NSW government will try to avoid acting as a ‘white colonial’ body in treaty consultation

NSW Aboriginal affairs minister David Harris says the ‘old colonial view’ of a treaty ‘is redundant now and it’s actually about ongoing, fluid, flexible agreements’. Photograph: Blake Sharp-Wiggins/The Guardian

The New South Wales government will try to avoid acting as a “white colonial” body imposing its terms on Aboriginal people when it begins consulting with communities across the state about treaty later this year.

Over 12 months, Aboriginal communities will be asked if they would want to take part in a formal agreement-making process and if so what they would want it to look like.

The consultation process will be led by three commissioners to be appointed before the middle of the year after a recruitment process opening today.

The NSW Aboriginal affairs and treaty minister, David Harris, hoped the government could eventually pursue a more modern path which could include a treaty or multiple agreements.

“The old colonial view of sit down with the party and sign a treaty is redundant now and it’s actually about ongoing, fluid, flexible agreements, that parties can come back and renegotiate if necessary,” he said.

Ahead of the voice referendum last year, the premier, Chris Minns, told Guardian Australia that NSW was open to a voice to parliament similar to the South Australian model if that was the result of consultation.

He was also open to following truth-telling and treaty processes under way in Victoria and Queensland.

“I don’t want to put preconceived ideas on it,” Minns said at the time.

Closing the gap in key areas including life expectancy, health and education was the goal, and engaging in consultation would further that if it was driven by the community, Harris said.

“It can’t be the government dictating again to Aboriginal communities about what the conversation should look like,” he said.

“We’ve been really clear that this has to be from community. Otherwise it’s just white colonial government telling Aboriginal people ‘this is how we’re going to negotiate’.”

Once appointed, the commissioners will consult with communities and then report back with their findings including recommendations for next steps. They will be employed on two-year terms that end shortly before the next state election.

The government warned the process would be “neither simple nor short”.

“This is not a discussion about what would be in a treaty, it would be about a process for having that conversation,” Harris said.

“It’s important that we don’t put the cart before the horse.”

The NSW government has faced fierce criticism in recent weeks after changing the law to make it harder for children and teenagers to get bail in response to youth crime in regional parts of the state.

The Aboriginal Legal Service chief executive, Karly Warner, said the change was a “shocking step backward” on Closing the Gap.

Harris said people “need to look at the bail laws in the total context of which they’ve been put forward”, pointing to the 12-month sunset clause and the money for community initiatives announced alongside it.

He hoped the government’s step towards a treaty process could help build trust within the community after the crushing voice referendum defeat last year in which almost 60% of NSW residents voted against the proposal.

“Aboriginal communities operate a lot on trust and governments coming in having a quick conversation then leaving again – you don’t have trust,” Harris said.

“We have to create an environment where parties can equally sit at the table, and that there’s trust that if they reach an agreement, that agreement will be honoured.”

There is no defined role for truth-telling in the $5m consultation plan but Harris expected it to naturally become part of the consultation.