and community trauma.

I’m the National Sector Development Manager for SNAICC and Co-Chair of the Family Matters campaign to end the over-representation of our children in out-of-home care. I’m internationally recognised for my research in using culture to heal trauma.

Within my family obligations, I practice culture with Djirri Djirri. As Custodians of Narrm (Melbourne), we ensure the flow of knowledge to the next generations. We dance to honour our Liwik (Ancestors), Kerr-up-non (Family), Biik (Country) and animals.

Non-Indigenous people seek me out to represent our communities, leading to regular invitations to speak in the media and at mainstream events such as the March 4 Justice. This means I can assist our communities in taking non-Indigenous people on this journey with us, as we work for the truth and justice that will heal our trauma.

The Yoo-rrook Justice Commission would be an extension of my work and cultural practice. My nomination comes from the resolve to ensure that people sharing their truth are not re[1]traumatised, but feel empowered as they contribute to the path towards restorative justice.

I commit to ensure that people engaging with the Commission know their words will not only be heard but be acted on, to create justice for our community. I ask you to trust me to do this.

Our people have waited a long time to have our stories heard. It will be a painful, but necessary process for all Victorians to hear the truth. With a shared understanding of our history, we can move together, towards a better future where Aboriginal sovereignty and self-determination are recognised and upheld.

My name is Aunty Diane Kerr and I am a proud descendent of the Wurundjeri Tribe. 

I am applying for Commissioner of the Yoo-rrook Justice Commission as an Elder to the community and Traditional Owner Elder. 

As a member of the 2018 Victorian Aboriginal Treaty Working group, it was my honour to sign the letter that was sent to the Victorian Premier request the start of Treaty negotiations within Victoria that lead to the establishment of the current Treaty Commission. To be a part of the Justice Commission that will work alongside Treaty for me is a true moment in time that can assist the healing of our community. 

I believe that my varied past employment, committees, voluntary positions that I have been a part of have provide me with a variety of life experiences, knowledge and community connection that will allow me to support the terms, processes, and work of the Justice Commission. 

I believe that through my regular interaction with our Victorian community organisation and members, practicing lore and cultural practices every day, I can provide community values and voice to the Justice Commission processes and recommendations. 

My name is Judy (Ahmat) McDonald, I am a proud Gunditjmara woman, a descendent of Susannah McDonald on my mum’s side and I am of polish heritage on my dad’s side. I have four beautiful adult daughters and eleven gorgeous grandchildren who help me to keep grounded, connected and balance. I have been working in the North East of Victoria since 1991 and since starting my business I have been working state-wide but lately I have made a sea change to live and work on Country in the South West of Victoria.

In 2015, I was honoured to be inducted into the Victorian Aboriginal Honour roll which I was described by the Wodonga Aboriginal Network who nominated me to be ‘a community leader with passion and vision’. I have completed the Alpine Valleys Community Leadership Program (2018) and currently I am doing the Meereeng 50 a Victorian Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander small business accelerated program and the Women’s Board accelerated program to further develop my capability, skills, and knowledge to be able to advocate actively for change within systems, legislation, and the constitution.

I am currently serving on the following Boards, advisory and council, they include:

• Kinaway Chamber of Commerce Victoria Ltd (Treasurer)
• North East Catchment Management Authority
• Victorian Aboriginal Women’s Leadership Advisory Group
• Victorian Aboriginal Employment & Economic Council

I have worked for over 35 years as a senior social worker, researcher, project worker, board directorships and business owner. I have worked in clinical, program, project, and management positions to navigate systems, improve service delivery, and work with individuals, families, and communities to prosper and be self-determining. I love working with the Victorian Aboriginal community to create change and opportunities for now and into the future.

I have worked in non-for-profit organisations, private sector, and Government departments, where I have experienced and witnessed cultural destructiveness, cultural incapacity, cultural blindness, lateral violence, nepotism, isolation, and discrimination. In saying this, my Elders have taught me to rise above these issues so that I can be the best person I can be by providing support and working through the tough issues to identify solutions that support community cohesion.

