The CSSV community gathered for an end-of-year Christmas event on Friday 6 December 2024, offering an opportunity to come together and to reflect on and celebrate the year that has been.
Attendees included CSSV Council members, leaders of CSSV member organisations, those on CSSV committees, and others we have worked closely with us during the year. It was an honour to have CSSV Life Member Sr Brigid Arthur csb at the event.
Guest Reflections from Sue-Anne Hunter, Deputy Chair of the Yoorrook Justice Commission
CSSV welcomed Sue-Anne Hunter, the Deputy Chair and Commissioner of the Yoorrook Justice Commission (‘the Commission’) and a proud Wurundjeri and Ngurai Illum Wurrung woman at the gathering. Sue-Anne is a child and family services practitioner with over 20 years’ clinical experience responding to developmental, transgenerational and community trauma. She is also an Adjunct Professor of Global and Engagement at Federation University and a member of the National Centre for Reconciliation, Truth, and Justice Advisory Board.
In acknowledging the ancestral lands upon which all had gathered, Sue-Anne emphasised that this ritual is ‘not just a formality … It’s a recognition of the living history that we stand upon,’ she said. ‘We need to bring the shared history to the forefront.’
Sue-Anne reflected on the work of the Commission, which formally commenced in May 2021. Meaning ‘truth’ in Wemba Wemba language, it is the first formal truth-telling body in Australia, focussing on Victoria, with the final report and recommendations due for release in June 2025.
She explained that the Commission enjoys the same powers as a Royal Commission, enabling commissioners the power to compel witnesses to give evidence, and to provide any necessary documents. It is also First Peoples-led with four out of five Commissioners being First Peoples, three are Victorian Traditional Owners, and around 40 percent of the staff are First Peoples. Two out of four counsel assisting are also First Peoples.
Since beginning, the Commission has held significant enquiries into Victoria’s child protection and criminal justice system and has completed inquiries into land, sky, waters, education, health, housing, economic and political life.
Sue-Anne shared: ‘Since starting, we have held 67 days of public hearings, spread across seven hearings, with 229 witnesses. We have heard evidence from First Peoples with lived experience of systemic injustice, community groups, organisations, government ministers, department officials, the Attorney General and the Premier. And we’ve heard from non-indigenous people including descendants of early colonial figures.
‘We have held hundreds of community events, information sessions and round-table discussions and have received over 1,000 submissions. We have conducted numerous visits to prisons and hospitals, elderly people’s homes. The Commission received around 10,000 documents from the Victorian government in response to ‘Notices to Produce’ and has engaged with more than 8,000 First Peoples.’
She said, ‘As commissioners of this historic enquiry, we’re aware of the great responsibility that rests on each of us, every day. We realise that we are helping offer a path forward for all Victorians to understand and to learn the full history of this place now called Victoria. So, although this is a truth-telling mission to put First Peoples voices on the public record, we do call it our shared history.’
The evidence heard by the Commission
Sue-Anne shared some of the evidence heard during the Commission’s inquiries, which ‘really stood out’ to her: ‘Yoorrook’s land injustice inquiry began on Gunditjmara country, where in 1834 Edward Henty took land illegally. This established the first permanent European settlement in Victoria. This was the start of an unbroken line of injustice faced by First Peoples, which continues to this day.
‘Commissioners heard evidence of the use of violence, massacres by settlers during the 1830s, 40s and 50s, in Western Victoria in particular, which decimated First Peoples population. Emeritus Prof. Richard Broome described colonisation in Victoria as the swiftest expansion within the British Empire of any occupation of land.
‘We heard how silos of colonisation continue to entrench structural disadvantage of First Peoples across the education, health and housing sectors. It is deeply embedded in injustice, child protection, family violence, land injustice, and the economy. We also heard about the government’s fear of handing over resources and control to First Peoples, enabling genuine self-determination.’
She said, ‘The evidence Yoorook has uncovered has often been raw and quite emotional. And as an Aboriginal person who lived through this, it’s also deeply personal.’
What can we do?
All are encouraged to visit the Yoorrook Justice Commission’s website, choose a piece of evidence and read it, or watch it (if video) and discuss its contents among staff, family and friends.
Sue-Anne says, ‘Part of Yoorrook’s mandate is to build a shared understanding of the true history of Victoria, and we’ve gathered an enormous amount of evidence.
‘Help share these stories of our people, going forward, whether that be through newsletters, conferences, media, social media, or posting events. However you wish to engage, we would love that.’
The Commission will release its final report in June 2025 and will include a closing ceremony. Sue-Anne remarked that ‘there will be lots of opportunities for you or your members to be part of the process’. ‘Encourage your staff, your members to listen and learn. This is how we move forward—when we understand our shared history. This is how we connect the past to the present.
‘The reality is most Victorians don’t know the full story of the shared history. When we understand the truth of the past and how it connects with the present, change isn’t so scary. Fear dissipates because we understand why change is needed. It’s about opening our hearts and our minds.
‘We can not only show the rest of the nation how it works in Victoria, but also internationally. People are watching us and how this goes forward.’
Conference Publication Launch
The gathering also included the launch of Commons. Commonality. Common Good: Catholic Social Services 2024 Conference Occasional Paper. The publication includes a selection of presentations from the Catholic Social Services 2024 National Conference held in February 2024 and includes contributions from the panel discussion on Reconciliation: The path forward for Australia (featuring Aunty Colleen Harney, Aunty Esme Bamblett and Erica Barnard) and keynote addresses from Prof. Mark Considine AM, Dr Julie Edwards OAM and Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv. Copies are now for sale at the CSSV office. Please get in touch if you are interested in purchasing a copy.
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