The Yoorrook Justice Commission has done the people of Victoria and Australia a great service in so comprehensively mapping the history of colonisation, and its impact on First Peoples in Victoria. 

With the release of the final reports the Commission has also provided a blueprint for acknowledging our shared history and for addressing the terrible legacy of centuries of mistreatment, dispossession and racism endured by First Nations peoples.  

In mapping out how government and institutional policies have negatively affected Victoria’s First Nations over more than two centuries, the Commissioners have created a resource which will help Australians understand and accept the wrongs of the past and their impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.   

The reports also documents the extraordinary strength, resistance and leadership of generations of First Nations communities in the face of these injustices. 

The Yoorrook for Transformation report provides the Victorian Government and people with a clear plan to ‘make amends for past policies and practices and ensures these wrongs are never repeated’. 

The Yoorrook Truth Be Told investigation into Victoria’s colonial and more recent history is a powerful example of one of Reconciliation Australia’s five dimensions of reconciliation, namely Historical Acceptance. 

Truth-telling is fundamental to forging the path to reconciliation and justice. It provides healing and a collective pathway towards stronger and more cohesive communities. 

The transformation report’s 100 recommendations are far ranging: Statewide and Traditional Owner group treaties, the establishment of a truth-telling body, water and land management, the administration and governance of critical services in health, education, criminal justice and family violence, and, perhaps most importantly, the report recommends the ‘transfer of decision-making power, authority, control and resources to First Peoples, giving full effect to self-determination.’ 

Truth-telling at a structural level through processes like the Yoorrook Justice Commission is critical to correcting the public record and driving long term change.  

But that change only happens if we act on what we have learned. The Yoorrook Report sets out clear recommendations that we need action on to see a better future for the next generation.  

The Yoorrook Justice Commissioners have done the hard work, and it is now time for the Victorian Government to positively respond to the recommendations with decisive action and implementation.