ANU Treaty Forum

13 November - 14 November
The Australian National University
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Speakers

Dan Conifer
Political Reporter
ABC
Mick Dodson
Treaty Commissioner
Northern Territory
Shannan Dodson
Communications Manager
Office of the Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Indigenous Leadership and Engagement Indigenous Leadership and Engagement, University of Technology Sydney
Robert French
Chancellor
University of Western Australia
Tim Goodwin
Barrister
Victorian Bar
Kirsty Gover
Program Director, Indigenous Peoples in International and Comparative Law
The University of Melbourne
Robert Griew
Principal
NOUS Group
Matilda House
Ngambri-Ngunnawal-Canberra Indigenous elder
Honorary Doctor, The Australian National University
John Paul Janke
Co- Chair
National NAIDOC Week Committee
Michael Mansell
Chairperson
Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania
Tony McAvoy
Native Title Barrister
Senior Council
Mark McMillan
Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor Indigenous Education and Engagement
RMIT
Hayley McQuire
Coordinator and Co Founder
National Indigenous Youth Education Coalition
Brian P. Schmidt
Vice-Chancellor
The Australian National University
Alex Sloan
Journalist and Broadcaster
ABC
Asmi Wood
Interim Director, National Centre for Indigenous Studies
Australian National University

Reading material

Asmi Wood
Asmi Wood & Christie Gardiner
Reconciliation Australia United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Treaty Forum Programme
Yarning Circle Guidelines

Schedule

  • 13 November
  • 14 November
08:00 AM
Registration

08:00 AM 08:30 AM Hedley Bull Atrium

08:30 AM
Welcome to Country

08:30 AM 08:45 AM Hedley Bull Lecture Theatre 1

09:00 AM
Agreement making in Australia: a brief history

09:00 AM 09:45 AM Hedley Bull Lecture Theatre 1

Mick Dodson

Kirsty Gover

Mark McMillan

Plenary
09:45 AM
Agreement making in the world: lessons from around the globe

09:45 AM 10:30 AM

Michael Mansell

Asmi Wood

Plenary
10:30 AM
Morning tea break

10:30 AM 11:00 AM Hedley Bull Atrium

Meal
11:00 AM
Imagining treaty: what does a treaty/ agreement need to deliver?

11:00 AM 12:00 PM Hedley Bull Lecture Theatre 1

Michael Mansell

Hayley McQuire

Plenary
01:00 PM
What is the opportunity infront of us? How does it connect to recognition and voice?

01:00 PM 02:00 PM Great Hall, University House

Kirsty Gover

Tony McAvoy

Asmi Wood

Plenary
02:15 PM
Yarning Circle with Indigenous Elders

02:15 PM 04:15 PM Great Hall, University House

Facilitated discussions
04:15 PM
Day one wrap up

04:15 PM 04:30 PM Great Hall, University House

Plenary
05:30 PM
Forum dinner

05:30 PM 09:00 PM Kambri Cultural Precinct

Meal
07:30 PM
In conversation panel

07:30 PM 08:30 PM Kambri Cultural Precinct

Dan Conifer

Shannan Dodson

Tim Goodwin

Alex Sloan

Meal
08:30 AM
Welcome and reflections of day one

08:30 AM 08:45 AM Great Hall, University House

Plenary
09:00 AM
Yarning Circle with Indigenous youth

09:00 AM 12:45 PM Great Hall, University House

Mark McMillan

Facilitated discussions
11:15 AM
Morning tea break

11:15 AM 11:45 PM Great Hall, University House

Meal
01:00 PM
Lunch

01:00 PM 01:30 PM Great Hall, University House

Meal
01:30 PM
A road map towards treaty

01:30 PM 02:30 PM Great Hall, University House

Mick Dodson

Shannan Dodson

Robert Griew

Meal
02:30 PM
Forum wrap up

02:30 PM 02:45 PM Great Hall, University House

Plenary
03:00 PM
Public Lecture: Future legal issues for agreement making with Indigenous people.

03:00 PM 04:00 PM APCD Lecture Theatre 1, Hedley Bull Building

Robert French

Plenary

Dan Conifer

Political Reporter
ABC
Ngemba-Muruwari man Dan Conifer is a journalist with ABC News. He has reported on federal politics from Canberra over the past four years. In this role, Dan has focused on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues, along with freedom of information investigations. The 28-year-old has twice been named a finalist for the Walkley Young Australian Journalist of the Year Award. He has also worked with NITV as a journalist and sport commentator.