I graduated in 1995 to achieve a Bachelor of Social Work (La Trobe University) as a mature age student; I return 20 years later to undertake a Master of Social Work – research (postgraduate – LaTrobe University) as a mature age student. The research I undertook was ‘the intergenerational impact of government policies and administration on a Gunditjmara family – loss and grief’.

In 2017 I was awarded a Doctorate of Letters (LaTrobe University Bundoora) for my long-standing leadership and service.

There have been several campaigns over many years that have worked towards social justice, equity and to improve access to services for Aboriginal Victorians which will contribute to the truth telling process. However, prior to considering Treaty in Victoria there needs to be an opportunity for Aboriginal Victorians to tell their stories, their family’s stories, and their ancestors’ stories to ensure their voice is heard that meet the needs of Aboriginal Victorians. This will contribute to understanding the intergenerational impact of past and current government policies and administrations and to acknowledge the resilience of many who have survived through the hardship and struggles. 

When I heard about the Yoo-rrook Justice Commission my peers and community leaders encouraged me to express an interest in one of the Commissioner roles. I want to be part of this work as it is close to my heart. I would be honoured and privileged to be one of the Commissioners and be part of the Yoo-rrook Justice Commission to build upon the work achieved by our Elders and community leaders. If I am a successful candidate, I will make an obligation to all Aboriginal Victorians that their voices will be heard, and the Yoo-rrook Justice Commission operates according the letters patent to be established and the objectives (ambitious and historic) are achieved.

In my life and working in Aboriginal human rights, I frequently witness human rights violations and lack of understanding and commitment to Indigenous people. What has happened in Victoria with the establishment of the Yoo-rrook Justice Commission gives us all great hope and should be applauded. We can and must do better and the significance of truth telling lies at the heart of our journey as Indigenous people. For decades I have been inspired by Victoria, the leadership of the Aboriginal people and also the responsivity of the Victoria government. It would be a great honour to be considered for a legal role in the Commission and be a part of the historic Yoo-rrook Justice Commission.  

I come from the Noongar people and am descended from traditional people of the Kurin Minang nation in the south east of West Australia. I grew up in the city and was raised in the local Noongar community with Aboriginal family, and in a vibrant community of Aboriginal activism. My working life began in Aboriginal radio, but I studied law to improve Aboriginal justice and human rights. I have specialised in human rights law and have been working in the area of Aboriginal human rights for more than 25 years. In 2020 I was appointed to the UN Permanent Forum for Indigenous Issue in recognition of this considerable experience. I will bring my specialised human rights expertise to the role if appointed. I am also an experienced tribunal member having worked for more than a decade in federal and state tribunals, undertaking complex legal inquiries and making a great many legal decisions.  

All my life I have cared for my community and people, as evidenced by my significant engagement in human rights, social justice advocacy, community development work, litigation and law reform. I am active in Indigenous rights research and was appointed an Associate Professor at Curtin Law School in 2021. I’ve also supported many important Aboriginal human rights cases and am regarded as a senior Aboriginal human rights lawyer.  

I know what has been done to Victorian Aboriginal people and communities has been profoundly traumatic, and the role will be very challenging for this reason. I am committed to cultural safety and trauma informed approaches. I have worked in the mental health sector as a tribunal member, was a board member of the Healing Foundation and also hold a post graduate certificate in ‘Global mental health, trauma and recovery’ from Harvard.  

I have never shied away from the truth and the need for society to come to terms with its treatment of Aboriginal people and address systemic and structural discrimination and inequality impacting Aboriginal people today. If appointed, I will undertake this great responsibility with respect always acknowledging I am a visitor to your lands and country.  

Thank you for considering my interest in the Yoo -rrook Justice Commission.  

It is important for us as Victorians to hear and, then, understand the effects of colonisation on the lives of Indigenous Victorians. As a community which aspires to the values of equity and fairness, we can build on that understanding to plan a way forward to address the inequity and unfairness which is has come from that past. 

