Uncle Charles, who lives in his van and regularly travels across the state, has made a number of trips into town in the past several months — including for the expo, where he informed passers-by about Treaty.
He also spoke to the large crowd of walkers following former Yoorook Justice Commissioner Travis Lovett during the 800km Walk For Truth, which passed through Seymour in early May.
Since Treaty became law in Victoria on November 13 last year, Uncle Charles said there were many misconceptions about what it was and the impact it had on all Victorians.
On air with Ms Yeatman, he spoke about the difference between the 2023 Voice to Parliament referendum and how it differed from Treaty.
“In 2023, all that the Australian population was being asked to do by the Federal Government was to bring out an incredibly minor and modest change, which would have seen a Voice to Parliament,” he said.
“In other words, Aboriginal people providing their feedback and opinion on things – not dictating everything, not being responsible for anything.”
Treaty, on the other hand, is a state-based legislation voted on by upper and lower house Victorian politicians.
It sets out to educate Victorians on the impact of colonisation on First Nations people and utilise past wrongdoings to shape and inform future decision-making.
Uncle Charles said another primary misinterpretation of Treaty was that some non-Indigenous Victorians thought they were “going to lose property”.
“There’s no way in the world that, under Victorian Treaty, First Nations people can take anybody’s land,” he said.
He added that another misunderstanding was that Victorians would need to pay more taxes, and while there would be an allocation of funds to support the process, Treaty would have long-term financial benefits — including by supporting the education of First Nations people and “keeping Aboriginal people out of the justice system”.
“All of those people now contribute to community and contribute to society, and contribute financially. Instead of being unemployed, they’re taxpayers,” he said.
He said misconceptions of Treaty were being pedalled by conservative media, and the rise in outrage culture online contributed to discriminatory ideologies.
Moving forward, Uncle Charles hopes to see an increase in local government support of education about Treaty and First Nations culture in municipalities across Victoria, as well as state government investment in local volunteer reconciliation groups.
He said community engagement, like his feature on EarthChat, was a priority.
“Community radio stations are fundamental to information being spread across the broader community — it’s people like Ruth who are doing amazing jobs,” Uncle Charles said.
With an essential aspect of Treaty being truth-telling, Uncle Charles said society needed to interrogate the past rather than let it get lost in history.
“If we don’t look to the past, we enter into, I believe, this area of ignoring the lessons we learn from the past,” he said.
“By looking at our past, we understand how we’ve got to where we’ve got to now, how to redress and improve on those things, and how to contribute to a more equitable, more equal and a financially more stable society.”
To listen to Uncle Charles’ chat with Ms Yeatman, visit beam.org.au/earthchat or search EarthChat on Spotify, Podbean or Apple Podcasts.
For more information on Victorian Aboriginal News, head to vicaboriginalnews.com.au
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