Community Yarns

Walking together on the Path to Treaty

As part of the Interim Truth and Treaty Body’s work to maintain momentum of Path to Treaty in Queensland, a series of community consultations took place across the state throughout 2023.

The engagement process was designed to seek input from Queensland communities to frame the next steps for the establishment of the First Nations Treaty Institute and the Truth-telling and Healing Inquiry as well as capture community views and aspirations for local truth-telling and treaty making.  

The consultation process included sharing views and perspectives through:

• Community consultation sessions hosted by the ITTB
• Meetings with community groups, local councils, Prescribed Bodies Corporate, youth groups, health services and local decision-making bodies
• Conversations with Queensland Elders, historians, academics, legal practitioners and specialists in treaty-making from other countries
• Path to Treaty forums hosted by local Members of Parliament
• Over 50 invited engagements attended by the ITTB hosted by other organisations and stakeholders with communities and governments.

What happened next?

In August 2023, the information gathered through the consultation process was open_in_newprovided to the Minister for Treaty, the Honourable Leeanne Enoch MP, to share community feedback on the key design elements for the First Nations Treaty Institute and the Truth-telling and Healing Inquiry.

A Community Consultation Feedback Report has been compiled and can be accessed below. A Community Presentation shared through ITTB engagements throughout 2023 also summarises what we heard through the consultation process.

These documents provide a written record of what was heard by the ITTB during these forums, particularly in relation to informing the Inquiry’s Terms of Reference and the process to select Inquiry and Institute Council members.

Truth-telling: Sharing the story of our collective past 

As part of its role to prepare Queensland for truth-telling, the ITTB initiated a series of community engagement sessions and an online community survey. This feedback supported the development of:

• A truth-telling strategy: to coordinate connection between community members, memory institutions, organisations and government to facilitate locally-led truth-telling
• A Community Guide: to provide guidance to Queensland communities on how to design, develop and deliver trauma-informed, culturally safe local truth-telling activities, in accordance with local aspirations

A series of in-person and online workshops, facilitated by Price Waterhouse Coopers Indigenous Consultancy who were engaged by the ITTB to conduct consultations, took place throughout 2023 – 2024 across Queensland to ask:

• What truth-telling mean to you?
• What does success look like for truth-telling and healing in your community?
• What protocols, practices and systems need to be in place for communities to support and facilitate locally led truth-telling and healing?
• What support might you need to facilitate local truth-telling?

Who we spoke to 

In-person sessions were held across the State in Weipa, Rockhampton, Townsville, Brisbane and Cunnamulla. An online session open to all Queenslanders was held along with a virtual session with a specific focus on Torres Strait Islander Peoples. More than 400 people participated in an online truth-telling survey.

Targeted interviews were held with archivists, historians, human rights advocates, academics and healing experts.

The vital role that memory institutions play in truth-telling was acknowledged through a series of consultations with both community members and leading institutions including the State Library Queensland, Queensland State Archives, Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art and the Queensland Museum.

What we heard

• 90% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander survey respondents believe truth-telling is important for Queensland
• 88% of non-Indigenous survey respondents believe truth-telling is important for Queensland
• Local truth-telling is to be conducted respectfully, bringing the varied perspectives of community members together to build a more complete understanding of local histories
• All Queenslanders have a role to play in local truth-telling activities. The responsibility for truth-telling must not be placed on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples exclusively

“Truth-telling is tackling the issue of social cohesion and respect. Breaking down the barriers that we currently have that divide the community”

– Truth-telling survey respondent