I hope that my skills and experience can be utilised to contribute to the building of that way forward. 

My experience and skills align with the work of the Yoo-rrook Justice Commission. The Commission will listen to the voices of Indigenous Victorians telling about their lived experience of the effects of colonisation. The Commission will examine and analyse the laws, policies, and practices that impacted on Indigenous Victorians. The result will be the basis for preparing an official record of the impact of colonisation on the Indigenous peoples of Victoria, and recommendations to address the wrongs of the past and improve relations between Indigenous Victorians and the State of Victoria through building a shared history for all Victorians. The Commission will also publicise and inspire the Victorian public about the truth telling process. 

Much of my time as a judge of the Federal Court of Australia between 1995 and 2018 was spent listening to Indigenous voices telling of their history, culture, and law, and how their lives had been impacted by settlement. In particular, following lengthy hearings, I made the Native Title Determinations in the Victorian applications of the Gunditjmara and the Gunai Kurnai peoples. Further, as the Victorian List Judge I case managed all the native title applications in Victoria for most of the years I served on the Court and, through that process, had regular contact with the Victorian applicants.  

Each of the many native title cases which I heard in Victoria and Western Australia was finalised by a written judgement which analysed the evidence, including evidence of the laws, government policies, and testimony of the Indigenous witnesses. It was a privilege to be one of about three or four judges mainly responsible for developing native title jurisprudence in the first two decades of the operation of the Native Title Act.  

Listening to the stories of the Indigenous people required me to develop culturally sensitive and trauma informed ways of conducting hearings. Further, as an additional judge of the ACT Supreme Court I regularly sat on criminal appeals where the effects of societal disadvantage were displayed in almost every case. 

 A trauma informed approach has also been necessary in my current role as Chair of the Victorian Law Reform Commission since 2019, and particularly in consulting with victim/survivors of sexual offending – the present major project of the Victorian Law Reform Commission. The work of the Victorian Law Reform Commission is to analyse laws and policies with a view to making recommendations to government for improvement – a function also provided to the Yoo-rrook Justice Commission. 

I have been intimately concerned with matters associated with First Nations communities, identity, and land, over the course of my career. The Yoo-rrook Justice Commission presents an opportunity to bring together all the many things I have learned over the course of my working life, and contribute to a formalised process of documentation and recognition of the experience of First Nations people in Victoria.  

I have worked with First Nations People since 1974 and I continue to do so, as a solicitor, barrister, Judge and now as an Adjunct Professor / Visiting Scholar. I was employed as a solicitor with both the Central and Northern Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Services (CAALAS and NAALAS). As a barrister and later Senior Counsel, I was briefed: 

• By the Central and Northern Land Councils to act on behalf of claimants before the Aboriginal Land Commissioner in Land Claims; 
• By Native Title representative bodies and legal firms to act for claimants in Native Title trials; and 
• To appear for First Nations people in criminal trials by various Aboriginal Legal Aid services.  

That work, and in particular the Land Claims and Native Title work, has directly involved the exploration and documentation of cultures and traditions of, and frontier violence experienced by, First Nations people. This was particularly important as part of establishing the customs and traditions of the claimant groups as evidence in hearings and land claim inquiries before the Aboriginal Land Commissioner and the Courts. I have learned first-hand of the experience and history of First Nations people in Victoria, the Northern Territory and a number of other States throughout Australia. As such, I have particular expertise in convening meetings and discussing complex matters relevant to legal cases in a variety of circumstances and contexts, and an acute understanding of the importance of cultural competence and sensitivity in listening to people talk about personal matters for the first time before a court or tribunal.  

I have served on a number of Committees over 30 years that have equipped me with knowledge about First Nations people in Victoria. Those committees include the Koorie Trust, the Stolen Generations committee, Tarwirri, and various legally focussed groups.  

As a barrister and Judge, I have witnessed the systemic disadvantage that First Nations people often endure in the Courts system. I have sought to address those matters in various capacities over the years, including involvement in the introduction of the Koorie County Court, a major step in addressing that disadvantage.  

