Introduction
Ngarra Murray, outgoing Co-Chair of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria, shared the story of Australia’s first treaty at Progress 2026.
The Progress 2026 conference was hosted by Australian Progress on March 24-25 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre in Narrm/Melbourne. This article was produced by The Commons Library to enable ongoing learning.
Presentation
Opening
Good morning, everyone. Firstly, I want to start by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of Naarm, the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples, and acknowledge their unceded sovereign sacred lands on which we gather today on the Birrarung. I also pay homage to William Barak, a strong leader for their people, and acknowledge the Bunurong people as neighbouring clans and all First Peoples here today, including Elders, Dr Aunty Jackie Huggins, and also the Common Threads team, Larissa Baldwin and Millie Telford.
First Peoples have been caring for Country for at least tens of thousands of years. Our connection to Country is as profound as it is unique, and our cultural practices are founded on and embedded within a worldview in which people and Country are one.
Pre-colonisation, Victoria was home to many tribes and many family clans, each with their own laws, cultures, responsibilities and knowledge systems that connected our people to Country and everything within our cosmos. From the north to the south, from the east to the west, our ancestors walked this land for thousands of generations.
Being part of the oldest continuous living culture on this planet is to walk in the footsteps of our old people whose knowledge, stories and spirit stretch back more than 65,000 years. The enormity of this truth is humbling and powerful—It means we have unbroken bloodlines, our people are guardians of the world’s most ancient stories and the keepers of a legacy that continues to guide our future.
My name is Ngarra Murray and I’m a proud Wamba Wamba, Yorta Yorta, Dja Dja Wurrung and Dhudhuroa woman. I have had the honour of serving as elected Co-Chair of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria and representing the community of Naarm over seven years. I grew up on Yorta Yorta Country, on my grandmother’s Country down the south end of Shepparton, as a little Blak girl with big hopes and dreams and fire in my belly.
As a Blak kid in this country, we were often brought into rooms many our age never see—meetings, community gatherings, demonstrations and political spaces where decisions about our lives are made. We grew up listening to the language of change, strategy and struggle, learning early what it means to carry responsibility, and we witnessed the weight our parents and Elders hold and we quietly absorbed the lessons:
How to speak up, when to stand firm, and why our voice matters!
These experiences shape us into leaders before we even realise it, grounding us in a legacy.
So, it’s a real honour to be here today with changemakers and organisers, creatives, activists, advocates, thinkers and community leaders who make up the Australian progressive movement. Spaces like this matter because they are where ideas become movements—and movements become history.
Treaty for Victoria
So today I want to talk about one of the most profound movements unfolding in this country, the Treaty movement.
When I first began the role as elected Co-Chair of the Assembly alongside Rueben Berg, we carried a vision that many said was impossible. Today that vision stands as a reality. After nearly a decade, as Jamila said, walking the path with our communities and generations of resistance and activism from our people, Australia’s First Treaty is here, and this year we will make it a reality.
So today we stand in a new era, the Treaty era.
It is a turning point in the life of this nation. The first Treaty is born from the strength, resilience and resistance of our people. It is born from our unyielding love for our communities and our Countries, and our unwavering belief in a better future for all.
The First Treaty is future focused, built on respect, truth and shared responsibility. When First Peoples’ culture, knowledge and authority are central to how we govern, how we care for Country and make decisions together, everyone prospers. It is a future where our country is known not just for its natural beauty, but for the way it nurtures culture, celebrates diversity and ensures that safety, dignity and opportunity is shared by all. In this era, our ethos and civic responsibility is defined by how deeply we value one another. It is felt in stronger relationships and in communities thriving.
Over the last decade, our people and the State Government have been working together to build strong foundations for Treaty making and this hasn’t been easy. It has required courage from our communities. It has required governments to rethink old ways of doing things, and it has required us to build something that has never existed before in Australia.
Treaty creates a new middle space where the unfinished business between the Crown and First Peoples’ relations can be addressed and where communities can shape agreements that honour First Peoples’ culture, inherent rights and shared futures.
