An Indigenous-led treaty for NSW is integral to delivering justice and healing for First Nations communities and needs to become a priority for the major parties, according to the NSW Greens.
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The party will work towards a truth-telling and treaty process and give First Nations people a representative in state parliament, the NSW Greens said in a policy announcement on Tuesday.
"First Nations people are tired of being advisors - we need the real truth and real power, in writing," Greens candidate for the upper house Lynda-June Coe said.
Ms Coe, a proud Wiradjuri and Badu Island woman, said NSW was lagging behind other states as they worked towards a treaty process with First Nations communities.
A treaty is a binding agreement between the state government and Indigenous communities and calls on both sides to act on issues and improve outcomes.
"The major parties must move beyond performative politics and provide practical and tangible solutions for our mob - by implementing the recommendations of the Family is Culture report and Bringing Them Home reports in full," Ms Coe said.
The Bringing Them Home report on the forced removal of Indigenous children from their parents was released in 1997 and recommended an apology to First Nations Australians and the payment of reparations.
The Family Is Culture report on Aboriginal children in out-of-home care, released in 2019, recommended the NSW government engage with Aboriginal stakeholders to develop an understanding of "self-determination" and re-evaluate its early intervention programs.
A complete transformation in the relationship between First Nations people and the government was needed, Ms Coe said.
The promise from the Greens comes after NSW Labor said it would consult with the state's Indigenous communities to develop a treaty if it wins the upcoming state election.
NSW Labor would spend $5 million on consultation across a year as it developed a formal treaty, it said.
Labor Leader Chris Minns said it was not for his government to decide what the treaty would look like.
"For too long government has passed edicts down from the top to the bottom and we know that hasn't worked," he said as he announced the policy at the weekend.
"If we want to realise improved justice, education, health and cultural outcomes for First Nations people we must place First Nations communities at the centre of decision making."
The Greens made the policy announcement at the National Centre for Indigenous Excellence in Redfern, which last year came close to closing its doors after suffering a $2m loss.
Australian Associated Press
