British colonists in what is now the Australian state of Victoria committed genocide, crimes and humanity against the indigenous population from the moment they arrived in 1834, according to a landmark commission which reported its findings on Tuesday. File photo by Glenn Campbell/EPA-EFE
Genocide by 19th-century British colonists in what is now the Australian state of Victoria saw 75% of the indigenous population wiped out by violence and diseases to which they had no resistance within 20 years of the arrival of the first settlers, according to a royal commission.
The final report of the four-year Yoorrook Justice Commission, which was presented to the Victorian Parliament on Tuesday, documented massacres, mass abduction of children, the erasing of Aboriginal culture and economic discrimination, the consequences of which were still impacting the First Peoples of Victoria.
“Yoorrook found that the decimation of the First Peoples population in Victoria was the result of a coordinated plan of different actions aimed at the destruction of the essential foundations of the life of national groups,” the commission said.
“This was genocide.”
The commission also found that the “decimation” of the First Peoples — the group’s population collapsed by 45,000 to under 15,000 in just 17 years — was the result of a “coordinated plan of different actions aimed at the destruction of the essential foundations of the life of national groups.”
“First Peoples in Victoria have been consistently excluded from opportunities to generate wealth. Colonial systems prevented First Peoples from participating in economic life and wealth creation, including through education, employment opportunities and owning property,” the report said.
It added that the economic inequality suffered by First Peoples could be traced straight back to past “colonial practices and state-sanctioned exclusion.”
The truth-telling commission, providing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with a platform to tell their stories and experiences for the first time, makes more than 100 recommendations to compensate for past harms and the resulting “systemic injustices.”
The primary focus is on a treaty-type architecture to deliver redress as well as major structural reforms.
These included urging the state government to overhaul education, building in Aboriginal content to the curriculum and anti-racism training to educators, as well as making disciplinary policies fairer so that Aboriginal students were not discriminated against.
On health, the report found a system in which racism was deeply ingrained and called for more funding for targeted services for indigenous Australians.
It recommended investing in tailored, dedicated mental health provision — removing that responsibility from the police — and switching responsibility for the health of incarcerated First Peoples from the Justice Ministry to the Health Department.
The commission also urged greater inclusion of First Peoples in professional and leadership positions across the education and health care systems.
Recommendations regarding land were also high up the list.
The commission demanded an official apology and redress for a veterans’ scheme under which all troops returning from fighting in the two world wars were granted plots of land, but not First Nations soldiers.
It also said land now owned by institutions such as the church and universities “acquired for little or no consideration” or expropriated by the Crown should be returned to the original owners.
Yoorrook also urged better political representation for First Peoples to be able to hold government to account, saying virtually all of the issues flagged up in the report could be traced back to a lack of accountability and broken trust.
Specifically, it called for a permanent First Peoples’ assembly with the authority to make decisions when it came to policies affecting them.
However, the commission was split over the recommendations, with three of the five commissioners arguing against them being in the final report.
Victoria Premier Jacinta Allen initially welcomed the publication of the report, but on Tuesday said the government needed time to digest its recommendations and urged all Victorians to read the report
Earlier, she had pledged to back strengthening the First People’s assembly but stopped short of granting it decision-making powers.
“When you listen to people, you get better outcomes, and that’s what treaty is all about. I reckon we’re up for that as a state. Thank you to the commission for these historic reports — they shine a light on hard truths and lay the foundations for a better future for all Victorians, she said.
Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organization CEO Jill Gallagher said the finding of genocide was beyond question.
“We don’t blame anyone alive today for these atrocities, but it is the responsibility of those of us alive today to accept that truth — and all Victorians today must accept, recognise and reconcile with these factual findings.”
