Overview
- Premier Jacinta Allan told a special sitting of parliament “we say sorry,” framing the apology as a commitment to ensure past wrongs are not repeated.
- The apology forms an early act of Victoria’s legislated treaty, which passed enabling laws in October and was signed into law last month.
- The treaty establishes Gellung Warl as a democratically elected body for consultation on laws affecting Aboriginal Victorians.
- Further measures include truth‑telling in public schools, reviews to rename offensive geographic features, and treaty‑compatibility assessments for new legislation.
- The opposition declined to support the apology’s wording due to treaty references and has pledged to repeal the treaty legislation if it wins government, while the apology was live‑streamed with school and community screenings and a public celebration is scheduled Friday at John Cain Arena featuring Baker Boy.