13 November

In conversation panel

07:30 PM 08:30 PM Kambri Cultural Precinct

Meal

Mick Dodson

Treaty Commissioner
Northern Territory
Professor Dodson AM is a highly respected Aboriginal Advocate who has spent his working life fighting for the rights and interest of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. Born in Katherine, Mick is a member of the Yawuru peoples, the Traditional Aboriginal Owners of land and waters around Broome.
Mick is a long term barrister and lawyer and specialises in Native Title and human rights. Most recently he has been Professor of Law at the Australian National University and Director of its National Centre for Indigenous Studies.
He was Counsel assisting the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody in the Northern Territory and Western Australia, is a former CEO of the Northern Land Council and in 1993 was appointed the country’s first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, a post he held until 1998.
Mick has been a prominent advocate of land rights and other issues affecting Indigenous peoples in Australia and globally and has served as the Pacific member on the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

13 November

Agreement making in Australia: a brief history

09:00 AM 09:45 AM Hedley Bull Lecture Theatre 1

Plenary

14 November

A road map towards treaty

01:30 PM 02:30 PM Great Hall, University House

Meal

Shannan Dodson

Communications Manager
Office of the Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Indigenous Leadership and Engagement Indigenous Leadership and Engagement, University of Technology Sydney
Shannan is a Yawuru (Broome area) woman who was born in Katherine in the Northern Territory and currently lives in Sydney.
Shannan has worked in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs for over 13 years and is a communications and digital specialist. She is the Communications Manager for the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous Leadership and Engagement) Office at the University of Technology Sydney.
She is a National NAIDOC Committee member and the Indigenous Affairs Advisor for Media Diversity Australia which seeks to promote balanced representation in Australian media that more accurately reflects the Australian community. She is a regular contributor to NITV, the ABC, Ten Daily and The Guardian.
Shannan is passionate about First Nations’ rights and understanding mental health issues, particularly intergenerational trauma for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

13 November

In conversation panel

07:30 PM 08:30 PM Kambri Cultural Precinct

Meal

14 November

A road map towards treaty

01:30 PM 02:30 PM Great Hall, University House

Meal

Robert French

Chancellor
University of Western Australia
Robert French served as Chief Justice of Australia from 1 September 2008 until 29 January 2017.
He is a graduate of the University of Western Australia in science and law. He served as a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia from November 1986 until his appointment as Chief Justice of the High Court on 1 September 2008. From 1994 to 1998 he was the President of the National Native Title Tribunal.
Since his retirement as Chief Justice, Mr French has been appointed as a Non-Permanent Justice of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (May 2017), as an International Judge of the Singapore International Commercial Court (January 2018) and as a Judge of the Court of Appeal of the Dubai International Financial Centre (June 2019).

He is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Western Australia and Monash University, a Distinguished Honorary Professor at the Australian National University and an Honorary Professorial Fellow at Melbourne University Law School. He was elected as Chancellor of the University of Western Australia in December 2017.

14 November

Public Lecture: Future legal issues for agreement making with Indigenous people.

03:00 PM 04:00 PM APCD Lecture Theatre 1, Hedley Bull Building

Plenary

Tim Goodwin

Barrister
Victorian Bar
Tim Goodwin is a barrister at the Victorian Bar and practices primarily in commercial and public law. Tim was one of the Junior Counsel Assisting the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory. Prior to joining the Bar, Tim worked at Allens as a solicitor for three years in commercial litigation, banking and finance.

Before joining Allens, Tim served as Associate to Justice North and Justice Bromberg of the Federal Court of Australia. He also served as Foreign Law Clerk to Justice Skweyiya of the Constitutional Court of South Africa.

Tim has a Bachelor of Arts and Laws (with Honours) from the Australian National University and a Master of Laws from Harvard Law School.

Tim is a member of the Yuin people of the South East Coast of New South Wales. He serves on a number of boards, including as a Board Member of the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission.

13 November

In conversation panel

07:30 PM 08:30 PM Kambri Cultural Precinct

Meal

Kirsty Gover

Program Director, Indigenous Peoples in International and Comparative Law
The University of Melbourne
Professor Kirsty Gover was appointed to the Melbourne Law School faculty in 2009. Her research and publications address the law, policy and political theory of Indigenous rights, institutions and jurisdiction. She is interested in the importance of Indigenous concepts of law and politics in settler state political theory, constitutionalism and international law.
Professor Gover is a graduate of New York University (NYU) JSD Doctoral Program, where she was an Institute for International Law and Justice (IJIL) Graduate Scholar and New Zealand Top Achiever Doctoral Fellow. She is Chair of Melbourne Law School’s Reconciliation and Recognition Committee, Graduate Research Coordinator and Director of Melbourne Law School’s Indigenous Peoples in International and Comparative Law Research Program.

