Jana Stewart (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Truth-telling is the foundation of trust, integrity and meaningful relationships. It paves the way for accountability and healing. In my home state of Victoria, the Yoorrook Justice Commission recently handed down its final report, marking the end of Australia's first formal truth-telling process. Yoorrook was set up by agreement between the First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria and the Victorian government, but it operates independently of both. I want to extend my heartfelt congratulations to everyone involved: the commissioners, the staff, the elders and the thousands of community members who gave evidence, many for the first time.

The testimonies recorded in the report added critical truths to our state's public record. In the lead-up to the report's release, Commissioner Travis Lovett walked 486 kilometres across Victoria from Portland to Parliament House in Naarm. I was proud to be there at the end of that journey, standing on the steps of the parliament with community, with mob and with allies. We all witnessed the handover of the final report. This marked an important moment in Victoria's truth-telling journey. The Yoorrook report confirmed that the violent colonisation of Victoria involves mass killings, widespread dispossession and policies that actively dismantled language, culture and kinship systems. The commission found that these actions met the legal definition of genocide, and it showed how those harms continue to infiltrate through systems that still fail our people today.

The commission called for transformative change through 100 recommendations, including treat-making, self-determination, and structural reforms across health, education and the justice system. These were big, bold ideas, but they were grounded in evidence, in testimony, and in deep listening. Truth-telling is never easy, but it's a form of respect—for yourself, for others, and for the future. (Time expired)