National Treaties Summit 2020: regos open

Registrations are now open for the National Treaties Summit, which will see hundreds of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander delegates, academics, politicians and supporters from around the country gather in Melbourne to discuss the pathway to a Treaty with Australia’s First Nations.

Organised by ANTaR, the National Native Title Council (NNTC) and Melbourne Law School, the three-day event will include keynote speeches and panel discussions from Professor Marcia Langton, Professor Mick Dodson AM, Senator Pat Dodson, Peter Yu, Dr Jackie Huggins, Senior Counsel Tony McAvoy, Linda Burney MP and many others.

International speakers will provide a context for Treaty and agreement-making in other settler colonies.

The landmark gathering is an opportunity for rigorous debate across a range of themes, with the intention of developing core principles and a clearer vision for what a Treaty could look like.

The Summit will hopefully culminate in a communique, which will complement other frameworks such as the Uluru Statement, and contribute to the momentum of agreement-making happening across the nation.

NNTC Chief Executive and Djabwurrung man Jamie Lowe said he hoped the Summit would be embraced by Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

“While there would be some element of truth-telling involved in a Treaty process, where we look to our history and acknowledge what’s happened in the past, a Treaty is future-focused. It’s an opportunity for all Australians to come together and shape the kind of country we want to live in.

“The National Treaties Summit is a chance to hear the full gamut of perspectives on everything Treaty. We want a really robust discussion, acknowledging that everyone will come with diverse opinions.

“The possibilities of a Treaty are endless, and by the end of the Summit, we want to have a better idea of what those possibilities are and how we’re going to get there. We want tangible outcomes.”

-ENDS-