13 November

Agreement making in Australia: a brief history

09:00 AM 09:45 AM Hedley Bull Lecture Theatre 1

Plenary

13 November

What is the opportunity infront of us? How does it connect to recognition and voice?

01:00 PM 02:00 PM Great Hall, University House

Plenary

Robert Griew

Principal
NOUS Group
Robert Griew is Principal at Nous Group. He has worked in federal, state and territory public services and has run his own consulting business.
Prior to joining Nous, Robert was associate secretary in the Australian Department of Education and Training responsible for higher education, research and international education.

14 November

A road map towards treaty

01:30 PM 02:30 PM Great Hall, University House

Meal

Matilda House

Ngambri-Ngunnawal-Canberra Indigenous elder
Honorary Doctor, The Australian National University
Dr Matilda House is a Ngambri-Ngunnawal elder and has a long-established connection to Canberra and its surrounding regions as one of the traditional custodians of the land.
Matilda House is the Chair of the Ngunnawal Local Aboriginal Land Council in Queanbeyan and the Joint Chair of the Interim Namadgi National Park Committee.

John Paul Janke

Co- Chair
National NAIDOC Week Committee
John Paul is Wuthathi from Cape York and from Murray Island in the Torres Strait. Born in Cairns, he has worked in media and communications related roles within Indigenous Affairs for some thirty years.
He is currently co-owner of Rork Projects, a national Indigenous fit-out and refurbishment company servicing the corporate and government sectors, and the co-host of NITV’s flagship news and current affairs show ‘The Point’.
John Paul joined the National NAIDOC Committee in 2012 and is the Co-Chair of the Australian Indigenous Leadership Centre in Canberra.

Michael Mansell

Chairperson
Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania
Michael Mansell is an Aboriginal lawyer and activist who has dedicated his life to social, political and legal reform to improve the lives and social standing of Aborigines.

In 2016 he was a consultant to Aboriginal Affairs Victoria in developing a State treaty. He disappears from the political scene each April to go mutton birding.

He is secretary of the Aboriginal Provisional Government and Chairman of Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania.

He wrote the book Treaty and Statehood: Aboriginal self-determination published by The Federation Press in December 2016.

13 November

Agreement making in the world: lessons from around the globe

09:45 AM 10:30 AM

Plenary

13 November

Imagining treaty: what does a treaty/ agreement need to deliver?

11:00 AM 12:00 PM Hedley Bull Lecture Theatre 1

Plenary

Tony McAvoy

Native Title Barrister
Senior Council
Tony McAvoy is a Wirdi man from the central Queensland area around Clermont. He is also a native title holder in his grandmother’s country around Thargomindah in southwest Queensland.

Tony commenced work in 1983 at the Brisbane Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service as an articled clerk. He studied part time at QUT. He graduated and was admitted as a solicitor in 1988.
He continued to practice as a solicitor working in private practice and at the ATSILS, with some travel, until 1994. In 1994 he was employed in a policy position in the NSW Department of Aboriginal Affairs, later appointed as Manager of the Heritage and Natural Resources Branch, and served 18 months as Registrar, Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983.

In January 2000 he was admitted as a barrister of the Supreme Court of NSW. He was worked extensively in criminal law, administrative law including disciplinary tribunals, coronial inquests, discrimination law, but in recent years has largely practiced in the area of native title. Tony has successfully represented the Githabul, Quandamooka, Kalkadoon, Pitta Pitta, Kullilli, Barngarla and in November 2017 the Gooreng Gooreng people in native title claims in the Federal Court. In August 2016 he was appointed Co-Senior Counsel Assisting the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory. In 2017 he was advisor to and negotiator for the Narungga People in their treaty negotiations with the State of South Australia. He has advised on the Victoria Treaty Advancement Bill, written numerous papers and spoken nationally and internationally on treaties and truth commissions on many occasions.

In 2018 he was the QUT Outstanding Alumnus of the Year. In 2010 Tony was awarded the Inaugural National Indigenous Legal Professional of the Year Award. From 2011 to 2013, Tony held an appointment as an Acting Part-Time Commissioner on NSW Land and Environment Court. Tony is the current co-chair of the Indigenous Legal Issues Committee of the Law Council of Australia, and the Chair of the NSW Bar Association’s First Nations Committee.

13 November

What is the opportunity infront of us? How does it connect to recognition and voice?

