Promise check: Establish a Makarrata Commission with responsibility for truth-telling and treaty with First Nations people

Promise check: Establish a Makarrata Commission with responsibility for truth-telling and treaty with First Nations people

At the 2022 election, Labor promised to establish a Makarrata Commission with responsibility for truth-telling and treaty with First Nations people. Here's how that promise is tracking.

Indigenous people in traditional wear (Image by ABC News: Avani Dias)

One of the two key proposals in the Uluru Statement from the Heart, endorsed by 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander delegates in May 2017, was to establish a "Makarrata Commission to supervise a process of agreement-making between governments and First Nations and truth-telling about our history".

"Makarrata" is a word from the language of the Yolngu people in Arnhem Land signifying agreement making following a dispute and has often been used in the place of the word "treaty".

As lawyer, academic and member of the Referendum Council Noel Pearson explained:

"The Yolngu concept of Makarrata captures the idea of two parties coming together after a struggle, healing the divisions of the past. It is about acknowledging that something has been done wrong, and it seeks to make things right."

In August 2021, as Labor began to roll out its policy platform ahead of the 2022 election, key party representatives — including then-shadow minister for Indigenous affairs Linda Burney — wrote that "Labor is committing to establish a Makarrata Commission as a matter of priority".

A commitment to delivering on the recommendations of the Uluru Statement from the Heart remained a central focus throughout the 2022 campaign, with then-opposition leader Anthony Albanese reiterating his support in key speeches.

This commitment was also reflected in Labor's election platform, which contained a commitment to "establish a Makarrata Commission with responsibility for truth-telling and treaty".

It noted the commission would "support and fund local models of truth-telling, in partnership with First Nations communities and other levels of government" and "develop a national framework for treaty-making".

Assessing the promise

This promise will be considered delivered if a Makarrata Commission is established which has the capacity for the functions promised: the ability to fund local models of truth-telling in partnership with First Nations Communities and the capacity to develop a national framework for treaty making.

During the election campaign, Labor did not provide a specific timeframe by which a Makarrata Commission would be established.

In the absence of such a clarification, and given the labelling of this commitment as a "priority", the promise will be delivered if the commission is established within Labor's first term of government.

Here's how the promise is tracking:

19 May 2023

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19 May 2023

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