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Welcome to the Federation of Victorian Traditional Owner Corporations

The Federation is the Victorian state-wide body that convenes and advocates for the rights and interests of Traditional Owners while progressing wider social, economic, environmental and cultural objectives.

About Us

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land we work on as the First Peoples of this Country.

Country

Healthy Country means healthy communities. Our work recognises Traditional Owners’ rights and responsibilities to care and make decisions for Country.

Traditional Owner groups have knowledge, rights and responsibilities, stemming from 65,000 years of experience on Country. The Federation works in the following areas to embed Traditional Owner voices in management of Country.

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Community

Community wellbeing means strong culture, people and place.

The Federation’s work recognises Traditional Owner groups as authoritative decision-makers with rights and power. Our advocacy, programs and services enable Traditional Owners to get on with the business of caring for Country, culture and community.

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Impact

The Federation’s advocacy shapes the landscape in which Victorian Traditional Owner corporations do their important work.

We have put cultural fire and cultural water on the agenda for government, sought greater protections for Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property, fought for a fair place in the expanding native foods and botanicals industry, championed treaty and self-determination, supported a drastic reconsideration of how our cultural heritage is approached at both state and national levels, and worked to have economic development considered as more than just small business grants.

 

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About

The Federation is the Victorian state-wide body that convenes and advocates for the rights and interests of Traditional Owner groups while progressing wider social, economic, environmental and cultural objectives.

We support the progress of agreement-making and participation in decision-making to enhance the authority of Traditional Owner Corporations on behalf of their communities.

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Agriculture ministers are doing some policy work to figure out what’s needed to improve Aboriginal inclusion in the agriculture sector.

Naturally, we made a submission. And took issue with that word: inclusion.

Only focusing on employing more Aboriginal farmers on sheep stations misses the point.

Wheres the knowledge, experience, and obligations to Country of this continents first farmers? Where the recognition of First Nations as key authorities and leaders, who need better resourcing and linking by policy-makers to get good work done?

And in Victoria: wheres the Aboriginal land for mob to farm?

Instead of inclusion, our submission argues for First Nations’ rights and leadership of agriculture, forestry and fisheries: restoring land rights and reconnecting mob to markets and capital, to power a new First Nations agriculture economy that heals Country, keeps culture strong, and restores economic independence.

Itll be on our website when we see it on Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestrys, and itll be on our minds as we keep fighting for First Nations.

Agriculture ministers are doing some policy work to figure out what’s needed to improve Aboriginal inclusion in the agriculture sector.

Naturally, we made a submission. And took issue with that word: inclusion.

Only focusing on employing more Aboriginal farmers on sheep stations misses the point.

Where's the knowledge, experience, and obligations to Country of this continent's first farmers? Where the recognition of First Nations as key authorities and leaders, who need better resourcing and linking by policy-makers to get good work done?

And in Victoria: where's the Aboriginal land for mob to farm?

Instead of inclusion, our submission argues for First Nations’ rights and leadership of agriculture, forestry and fisheries: restoring land rights and reconnecting mob to markets and capital, to power a new First Nations agriculture economy that heals Country, keeps culture strong, and restores economic independence.

It'll be on our website when we see it on Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry's, and it'll be on our minds as we keep fighting for First Nations.
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A privilege.

Thats what our CEO Kaley said about sitting in Parliament to hear todays Victorian Government apology to First Peoples.

Shes pictured on the right with her mum in the middle and Treaty Authority member Duean White on the left.

As premier Jacinta Allen said:

Today this Parliament becomes a place of reckoning, and that reckoning has meaning for all of us who call Victoria home.

We acknowledge the harm inflicted on generations of First Peoples and mark the beginning of a new era, one that embraces truth, honours justice and creates space for a shared future built in full view of the past.

We know that words alone are not enough. This is why the state of Victoria has pursued Treaty – to create the enduring change that must follow.

So let this be one act, one act among the many, that honours the truth and upholds justice.

Treaty is not merely a gesture, it is a pathway to healing and change. It is how we begin to right the wrongs that apology alone cannot mend.

"A privilege."

That's what our CEO Kaley said about sitting in Parliament to hear today's Victorian Government apology to First Peoples.

She's pictured on the right with her mum in the middle and Treaty Authority member Duean White on the left.

As premier Jacinta Allen said:

"Today this Parliament becomes a place of reckoning, and that reckoning has meaning for all of us who call Victoria home.

We acknowledge the harm inflicted on generations of First Peoples and mark the beginning of a new era, one that embraces truth, honours justice and creates space for a shared future built in full view of the past.

We know that words alone are not enough. This is why the state of Victoria has pursued Treaty – to create the enduring change that must follow.

So let this be one act, one act among the many, that honours the truth and upholds justice.

Treaty is not merely a gesture, it is a pathway to healing and change. It is how we begin to right the wrongs that apology alone cannot mend."
... See MoreSee Less

5 days ago
Federation of Victorian Traditional Owner Corporations

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