The Assembly was created as an independent, democratically elected body to represent First Peoples in Treaty negotiations. Our work has not only shaped Victoria’s path to Treaty, but it has also set a benchmark for Indigenous-led Treaty making nationally and internationally.
The Assembly, as leaders and experts in the modern Treaty area, are architects of contemporary governance and new relationships, holding the legal, cultural and political expertise to negotiate treaties that are sophisticated, future focused and grounded in ancient law. The Treaty in Victoria represents the most advanced Treaty process anywhere in the world and should be understood as one of the most important reforms and modern agreement making this country has undertaken.
It grows stronger when more voices are included. It sets a precedent for other jurisdictions and it asks Australia to mature as a nation.
The Assembly now enters a new and historic chapter in the journey of First Peoples and the broader Victorian community. Treaty is now part of Victoria’s story, but, more importantly, it is part of our future. At its heart it is about new relationships—about two parties coming together. Treaties are a bridge not just between us and the State, but between black and white, and the past and the future.
The Assembly stands as a powerful expression of Aboriginal democracy—a place where our voices are united, our rights are asserted and our future is shaped by us. The Assembly is our meeting place. Assembly members representing Nations and communities from all across the state come together to listen to each other, speak on behalf of their communities and find common ground and a way forward.
Treaty has shifted the ground and reflects a state mature enough to confront its history, courageous enough to take action to reshape its future, and committed to walking a new path grounded in respect, strong relationships, treaties, truth telling and self-determination for First Peoples.
Gellung Warl
Key to the statewide Treaty is the creation of Gellung Warl. In Gunai Kurnai, Gellung Warl means “tip of the spear”. Gellung Warl is a spear that is crafted with a task in mind. Gellung Warl is not a symbolic body. It is the means to drive change.
Just as a spear is a tool, Gellung Warl is to get work done and that work is to be done immediately.
Nyerna Yoorrook Telkuna
Gellung Warl consists of various functions and part of Gellung Warl is Nyerna Yoorrook Telkuna. Many of you here will have listened to, engaged with or even told their Truth at the Yoorrook Justice Commission. I’m sure many more of you walked with Commissioner Trav Lovett from Portland to Melbourne, or perhaps you are joining him on the way to Canberra. Yoorrook was instrumental in creating a public record of the true history of this country and I’m happy to say that the Assembly will set up Nyerna Yoorrook Telkuna to continue the Truth-telling and healing process so that everyone across the state can understand our past and share a better future.
The story of this nation is still very much in the making. The chapter marked by the arrival of Europeans was violent, one of dispossession and a systemic campaign of intentional violence.
To tell the truth is having the conviction to acknowledge when we as a nation have fallen short. More importantly, it is the strength to learn and do better.
Nginma Ngainga Wara
Another function of Gellung Warl is Nginma Ngainga Wara. This is our Outcomes and Justice Commission within the Assembly.
They will have the power to hold government and publicly funded bodies accountable to outcomes for First Peoples by holding committee-style hearings, asking questions of ministers, conducting system-wide inquiries and running program-level evaluations. This means progress is shared openly and transparently because we all know too well what it looks like for governments to kick the can down the road. This is our opportunity to ensure that change is driven by results. This is, of course, work that will be led by the representatives of the Assembly.
Elections for the First Peoples’ Assembly are currently on. For me personally, after serving on the inaugural and the second assembly, I will not recontest the 2026 Treaty Elections, but we have some deadly candidates that have put their hands up. I’ll leave proud of what we have built together as the Assembly and grateful for the trust our people placed in me.
One of the great strengths I’ve witnessed over the past six years is the diversity of the Assembly. We represent First Peoples from all walks of life, from every region of Victoria, many tribes and communities coming together, and we respect our mob.
Over the last decade, our people and the Government have embarked on this unique journey and together we negotiated the very first Treaty of Australia and that didn’t happen overnight.
It took ten years of organising, mobilising, advocacy, negotiation, legal design, consensus decision making and community mandate, 10 years of pushing against the political headwinds, 10 years of building something that has never built before. And at the centre of this work has been the Assembly, specifically tasked to negotiate Treaty.