The significance of the Yoo-Rrook Justice Commission and what it has the capacity to achieve, is part of the necessary process that will lead inexorably to a treaty or treaties with First Nations people.  

Throughout my career I have held senior positions in both the community and public sectors. I have held appointments to statutory authorities and advisory bodies, all of which require interface with Aboriginal communities and organisations at the local, state and national levels. These roles required meetings with government ministers, senior bureaucrats and Indigenous leaders. An essential element was the ability to be impartial and objective and free of external influences. A key aspect of many of the roles included respectfully conveying knowledge and understanding of aspirations for place-based community development across the breadth of our diverse communities.  

Throughout my career, I have held a role in education the broader community about our Aboriginal Culture, history and achievements along with the enduring legacy of colonisation and dispossession, dislocation and dispersal from our traditional lands. The far-reaching effects of past government policies that served pre-determined our futures and the ongoing effects of systemic injustices,. We are familiar with the devastating effects of the Stolen Generation that touched many, if not all our families, however the historic records point to the removal of our children from the earliest days of colonisation. Break-up of families, loss of connection to Country, lack of educational opportunity for cultural continuity through upholding our traditional values and Belief System. I am aware of the impact of diminished social and emotional wellbeing and advocate for a therapeutic approach to repair the harm. 

I am committed to the education of our younger generation to hold onto Culture whilst having the knowledge, skills and ability to “Walk in Both Worlds”. I am equally committed to the education of the broader community about the true history of the impact of past injustices on Australia’s First People.  

As an educator I am keenly aware of the lack of Aboriginal history and culture and the effects of colonisation in the Australian Curriculum and the resulting effect of lack of this critical education on current and future decision-maker. To address the ‘gap’ in available education and resources and draw on the ‘lived experience’ of Elders, I have worked to establish an Aboriginal Resource Centre and Professional Learning institute at Victoria’s only Aboriginal school, Worawa Aboriginal College.  

I am co-author of Yorta Yorta Language Heritage, author of the Aboriginal Oral History of the Flats, designer of the Worawa Dreaming Trail and developer of the History Walk. I am currently working with the parliament of Victoria Education Committee, in this creation of the soon to be launched “Change Makers” education resource for schools which highlights the achievements of individual s who made significant change In our community, I strongly believe in “Telling our Story”. I am firm believer in the right to Self-Determination.  

The Yoo-rrook Justice Commission is a once in a lifetime opportunity for Aboriginal people in Victoria to tell their truth about how invasion and colonisation continue to shape our lives. From the atrocities committed against our Ancestors at first contact to the continuing devastation of deaths in custody that we mourn today, this is a chance to be heard and to heal where so many of us have been silenced for too long.   

I’m a Yorta Yorta woman with Indian heritage, born on Wurundjeri Country, and have lived most of my life on Naarm. My identity has shaped my experiences over my 46 years. It is these experiences, with my skills and knowledge that I want to bring to the role of Commissioner, to support our community in its continued journey of self-determination and starting to truly understand, and deal with the entrenched reality of colonisation.   

I am a qualified and admitted lawyer, with excellent research, analytical and communication skills. But before any formal training in the laws imposed on this country, my first teacher was my mother, Aunty Diane Singh (her parents were Wilma Day and Kelvin Walker) who, using culture and empathy, guided me as a child and teenager, into who I am today. She also instilled in me the lifelong love of learning and belief in the possibility of change. I’ve practised in criminal and human rights law, representing people from many different backgrounds at organisations such as the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service and Victoria Legal Aid. I’ve used my skills to help people find their voice, in systems that are not designed for them, but impact them in grossly disproportionate ways.   

