INDIGENOUS leaders are increasingly confident they will lock in Treaty rules this month, setting the scene for some of the most consequential decisions First Peoples have made on the long road to self-determination.
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That has made events like last Saturday's Treaty Day Out in Bendigo critical, they say.
The democratically elected First Peoples' Assembly expects an agreement with the state government about Treaty ground rules soon.
The 31 member assembly is likely to lead official Treaty talks in 2023, once it holds fresh elections.
The sense First Peoples were about to do something momentous added greater urgency as crowds gathered at the Bendigo Showgrounds on the weekend to see headliners like Dan Sultan and Briggs perform.
Next month likely to be key, Indigenous leaders says
The music festival might not have been an election rally but it was a chance for the assembly to underscore the importance of people having a say.
Assembly co-chair Aunty Geraldine Atkinson hoped it would energise people who may not have paid as close attention to history-making prep work behind the scenes.
"You know how things are," Aunty Geraldine said.
"When you first set something up, people are not aware of what it is.
"Now that we've done so much and we are getting out to Treaty Day Out, we are getting people enrolled with us so that we will have some really great representation in the next phase."
The assembly is not the only group likely to negotiate Treaties under ground rules that are close to being finalised.
Individual Indigenous groups are also being told they will probably be able to negotiate on a specific range of matters.
Aunty Geraldine has cautioned that those matters are not done deals.
The assembly might have made its hopes clear but talks with the government are ongoing, she said.
The parties appear on track for an agreement by the end of November, Aunty Geraldine said.
That would coincide with separate state parliament elections. Any deal would ideally come before an election caretaker period begins, Aunty Geraldine said.
Host of other issues still to be locked in
The assembly wants agreements from the government about other issues, like how Indigenous groups are to pay for potentially complex Treaty talks.
Aunty Geraldine hoped the government would not be "stingy" when it came to a fund First Peoples are seeking.
"That would be a great disappointment for our community and I'd hate to see things stall or stumble over it," she told a gathering in Adelaide on Friday.
The assembly is also still to launch an Elders' Voice council to help guide the Treaty process
"Aboriginal community members have been clear that the road to Treaty must benefit from the cultural wisdom, authority, guidance, and oversight of Elders," Aunty Geraldine said in Adelaide.
"Currently we have interim Elders' Voice with senior assembly members as co-chairs."
The work ahead has not daunted Aunty Geraldine.
"We are on the cusp. We are getting really excited," she said on Saturday, from Bendigo.
The assembly has pushed hard this year for the scaffolding needed for Treaty.
Last August, it persuaded the parliament to support an independent umpire with legal power to oversee Treaty talks.
The umpire will have the power to resolve disputes between the government and the assembly. It will have funding safeguards from election cycles.
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