What makes this so powerful is that it is not symbolic. It is cultural, it is lore, it is democratic, it is the assertion of our sovereignty, it is self-determination in action, and it is a profound moment in democratic history. Because Treaty is not just about the past, it’s about the future of this Country. It’s the next chapter of the evolution of this nation.
But there is something else about this movement that inspires me and it is the people power. Shaped from the ground up, centred in community, it is the resilience behind it.
This hasn’t been an easy road. It has been challenging. We are not just negotiating policy. We are negotiating the future of our children and grandchildren and those not yet born and when I think about Treaty, I often think about the incredible cultural inheritance that our people hold, the oldest continuous culture on earth, knowledge systems and ancient jurisdictions that stretch back tens of thousands of years.
Our stories live in the land. In the rivers, in the mountains, along the song lines, in our rock art, and shining in the night sky. On a clear night in my Country you can look up and see the vast river of stars and the Bigarrumdja (Emu) across the Milky Way. For our people, those stars are ancestors, they are stories, they are lore. They remind us that our place in the universe is ancient and that our responsibility to the future is enormous.
Treaty is our North Star. Treaty is part of that responsibility. It is about ensuring that the next generation inherits something stronger, fairer and more truthful. And while Victoria is leading the way, this movement is bigger than one state. What is happening in Victoria is being watched across the country. It is influencing conversations in other jurisdictions. It is contributing to a growing national and global movement for Indigenous self-determination and governance. The world is paying attention to how Indigenous peoples are reshaping democracy and their futures and here in Australia the Treaty movement is showing what that can look like.
The road is still long, but in Victoria we have begun the journey. Gellung Warl will be established in early May.
Once a movement like this begins, it is very hard to stop, because it is powered by something stronger than politics. It is powered by people, by culture and by a vision of justice that stretches far beyond our own lifetimes.
So let us walk together, let us build the democratic future we deserve, and let us make sure that when the next generation looks back at this moment, they can say, “This was the moment Australia came to age, mature enough to face its history and build a future together.”
Allies
For those who are Allies, Treaty by nature is a journey walked together. We have had the support of tens of thousands of Allies and we always leave the door open for all to join us. Whether that’s showing up to our events, or NAIDOC Week or Invasion Day, maybe it’s staying up to date or engaging in our campaigns, everyone is valued in this shared future.
Whether you are mob or an Ally, you can visit our stall here today or look us up online to get involved. If you’re here as part of a like-minded organisation, I encourage you to connect with the Assembly and take the pledge to become a friend of Treaty.
Closing
To close today, I need to point out that we are in an unprecedented time in Victoria and in Australia. It’s an opportunity presented to us that we have never had and we should not take that for granted. The consistent calls from our old people are within our reach and now is the time we must activate to ensure the best outcomes for all Victorians.
We are presented an opportunity to lead the way for other states too. We can show them the fight for justice and equality is not just consistent with, but contingent on Treaty. We must utilise this fact and ensure practical change is the result and I hope everyone here today can learn and share not just about Treaty, but about whatever social justice issues that motivate you.
Whether your cause leads to healthier Country or healthier communities or giving a voice to the otherwise voiceless, your fight is linked with ours. These are shared causes and we should look to rely on one another when it comes to a better future.
Thank you very much.
About the Speaker
Ngarra Murray is a proud Wamba Wamba, Yorta Yorta, Dhudhuroa and Dja Dja Wurrung woman who grew up in Shepparton, and is Co-Chair of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria (the Assembly). She has significant cultural and familial connections to many parts of Victoria and NSW.
Living and working on Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country, Ngarra represents the diverse Aboriginal Communities of the Metropolitan region. As the elected Co-Chair, Ngarra is a spokesperson for the Assembly. Her role is to elevate the voices and priorities of Community members on the journey to Treaties in Victoria. She is committed to meeting with all Traditional Owner groups and spending time ‘talking Treaty’ with communities to foster nation-building and consensus-building throughout her term. Ngarra is passionate about community mobilisation, the inalienable power of sovereignty and lore, and Treaties in our near future.