Being the inaugural Associate Director, Aboriginal Services at Victoria Legal Aid, I’ve led cultural organisational change in the biggest provider of legal services in the state. I’ve worked to ensure that as an organisation responsible for representing so many marginalised people, it improved the way it works with, and for, Aboriginal communities and individuals, as staff and clients. I’ve used my voice to educate people through training, public speaking and media about the impact of colonisation that led to the disadvantage far too many in our community live with daily, using both knowledge and empathy to understand our experiences.   

As Commissioner I would contribute new perspectives, drawing on my lived experiences as well as apply strong critical thinking skills, and legal training. Working with other Commissioners, I would also strive to ensure the outcomes of the Commission were action oriented, driving enduring and systemic change. This includes reducing the over representation of Aboriginal people in the criminal justice system and as victims of family violence, as well as improving health, education, housing, and economic participation.  This is a critical point in time, to educate the broader community, contribute to our community’s healing, and is strongly positioned to lead its own journey of self-determination.   

I am from the Krauatungalung people of the Gunai Nation, the traditional owners of Lake Tyers, as well as the Clarke and Lovett families of Framlingham, both in Victoria. My Tribal law is Bunjil and Boorans, unceded sovereign Eagle and Pelican totem law. Our law and culture demands that the Truth be told; that’s why our peoples have survived so long. We know what that means to live in a society that upholds those principles and we know what it means when we don't. Without the Truth we are all demeaned and diminished. 

The monumental lie and act of unutterable shame "terra nullius" needs to be replaced with the simple act of truth and justice. 

The truth commission gives us the chance to deal with the unfinished business, and the implementation of the fundamental peremptory legal norms of international customary law, addressing the lies with an accurate and truthful account. It’s an opportunity to right the wrongs; something I've been working towards all of my adult life: truth and a peace-making treaty.  

Every year on Invasion Day I have rallied to ask the question, ‘Was this country peacefully settled or invaded?’ I’ve been at all the Deaths in Custody rallies: this is my history of activism, trying to make people aware of the simple legal issues that remain unfinished in this country. This has all been done without resources and at times when it was not at all popular. 

I have a demonstrated lifelong commitment to the pursuit of Aboriginal legal rights, decolonization, reconciliation, transitional justice and truth-telling. This includes the Koori Cultural Heritage Working Group in the mid-1980s which led to the reform of the Relics Act; direct action forest and land rights campaigns; a sustained programme of genocide litigation and outspoken advocacy around the fundamental issues Genocide Sovereignty and Treaty. I have pursued grassroots reconciliation through along with key allies in the Anglo and multicultural communities and on a more systemic level through the Pay The Rent concept.  

My lifetime dedication to our peoples’ cause has at times been to the detriment of my own family and health; certainly my financial wellbeing has been entirely sacrificed to this cause and I believe it is this that best underscores community confidence in my impartiality: there is no external party who has ever had the least influence over what I say; and my moral character has always been demonstrated by my fearlessness. 

Over the past nearly 2 decades I have worked on independent media production through 3CR community radio which I regard as truly community-controlled and independent. The opportunity to speak with and listen to hundreds of grassroots local people who I have interviewed over that time has kept me fully connected to our people’s experiences of colonization and the trauma that we go through. Media production continues to be a powerful vehicle for me in sharing the beauty, the pain and the resilience of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lives and struggles. 

Truth telling is an essential prerequisite: for social, cultural and political justice, to begin the healing of trauma; for a true reckoning of our history and its ongoing present-day impacts; and most critically for any chance of a different future, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and for the nation. The Yoo-rrook Justice Commission provides an unparalleled opportunity to begin this critical  truth telling process in Victoria.  

I am Palawa, a member of the Tasmanian Briggs family, descending from the Pairrebenne People of the North East Nation. I am an active member of my community and am known as a someone who is honest, reliable, empathetic with high degree of personal and professional integrity. These attributes are recognised in my community. For example, I was chosen as a facilitator at the 2017 Referendum Council Tasmanian consultations and later was honoured to attend the Uluru Convention as a Palawa representative.  

