Victoria Coalition Vows to Repeal State Indigenous Treaty if Elected

Victoria's opposition Coalition has pledged to introduce legislation to repeal the state's Indigenous treaty within the first 100 days if it wins the upcoming state election on 28 November. The policy has also drawn a similar pledge from One Nation to overturn the body.

The announcement centers on the electorate of Kew in Melbourne's inner-east, represented by Liberal MP and state opposition leader Jess Wilson. The local seat sits within the federal electorate of Kooyong, which recorded a 59% yes vote in favor of the national Indigenous voice to parliament in the 2023 referendum. Wilson was previously the sole Victorian Liberal MP to publicly support the federal voice proposal.

Formal discussions regarding a Victorian treaty began in 2016 through dialogues between traditional owners and the Labor government led by Daniel Andrews. This process led to the establishment of the First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria in 2019 and the Yoorrook Justice Commission in 2021. The Statewide Treaty Act 2025 subsequently passed state parliament last November, establishing the permanent statutory representative body known as Gellung Warl.

Gellung Warl possesses rulemaking powers over specific matters directly impacting First Nations communities, such as guidelines for trading and sharing existing water entitlements, appointing First Nations representatives to heritage councils, and establishing cultural safety guidelines for voluntary adoption by non-Indigenous agencies. The body does not hold the power to veto policy or legislation, and an independent treaty authority assists in negotiations between traditional owner groups and the state.

Grassroots advocacy groups have responded to the Coalition's election pledge. Anna Langford, a volunteer for the Together for Treaty movement, stated that the prospect of the treaty being dismantled after a decade of development is devastating and concerning.

Local residents have also engaged with the ongoing debate surrounding the treaty. Paris Riebeling, a Kew resident, noted that issues affecting First Nations peoples remain a subject of discussion within the affluent and educated suburb.