First Nations First

This week a treaty between Victoria and the state's First Nations people became law. Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan, First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria co-chairs Ngarra Murray and Rueben Berg signed the treaty at a formal ceremony at Government House on Thursday morning. Kerri-Lee Barry from SBS' NITV Radio has spoken with UNSW Law & Justice Associate Professor, Dr Harry Hobbs, about the historic agreement.

A young volunteer for a football club in central Victoria has won the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (NATSI) Sports Awards this year. April Le Sueur has been volunteering at the Rumbalara Football and Netball Club in the Victorian town of Shepparton. She's also the AFL Young Leader of the Year.

It's been hailed as a moment centuries in the making: the signing of Australia's first ever state-wide treaty with Aboriginal people, described as something once thought impossible. The Australian-first treaty will take effect just before Christmas but will not be up and running until mid-2026. And for both sides signing the pact in Victoria, there's recognition of more hard work that needs to be done.

Professor Michael Wear, a Malgana Traditional Custodian from Shark Bay, has been honoured at the 26th Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science for his groundbreaking work uniting Indigenous knowledge and marine science. He is the inaugural winner of the Prime Minister’s Prize for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Knowledge Systems. Through his company Tidal Moon, Professor Wear is leading a world-first seagrass restoration project that employs Aboriginal divers, supports sustainable livelihoods, and restores cultural connections to Sea Country. His work highlights how traditional wisdom and Western science can come together to protect Australia’s oceans and climate.

Thousands of Indigenous households across northern Australia live with prepaid power, where disconnection can happen at any moment. Now a new report has warned that without stronger protections, the system could turn deadly in extreme heat. SBS’s Christopher Tan travelled to the Kimberley to see what life is like when power is a privilege, not a guarantee.

Traditional owners in far north Queensland are calling for an iconic saltwater crocodile to be returned to country. The croc, named 'Old Faithful', featured in the Crocodile Hunter series alongside the late Steve Irwin - but he's been re-homed far from his natural habitat following concerns over aggressive behaviour.

State and territory governments in Australia will face scrutiny as part of a parliamentary inquiry on the outcomes and impacts of youth incarceration. The over-incarceration of First Nations children will also be a key focus.

A not for profit organisation says almost half of Indigenous communities living cut off from the world face extinction within the decade due to logging, mining and tourism. Survival International says they want the world - especially governments and industries - to recognise and address the problem as a global emergency.

Victoria's First Nations community is celebrating a historic milestone - legislation to establish the first treaty in Australia's history passed through state parliament on Thursday night. It's expected to enter force by the end of the year, after an official signing ceremony and royal assent from Victoria's governor, in the culmination of a whole decade of negotiations. The legislation establishes a permanent Aboriginal advisory and decision-making body, to be known as Gellung Warl, which will remain outside the state's constitution. Aunty Jill Gallagher is the C-E-O of the Victorian Community Controlled Health Organisation, and served as the Treaty Advancement Commissioner in 2018. She's been talking to SBS's Tee Mitchell.

After almost a decade of activism and community efforts, Victoria has passed Australia's first ever treaty legislation establishing a permanent Indigenous representative body in the state parliament. The landmark agreement between the Victorian Government and the First People's Assembly of Victoria marks a historic step towards recognising and reckoning with Victoria's violent colonial history.