01:00 PM 02:00 PM Great Hall, University House

Plenary

Mark McMillan

Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor Indigenous Education and Engagement
RMIT
Professor Mark McMillan is a Wiradjuri man from Trangie, NSW. He is a Professor and Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor (Indigenous Education and Engagement) and Chair of RMIT Academic Board at RMIT University. His research interests are in the areas of human rights and, in particular, the expression and fulfilment of those rights for Indigenous Australians. He is currently working on an ARMC grant relating to Indigenous governance and jurisdiction for native nations and intends on expanding his research outcomes to include the application of ‘constitutionalism’ for indigenous Australians.
He has been a Visiting Fellow at the Center on Japanese Economy and Business at Columbia University, the John F Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, China Centre for Economic Research at Peking University and the University of Tokyo.
In 2013 Mark was awarded the National NAIDOC Scholar of the Year Award.
Mark is a current board member of the Trangie Local Aboriginal Land Council.

13 November

Agreement making in Australia: a brief history

09:00 AM 09:45 AM Hedley Bull Lecture Theatre 1

Plenary

14 November

Yarning Circle with Indigenous youth

09:00 AM 12:45 PM Great Hall, University House

Facilitated discussions

Hayley McQuire

Coordinator and Co Founder
National Indigenous Youth Education Coalition
Hayley McQuire is the co-founder and National Coordinator for the National Indigenous Youth Education Coalition, the first Indigenous youth-led organisation committed to transforming the education system.
Hayley has lead development of the organisation from the ground up which includes the rollout of the Coalition flagship Education of Our Own Design Project. This project is centred on a nation-wide series of co-design workshops for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people focused on sharing their educational experiences while also developing solutions for change. This position is completely voluntary, and in addition, Hayley works as the Head of Education for the Foundation for Young Australians and is a mum to an energetic toddler.

13 November

Imagining treaty: what does a treaty/ agreement need to deliver?

11:00 AM 12:00 PM Hedley Bull Lecture Theatre 1

Plenary

Brian P. Schmidt

Vice-Chancellor
The Australian National University
Professor Schmidt is the 12th Vice-Chancellor of The Australian National University. Winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics, Professor Schmidt was an astrophysicist at the ANU Mount Stromlo Observatory and Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics before becoming Vice-Chancellor.
Professor Schmidt received undergraduate degrees in Astronomy and Physics from the University of Arizona in 1989, and completed his Astronomy Master’s degree (1992) and PhD (1993) from Harvard University. Under his leadership, in 1998, the High-Z Supernova Search team made the startling discovery that the expansion rate of the Universe is accelerating. Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, The United States Academy of Science, and the Royal Society, he was made a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2013

Alex Sloan

Journalist and Broadcaster
ABC
Alex Sloan AM has been a journalist for 30 years, including over 27 years as a broadcaster with the ABC.

An award winning journalist Alex is highly regarded as an MC, interviewer and facilitator including:The ANU Meet The Author, The National Library, National Museum of Australia, National Gallery of Australia and National Portrait Gallery.

At the national level, Alex is a director of The Australia Institute and The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust.She is also a current member of the ACT Architects Board and works with a range of local charities.

In 2017 Alex was named Canberra Citizen of the Year.

13 November

In conversation panel

07:30 PM 08:30 PM Kambri Cultural Precinct

Meal

Asmi Wood

Interim Director, National Centre for Indigenous Studies
Australian National University
Asmi Wood is the Interim Director of the National Centre for Indigenous Studies (NCIS) at The Australian National University (ANU), Canberra and Professor at the ANU College of Law.
He was made a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in 2017, was the recipient of the OLT Australian Award for University Teaching: Neville Bonner Award for Indigenous Education in 2015, and also the ANU Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence in 2010.

13 November

Agreement making in the world: lessons from around the globe

09:45 AM 10:30 AM

Plenary

13 November

What is the opportunity infront of us? How does it connect to recognition and voice?

01:00 PM 02:00 PM Great Hall, University House

Plenary

Asmi Wood

Self-Determination Under international Law and some possibilities for Australia’s Indigenous Peoples.
AsmiWood Self Determination.6 May19.pdf Download Link

Asmi Wood & Christie Gardiner

Identifying a legal framework for a treaty between Australia’s first peoples and others.
Wood_Gardiner_ Identifying a legal framework for a treaty between Australia's First Peoples and others.pdf Download Link

Reconciliation Australia United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Reconciliation-Australia-United-Nations-Declaration-on-the-Rights-of-Indigenous-Peoples-UNDRIP.pdf Download Link

Treaty Forum Programme

Treaty Program 12112019.pdf Download Link

Yarning Circle Guidelines

Yarning Circle Guidelines.pdf Download Link

Registration

08:00 AM 08:30 AM Hedley Bull Atrium

Welcome to Country

08:30 AM 08:45 AM Hedley Bull Lecture Theatre 1

Plenary

Agreement making in Australia: a brief history

09:00 AM 09:45 AM Hedley Bull Lecture Theatre 1

This session will provide participants with an overview of treaty and agreement making in Australia and across the world. The session will focus on the differing context and content of agreement making and open up discussion as to what opportunity exists in Australia today for taking treaty and agreement making forward.

