Catholic Social Services Victoria has pledged to take meaningful steps to support Victoria’s Treaty processes and has called on all political parties to return to bipartisan support for Treaty in the state.
The call is a key component of CSSV’s reconciliation priorities outlined in its election statement Dignity, Hope and Drawing Closer to the Margins, released ahead of the Victorian state election on November 28.
CSSV said it sees united support and resourcing for Victoria’s Treaty as vital to working for true reconciliation.
“Victoria has taken meaningful steps and invested significant resources over the past decade to realise a more just future for First Peoples,” CSSV council chair Cathy Humphrey said.
“This has been the result of deep listening, consultation and many years of hard work and planning.
“By investing in Australia’s first formal truth-telling process and enacting Australia’s first Treaty with First Peoples, Victoria has led the way in Australia to bring to life the generous invitation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart – to walk together for a better future.”
With the Treaty agreements now in place, and with the new institutions they created now established and functioning, CSSV is calling on the next government of Victoria to continue this good work by fully supporting and resourcing Gellung Warl, the new First Peoples’ representative body, and by enacting all Treaty commitments.
CSSV last week launched its “Treaty Pledge”, committing to supporting and promoting “initiatives that facilitate meaningful dialogue and collaboration between First Peoples and non-Indigenous within the Catholic community in Victoria”.
It also commits to galvanising “collaborative action across its membership network through the operation of the CSSV Reconciliation Working Group”, and to advocate for “policy reforms and legislative changes that promote the dignity of First Peoples and facilitate the implementation of Treaty commitments”.
CSSV is also encouraging other Catholic organisations across Victoria to answer its invitation to walk forward together by making their own pledge of support for Treaty.
Pointing out that bipartisan support for Treaty existed in Victoria until as recently as early 2024, Ms Humphrey said CSSV is calling for a return to this united approach.
“The only way we can build true solidarity with First Peoples is if we work together, putting aside our political differences, and prioritise relationships built on trust,” she said.
“This requires upholding the commitments that Treaty has made, engaging in real dialogue and working actively towards reconciliation.”
FULL STORY
CSSV calls for return to bipartisan support as it launches Treaty Pledge (CSSV)
