Victoria has entered a rare moment of collective reflection as the Parliament delivered a formal Apology to the State’s First Peoples, answering one of the central recommendations of the Yoorrook Justice Commission and honouring a commitment made under the new Statewide Treaty with Traditional Owners.
The statement, read in Parliament and published under its authority, set out the harms carried through generations. It placed responsibility squarely on decisions made in the chambers that had denied First Peoples their rights and their self-determination. The wording left little room for ambiguity. The Apology acknowledged that colonisation in Victoria was not peaceful. Lands and waters were taken without consent, communities displaced, languages silenced and children removed. The Parliament stated that these acts were not accidental, but enabled through laws and policies that shaped the State’s history and its present.
Premier Jacinta Allan described the statement as a step towards unity and healing, saying it laid the foundation for the practical work that follows through Treaty. Minister for Treaty and First Peoples Natalie Hutchins called the Apology an important first step in Victoria’s Treaty era, one that aims to build a shared understanding of the State’s complex history and a better future for all Victorians.
Tim Richardson, State Labor MP for Mordialloc, said the moment marked a necessary turning point. “Today, Victoria apologies to First Peoples for past wrongs and injustices. Victoria is taking a huge step toward building a stronger future by addressing past injustices with an Apology to this State’s First Peoples. This Apology is a key recommendation of the Yoorrook Justice Commission, and a commitment made as part of the recently passed Statewide Treaty with the First People’s of Victoria. This Apology, delivered by the Premier in the Victorian Parliament, is an opportunity for all Victorians to move forward together. This is a critical opportunity to say Sorry, and acknowledge the harm inflicted on generations of First Peoples, and make real changes to achieve better outcomes, and justice for First Peoples.”
The Apology itself opened with a plain admission that the actions and inactions of the State, and the colony before it, inflicted deep harm. It recognised that many Victorians had never been taught the full extent of this history before the Yoorrook Justice Commission laid it bare. Elders, survivors and community leaders told the Commission that the better futures imagined by newcomers came at great cost for First Peoples.
The Parliament acknowledged the Commission’s finding that First Peoples’ sovereignty in Victoria was never ceded. Traditional Owners have always said this. Colonisation unfolded with speed and violence, the Apology said, and the State’s laws shaped every stage of dispossession. Children were removed, families broken, and culture was suppressed through deliberate design.
The statement walked through each layer of injustice. It addressed the Stolen Generations, the violence carried out under the authority of the State, and the policies that denied First Peoples the freedom to move, marry or work without permission. It spoke of lives shaped by institutions that treated racial inequality as routine. It recognised the wealth built on lands taken without consent, and the pain of languages whose loss diminishes the whole State.
The Apology then turned towards the present. With a Treaty now in place, the Parliament said it could begin to express what should have been acknowledged generations ago. Words of regret were offered to those in the gallery and to communities across Victoria. The statement made clear that apology must lead to action, noting that Treaty is intended to create lasting change, return power and rebuild the relationship between First Peoples and the State.
The closing promise was direct. Victoria would not look away again, the Parliament said, and would continue the work required to address injustice wherever it appears. The hope expressed was that descendants, and all Victorians, would carry these truths with them as they build a shared future shaped with honesty rather than denial.
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