General News
6 June, 2025
Dja Dja Wurrung Clans seek treaty
The Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation’s (DJAARA) registration to the treaty authority will allow Indigenous voices to be heard on a local level.
DJAARA announced last week it would be acting on behalf of Dja Dja Wurrung people to commence the process with a formal notification to the Treaty Authority, the independent body established to oversee negotiations for a statewide Treaty and Traditional Owner treaties.
The Dja Dja Wurrung nation covers the whole of the Central Goldfields Shire, as well as neighbouring shires including Pyrenees, Hepburn, Mount Alexander and Loddon Shires.
Djaran Murray-Jackson is the director of the DJAARA board, and Dja Dja Wurrung Reserved Seat holder at the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria.
He said despite this announcement being a major milestone, the treaty process is still only in its early stages.
“We had a whole group treaty gathering 12 months ago, and Djaara said they really wanted to be the first group to negotiate and it was taken on board,” Mr Murray-Jackson said.
“It’s the first step in a local Treaty journey for Djaara, we are looking forward to the next few steps, which is engaging with our members and seeing what they might want to negotiate, and then going back to the treaty authority to actually form a delegation so we can get to state later on.
“We are still only in the early stages, we have only just started to figure out how we will go about negotiations and authorising environment.”
Mr Murray-Jackson has emphasised the main point of treaty is to ensure Indigenous issues can be addressed at a specifically local level.
“One thing that I have heard is that we don’t have an Elder’s facility on Dja Dja Wurrung country, so maybe that’s something we can negotiate as well,” he said.
“Something that is pretty close to my heart is the future. I have a four-month-old at home. I want to make sure she grows up strong in her culture and her identity and she can share that with the rest of Victorians.”
Mr Murray-Jackson has highlighted the move to register for Treaty was an important step towards unification for all central Victorians.
“There might be some people who are fearful of treaty, there’s nothing to be fearful of. It’s just about acknowledging the past, and moving together into the future, united as central Victorians. There is nothing to be afraid of, ” he said.
Mr Murray-Jackson is assuring central Victorians that treaty will mean traditional owners can have more say in matters regarding their people and culture.
“It’s about resetting the relationship. What we have been doing for the past 200 years hasn’t really worked, and treaty is our chance to really change the way that decisions are made, and put us in the driver seat when decisions are made about our own affairs,” he said.
Under Victoria’s Treaty Negotiation Framework, Traditional Owner groups across the state can negotiate their own Treaties, which will reflect the aspirations and priorities in their local areas.
DJAARA will now take steps to form a delegation, which will be responsible for conducting negotiations for a Traditional Owner Treaty over Dja Dja Wurrung Country. The State will then be formally invited to commence negotiations. In the meantime, DJAARA will continue consulting with communities in the area to set the priorities to take into the Treaty negotiations.