I am an academic, a Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the University of Tasmania. My integrity and impartiality in official roles are demonstrated by many years of prominent service on high level committees. For example, I currently Chair the Indigenous Evaluation Committee at NIAA, providing independent advice to ensure Indigenous values are at the centre of the Agency’s policy evaluation program and hold a similar role with the Department of Aboriginal Affairs in NSW. I am also currently facilitating VOICE Community Consultations in Tasmania and Victoria.  

I would bring two unique contributions to the Yoo-rrook Justice Commission.  

1. I am a leading expert in systemic disadvantage and its causes in Australia with an extensive track record of more than 20 years of scholarship and advocacy. My work produces the empirical evidence to challenge accepted understandings of why Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples are so disadvantaged. I align these with theoretical alternatives to the discourses of Indigenous deficit still common in the research literature and still reproduced in policy. My publications including Inequality in Australia: Discourses, Realities and Directions (with D. Habibis OUP 2008; 2nd edition 2014), and more than 100 refereed journal articles and research chapters (see curriculum vitae) significantly related to the field of systemic Indigenous disadvantage.   
    
2. I am a leader in the increasingly important area of Indigenous data and Indigenous Data Sovereignty/Governance, which advocates for Indigenous rights in the creation and use of data about us.  My activities include being a founding member of the Maiam nayri Wingara Australian Indigenous Data Sovereignty Collective (see maiamnayriwingara.org) and co-founder of the Global Indigenous Data Alliance (see GIDA-Global.org). This is an active role. In 2018, I co-convened an Indigenous Data Sovereignty Summit. More than 50+ Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander attendees from academia, peak bodies and the public service collaborated to produce a set of highly regarded Indigenous data governance protocols for Australia, (see Summit Communique). I will co-convene a 2nd Summit in October 2021.  

As an Australian whose family was displaced by war but who grew up as a beneficiary of colonisation, my life has been shaped by both violence and privilege. As a non-Aboriginal Australian, it is my responsibility to be part of an accountability process. I am a ‘hyphenated Australian’: as a Cypriot-Australian, my original society was divided by colonisation, nationalism and inter-community distrust and hatred. Because of this, I was driven to understand and address the ruptures in my own family and origin-country, and to understand how the deeper, silenced, truths buried by war and division could help build a stronger, more honest, society. As part of this mission I built expertise across multiple areas: first in political institutions that can increase inclusion and cooperation, and then in public law, specialising in forced disappearance, and parallel to this, in the field of transitional justice. In the past thirteen years I have worked alongside survivors and their families, activists, practitioners, politicians, civil society actors, and academics in Cyprus, and subsequently in Lebanon, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kenya, Guatemala and Tunisia. Over this time, I have led initiatives with many different communities across the world, each with their own unique histories and experiences of injustice, but all brought together by a focus on honest, collaborative, listen-first and talk-second efforts towards justice. My knowledge and expertise are informed by a deep commitment to creating more inclusive, trustful, and honest approaches to confronting structural and political violence. The role of a Commissioner is to empathetically and impartially inquire into these lived experiences and, through trust and listening, to begin to reveal the spaces where transformation can become possible. I bring to this group of Commissioners a deep, lived knowledge of how societal transformation has happened in other contexts in which I have worked, but also as importantly, of how and where they can flounder. I know the multigenerational process of hearing, struggling with, rejecting, and honouring truth, and from that, creating change. I know that this process is not linear and neat. Painful memories and distrust run deep where there has been a legacy of systemic violations and ongoing injustices. As a Commissioner I would bring a unique combination of expertise as a practitioner-academic with both depth and breadth of experience in transitional justice and social change. I have worked with many different communities who have histories of violence to achieve deep and lasting positive changes. I have also extended beyond my own field of expertise by partnering with educators, artists, historians, business and political leaders to apply a holistic approach to re-creating more inclusive societies. As a Yoo-rrook Commissioner, I would use my integrity, my empathy, my expertise and my experience in working with communities and people impacted by injustice to hold spaces open for people to represent themselves and to speak for themselves in their full power and in safety, to bring these experiences together to tell a more whole story of this Country.