The Federation of Victorian Traditional Owner Corporations welcomes today’s historic native title consent determination for the First Peoples of the Millewa-Mallee, which includes Latji Latji, Ngintait, and Nyeri Nyeri peoples with ancestral connections to north-west Victoria.

The truth of land dispossession laid out by Victoria’s historic truth-telling inquiry clearly demonstrates the central role to be played by Traditional Owner groups in a just and reconciled future.

A statement on the Federation’s leadership from Board Chairperson, Cassandra Lewis.

The Victorian Budget’s commitments to truth, Treaty and self-determination for First Nations communities can only be delivered by sustained resourcing for Traditional Owner Corporations.

A Victorian Government dingo decision that may have breached Aboriginal peoples’ legal rights must be rectified by enabling Traditional Owner management of culturally significant species, regardless of the outcome of a legal challenge to the decision.

Ending disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples requires an economic transformation driven by land rights and justice – and a new report, launched today, outlines 11 steps to create independent wealth for First Nations communities and unlock $1 billion in benefits for the Victorian economy.

Ending disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples requires significantly increased access to the capital, markets and land that drive Indigenous economic development, not only jobs and mentoring.

Traditional Owners will be supported to be critical partners in Australia’s clean energy transition after government endorsement and $70 million in funding for the landmark First Nations Clean Energy Strategy.

Stronger support to engage in renewable energy development, increased core funding for Traditional Owner groups, and better recognition and resourcing for Indigenous intellectual and cultural property rights are among the recommendations of a parliamentary inquiry’s new report into Indigenous economic prosperity welcomed by the state-wide body that advocates for the rights and interests of Victorian Traditional Owner groups. Federation of Victorian Traditional Owner Corporations CEO, Paul Paton, welcomed today’s release of the report of the Joint Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs’ Inquiry into Economic Self-determination and Opportunities for First Nations Australians – an inquiry the Federation provided a submission and testimony to in May and July this year. “It’s clear the Committee has heard Traditional Owner groups’ views and recommended reforms that could change the game for First Nations’ economic development,” said Mr Paton. “This report is significant for Traditional Owner groups – it hears and respects our ability to drive our own futures. I urge the Federal Government to implement its recommendations.” The Federation welcomed recommendations in the Committee’s report that – if implemented – would ratify the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, increase funding to Prescribed Bodies Corporate, strengthen Traditional…

Legislative reform that would increase the national Indigenous commercial investment body’s ability to raise and invest funds will power much-needed economic development for First Nations’ communities and help put control of Aboriginal lives into Aboriginal hands.