Interim Truth and Treaty Body advice received for Path to Treaty next steps

• Queensland’s Interim Truth and Treaty Body (ITTB) has handed its advice to the Queensland Government on the next steps towards establishing the Truth-telling and Healing Inquiry and the First Nations Treaty Institute.
• ITTB advice is part of co-design processes to inform establishment of the Truth-Telling and Healing Inquiry and the First Nations Treaty Institute.
• The advice will help shape the next steps as Queensland continues on its Path to Treaty.

A key milestone has been achieved on Queensland’s Path to Treaty, with the Government receiving advice from the Interim Truth and Treaty Body (ITTB) to inform the establishment of the Truth-telling and Healing Inquiry and the First Nations Treaty Institute.

The ITTB was established in 2022 to lead local truth-telling initiatives and provide independent advice to the Queensland Government on establishment of Path to Treaty structures.

The Path to Treaty Act 2023, passed in May 2023, establishes the legislative framework enabling the Truth-telling and Healing Inquiry and the First Nations Treaty Institute. This landmark Act was co-designed with the ITTB.

Since its establishment, the ITTB has played a vital role in progressing Queensland’s Path to Treaty. The ITTB conducted extensive community consultation across Queensland to capture the many voices of Queenslanders as a basis of this advice.  

This advice will now help the Queensland Government in shaping the next steps as it continues on the path to treaty, truth-telling and healing.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Treaty Leeanne Enoch:

“I thank and congratulate the ITTB for their work over the past year in ensuring that we hear from the voices of communities across Queensland. These perspectives are vital as we finalise the detailed arrangements for the Truth-telling and Healing Inquiry and the First Nations Treaty Institute.

I particularly want to recognise the co-chairs, Cheryl Buchanan and Sally-Anne Atkinson for their vast body of work, not just in this advice received today but also their critical role in the co-design of the Path to Treaty legislation.

“The ITTB’s advice is another step towards preparing to engage in truth-telling and healing, laying the foundations for future treaty-making in Queensland based on the voices of Queenslanders.”

Quotes attributable to the Interim Truth and Treaty Body:

“The advances that we have made in the past year are truly amazing, with the passing of the Path to Treaty Act 2023 – it brings me so much hope,” said Ms Buchanan.

“It’s important to recognise the struggle and advocacy of those who came before us and continue the legacy of our Elders and advocates. But it is equally as important to recognise those who are contributing now – community have played an integral role in what we’ve achieved. Collectively, we are ushering in long awaited change for Queensland.”

“Treaty is about creating the world we want to live in, and the legacy we want to leave our future generations,” said Ms Atkinson.

“At the engagement sessions we’ve been conducting, community have been clear that we need to ‘future proof’ treaties so that the next generations to come can adapt those agreements, to meet our changing times. We need to create positive futures culturally, politically, economically and socially.”

Further information:

• The ITTB is an independent body that engages with the Queensland Government and communities to continue momentum while the First Nations Treaty Institute and the Truth-telling and Healing Inquiry are established.
• Consultation across Queensland by the ITTB has occurred through 21 sessions since March 2023.
• For more information about the Interim Truth and Treaty Body, visit: www.truthandtreatyqld.org.au
• 16 August 2023 signifies the one-year-anniversary of the signing of the Queensland Government’s Path to Treaty Commitment. For more information, visit: www.qld.gov.au/treaty

ENDS

Media contact – Pema Bastin 0422 655 582