Victorian Election Threatens Historic Indigenous Treaty as Coalition Vows Repeal
The Liberal-National coalition has pledged to scrap Victoria's groundbreaking Indigenous treaty within 100 days if it wins the November 28 election.
Less than a year after the signing of Victoria's historic Indigenous treaty, the upcoming state election could overturn it. The Statewide Treaty Act 2025, signed by Premier Jacinta Allan, established a partnership between First Peoples and the government and created the independent body Gellung Warl. Opposition leader Jess Wilson and shadow Aboriginal affairs minister Melina Bath have vowed to repeal the treaty within 100 days of a coalition victory and replace Gellung Warl with a new department, First Nations Victoria, overseen by a single minister.
One Nation has also pledged to dismantle the treaty framework. Human-rights advocate Travis Lovett, former deputy chair of the Yoorrook Justice Commission, says abolishing the treaty would inflict further trauma on Indigenous Victorians. Greens leader Ellen Sandell calls the proposed repeal "out of touch" and warns it would undo years of work. Polls show Labor at 25% primary support, the coalition at 28%, and One Nation at 23%, while analysts doubt the treaty will sway voter decisions.
Why it matters
The election could reverse a landmark Indigenous treaty, affecting rights and reconciliation efforts in Victoria.
How the sides frame it
HIGH AGREEMENTBoth camps describe the treaty and the Liberal/Coalition pledge to repeal it, but left-leaning coverage emphasizes the cultural ceremony and activist warnings, while right-leaning coverage stresses the threat to the historic treaty and potential trauma from its abolition.
LEFT
Frames the story as a clash between treaty supporters and a Liberal pledge to repeal, highlighting the cultural ceremony, activist warnings, and comparisons to the Treaty of Waitangi.
RIGHT
Frames the story as an election-driven threat to a historic Indigenous treaty, emphasizing the coalition’s vow to repeal and the alleged harm to Indigenous Victorians.
The left emphasises
- handprints on a kangaroo skin signalling cultural assent
- activist Ngarra Murray’s warning that the agreement endures beyond laws
- comparison to New Zealand’s Treaty of Waitangi
The right emphasises
- the treaty could be overturned within 100 days of a coalition win
- replacement of the independent body Gellung Warl with a single-minister department
- human-rights advocate’s claim that abolishing the treaty would cause further trauma
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