Speakers

Mick Dodson
Treaty Commissioner
Northern Territory
Kirsty Gover
Program Director, Indigenous Peoples in International and Comparative Law
The University of Melbourne
Mark McMillan
Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor Indigenous Education and Engagement
RMIT
Plenary

Agreement making in the world: lessons from around the globe

09:45 AM 10:30 AM

This session will provide participants with an overview of treaty and agreement making in Australia and across the world. The session will focus on the differing context and content of agreement making and open up discussion as to what opportunity exists in Australia today for taking treaty and agreement making forward.

Speakers

Michael Mansell
Chairperson
Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania
Asmi Wood
Interim Director, National Centre for Indigenous Studies
Australian National University
Meal

Morning tea break

10:30 AM 11:00 AM Hedley Bull Atrium

Plenary

Imagining treaty: what does a treaty/ agreement need to deliver?

11:00 AM 12:00 PM Hedley Bull Lecture Theatre 1

This session will provide participants with an opportunity to discuss and debate what a treaty should deliver to be successful in the Australian context. The session will identify non-negotiable elements for success and identify what can and cannot be covered by treaty.

Speakers

Michael Mansell
Chairperson
Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania
Hayley McQuire
Coordinator and Co Founder
National Indigenous Youth Education Coalition
Plenary

What is the opportunity infront of us? How does it connect to recognition and voice?

01:00 PM 02:00 PM Great Hall, University House

A panel discussion that aims to identify the opportunity in front of us and how it connects to recognition and voice.

Speakers

Kirsty Gover
Program Director, Indigenous Peoples in International and Comparative Law
The University of Melbourne
Tony McAvoy
Native Title Barrister
Senior Council
Asmi Wood
Interim Director, National Centre for Indigenous Studies
Australian National University
Facilitated discussions

Yarning Circle with Indigenous Elders

02:15 PM 04:15 PM Great Hall, University House

Plenary

Day one wrap up

04:15 PM 04:30 PM Great Hall, University House

Meal

Forum dinner

05:30 PM 09:00 PM Kambri Cultural Precinct

Meal

In conversation panel

07:30 PM 08:30 PM Kambri Cultural Precinct

An after dinner panel discussing contemporary issues on recognition and treaty.

Speakers

Dan Conifer
Political Reporter
ABC
Shannan Dodson
Communications Manager
Office of the Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Indigenous Leadership and Engagement Indigenous Leadership and Engagement, University of Technology Sydney
Tim Goodwin
Barrister
Victorian Bar
Alex Sloan
Journalist and Broadcaster
ABC
Plenary

Welcome and reflections of day one

08:30 AM 08:45 AM Great Hall, University House

The Forum host will give an overview of day 1 and highlight key points that were discussed.
Facilitated discussions

Yarning Circle with Indigenous youth

09:00 AM 12:45 PM Great Hall, University House

Speakers

Mark McMillan
Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor Indigenous Education and Engagement
RMIT
Meal

Morning tea break

11:15 AM 11:45 PM Great Hall, University House

Meal

Lunch

01:00 PM 01:30 PM Great Hall, University House

Meal

A road map towards treaty

01:30 PM 02:30 PM Great Hall, University House

What five things do Indigenous Peoples, governments and the broader community need to do to bring a treaty or agreement in realisation?

Speakers

Mick Dodson
Treaty Commissioner
Northern Territory
Shannan Dodson
Communications Manager
Office of the Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Indigenous Leadership and Engagement Indigenous Leadership and Engagement, University of Technology Sydney
Robert Griew
Principal
NOUS Group
Plenary

Forum wrap up

02:30 PM 02:45 PM Great Hall, University House

Plenary

Public Lecture: Future legal issues for agreement making with Indigenous people.

03:00 PM 04:00 PM APCD Lecture Theatre 1, Hedley Bull Building

The Hon. Robert French will close the Forum with a public lecture on future legal issues for agreement making with Indigenous people

Speakers

Robert French
Chancellor
University of Western Australia