Distinguished Professor Maggie Walters, a Palawa woman from lutriwita/Tasmania has been named as one of five commissioners in the historic Aboriginal-led Yoo-rrok Justice Commission in Victoria, the country's first truth-telling process.
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The commission was established by the Victorian government as a formal process into investigating injustices experienced by the Aboriginal community since colonisation - including areas of historical and ongoing injustice such as cultural violations and massacres, policing and criminal justice, child protection, family and welfare matters, health and healthcare as well as other areas of economic, social and political life.
Independent of government and with all the powers of a Royal Commission, Professor Walters said she was looking forward to beginning work as part of the commission - with its first draft report due in 2022.
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"It's a very exciting and somewhat daunting opportunity to be a part of history," she said.
"It is the first time that there will be truth-telling in Australia so it is an amazing opportunity and something that I think will lead to national change."
Professor Walters was chosen alongside four others for the commission, which will help build the foundation of a new relationship between Aboriginal Victorians, the Victorian Government and all Victorians, based on truth and justice to prevent the recurrence of injustice.
"Without truth-telling we can't renegotiate the relationship," she said.
"We have to have truth-telling as the foundation to have a shared understanding of what our history is, what happened during colonisation and how has that impacted on current Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people... and come to a shared agreement of that story, then we can move forward."
She said she would like to see something similar established in Tasmania.
"If ever there was a place that needed a truth-telling commission it is lutriwita/Tasmania," she said.
"Obviously it's not up to me ... but I would hope that some time in the future that the Tasmanian government has the same courage as the Victorian government has had to bring forward a truth-telling commission as part of treaty negotiations."
Yoo-rrook means "truth" in the Wemba Wemba/Wamba Wamba language spoken in parts of Victoria.
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